Duart Castle - Caisteal Dhubhairt

Duart Castle - Caisteal Dhubhairt believed to have been built by Clan MacDougall in the 13th century is located at Duart Point on the Isle of Mull (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Muileach. Duart is sited to give maximum defensive capability. It is on a high crag at the end of a peninsula that juts into the Sound of Mull. Thus giving it commanding position on the channel between Mull and the mainland. Along with the entrances to Lochs Linne and Etive and the neck of the Firth of Lorne as it meets the Sound of Mull. The castle came into the possession of the Clan Maclean in the 14th century.  The Keep that protects the landward side of the castle is very substantial. It was built by Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean in the 14th century. Duart is the ancestral home of the Clan MacLean was the site of battles between them and the Clan Campbell in the seventeenth century. The castle was put under siege by Cromwell's forces during the Civil War and HMS Swann along with other ships sank at the site during a storm in September 1653. After 1751 the castle was abandoned but in 1911 bought back by the MacLeans and the castle restored. The castle is open to the public.

Image: Duart Castle image released into public domain by its author, Deus Ex. and courtesy of wikimedia commons.

Link: Duart Castle website.