| Click on picture of Eilean Donan Castle to enlarge Photograph by Colin Baxter |
Scotland is famous for castles. One of the most famous is Eilean Donan located on west coast at Dornie an A87, close to the bridge to Skye. The castle is perhaps the most photographed and most filmed of all Scottish castles and has featured many films. Eilean Donan Castle appeared in Highlander, Loch Ness, The Master of Ballantrae, Braveheart and Oliver's Travels. It also appears in the next James Bond movie The World is not Enough.
Eilean Donan stands on a rocky island at the junction of three loch Long, Duich, and Alsh . It originated in 1220 as one of Alexander II's defenses against the Danes. Held by the Jacobites in 1719, it was heavily bombarded by an English warship. The castle was ruined and remained so for 200 years until 1932 when Colonel MacRae-Gilstrap, a descendent of the original Wards of the castle, restored it to its former condition.
Two rooms are open to the public, the Billeting Room and Banqueting Hall which have on display a variety of MacRae mementos.
The MacRaes were guardians of the castle and bodyguards to, the Mackenzies and hence known as "Mackenzie's Shirt of Mail. Once the ancestral seat of the MacKenzies of Kintail, it is now owned by the Clan Macrae. The history of the castle makes fascinating reading.
The Internet has hundreds of beautiful pictures of this castle. The largest picture of the castle is found here. This site has many views of the Castle. I particularly like this painting probably because it includes Highland cows.
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