Dunstaffnage Castle and Chapel
About
Built before 1275 on a huge rock overlooking the Firth of Lorn, Dunstaffnage was the mighty stronghold of the MacDougalls.
The castle, with its huge curtain wall, was captured by Robert the Bruce in 1309 and remained in royal possession for some years. Dunstaffnage became the temporary prison of Flora MacDonald in 1746.
Dunstaffnage Castle is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland. It guards the seaward approach from the Firth of Lorn to the Pass of Brander – and thereby the heart of Scotland. The castle was built around 1220, probably by Duncan MacDougall, son of Dubhgall, Lord of Lorn, and grandson of the great Somerled ‘King of the Isles’. These were stirring times in Argyll, because of the remarkable struggle between Scotland and Norway for control over the Hebrides.
The acquisition of the region by Scotland in 1266 did not see the end of warring; far from it. Mighty Dunstaffnage saw action during the Wars of Independence (1296–1356), and was famously besieged by King Robert Bruce in 1308, after his victory over the MacDougalls at the Pass of Brander, overlooking Loch Awe. Thereafter, Dunstaffnage remained a royal castle until it passed to the Campbells, earls of Argyll, in the 1460s. From then until the last Jacobite Rising in 1745–6, Dunstaffnage’s story is inextricably interlinked with the incessant struggles by the Crown and the Campbells to control their unruly western subjects.
Contact Information
Dunstaffnage Castle & Chapel
By Oban
Argyll
PA37 1PZ
Tel: 01631562465
Web: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
Email: hs.explorer@scotland.gsi.gov.uk