Castle stalker
Castle stalker | ||
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Castle Stalker in Loch Laich |
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Creation time : | around 1320 | |
Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
Conservation status: | Receive | |
Place: | Port Appin | |
Geographical location | 56 ° 34 '17 " N , 5 ° 23' 11" W | |
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Castle Stalker ( Scottish Gaelic : Caisteal an Stalcaire) is a tower house about 2.5 kilometers northeast of Port Appin , a village in Argyll and Bute in Scotland . The island castle stands on a small, rocky tidal island in Loch Laich , a bay of Loch Linnhe , about halfway between Oban and Glen Coe in the western Scottish Highlands . It can be reached by boat or on foot at low tide .
The name of the castle is derived from the Scottish Gaelic an Stalcaire , which means either "hunter" or "falconer".
history
Although the location is similar to that of the prehistoric Crannógs , the island is of natural origin.
The castle was built around 1320 as a small fortification by the MacDougall clan , the then Lords of Lorn. Around 1388 the castle became the property of the Stewarts , who expanded it from around 1440 to its present form as a compact, four-story tower house . After several changes of ownership, the last residents of the Campbell family left the slowly decaying building around 1840.
In 1908 the castle was bought by Charles Stewart of Achara, who carried out the first renovations. In 1965, Stewart Allward took over the facility and completely restored it.
Castle Stalker is almost authentically renovated and is considered one of the best preserved medieval residential towers in the west of Scotland. It is part of the "Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area", one of the 40 most beautiful landscapes in Scotland.
The castle is privately owned and can only be viewed by prior arrangement.
Trivia
The picturesque silhouette of the defiant, gloomy island castle in front of a dramatic mountain scenery has made it a popular photo and film motif. Castle Stalker is particularly known as the Grail Castle "Castle of Aaaaaaaargh" in the final scene of the film The Knights of the Coconut by the English comedian group Monty Python . She can also be seen in the film Highlander III - The Legend .
Individual evidence
- ↑ History of Castle Stalker on the castle website
- ↑ Castle Stalker on the Visit Fort William website
- ↑ National Scenic Areas ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Scottish Natural Heritage