Eilean Donan Castle

Without question the most photographed castle in Britain, and possibly the world, Eilean Donan Castle as seen today holds a secret - it has yet to reach its 100th Birthday. Although a fortified site for over 800 years, it has been re-modelled many times. Meaning simply 'island of Donan', the Donan part takes its name from the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan. Situated at the intersection of three great Lochs, Eilean Donan Castle is strategically placed for defence purposes, and during the 13th century Eilean Donan Castle guarded the lands of Kintail, an area of the Western Highlands and Isles, a quite separate kingdom from the bulk of the Scottish mainland at that time.

Under the control of 'the Lords of the Western Isles', most supplies and attacks would have come from the sea, and it was during this medieval period that Eilean Donan Castle was at its largest, requiring a considerable garrison to defend it. Evidence shows that a keep stood at the highest point on the island, with a curtain wall (Barmkin) running around the perimeter, there was also a tower at the islands northern point, with walls built some 14ft (4.3m) thick.

By the end of the 14th century Eilean Donan Castle had become a much smaller arrangement, reduced to only one fifth of its original size, but the reason for this remains a mystery. Although the keep still dominated the site, it was by this time enclosed as part of a more compact courtyard. With the advent of Cannon in the 16th century, a Hornwork (or spur) with a hexagonal bastion was constructed to create a firing position, and it would have looked very much as it does today.

Destroyed at the time of the third Jacobite Uprising in 1719, when 46 Spaniards on behalf of the Scots garrisoned Eilean Donan Castle, the whole exercise was carried out in clinical fashion. When the three government frigates, the 'Flamborough', 'Worcester' and 'Enterprise', sailed into Loch Duich on the 10th May and bombarded the island, Eilean Donan Castle was quickly forced to surrender. Having accepted the surrender, the Captain issued orders for the castle to be blown up using the 343 barrels of gunpowder stored in the garrison's own powder magazine.

Abandoned and ruinous, the site lay dormant for some 200 years, until Lt Col. John MacRae-Gilstrap purchased it in 1912. The MacRae clan's association with the site dates from the mid 14th century, when the MacRae's were the 'bodyguards' to the MacKenzie chiefs, who had held Eilean Donan Castle for nearly a century. Together with his clerk of works, Farquhar MacRae, Lt Col John MacRae-Gilstrap devoted the next two decades restoring Eilean Donan Castle to its former glory, at a cost of £250,000.

Now owned by the Conchra Trust, which has close family connections with the MacRae's, it's aim is to restore and maintain Eilean Donan Castle, whilst ensuring good public access to an important part of Scotland's heritage. Several major rooms are now open to the public and, as redecoration continues, each season sees additional rooms and facilities opening.

The idyllic image of Eilean Donan Castle is now famous throughout the world, representing the romantic essence of a Scottish castle, and it turns up in the most unexpected places. On a trip to Zimbabwe in the autumn of 1999, we came across a large poster of Eilean Donan Castle in a Bulawayo shop window. An enchanting building in a spectacular setting, and one definitely not to be missed.