IMG_9267 Duntulm Castle
Duntulm is believed to have been first fortified in the Iron Age, and the site continues to be associated with the name Dùn Dhaibhidh or "David's Fort". Later in life it was fortified by the Norse, and subsequently by their successors, the MacLeods of Skye. It would have been while it was under the MacLeod's tenure that James V visited the castle in 1540, where he was impressed by its strength and the quality of the hospitality on offer.
By the early 1600s, Trotternish was under the control of the MacLeod's rivals on Skye, the MacDonalds of Sleat. They appear to have made a number of improvements to the castle and it is possible that much of the structure recorded in the late 1800s, apart from the keep, dated back to this period. The MacDonalds abandoned the castle in about 1730 in favour of nearby Monkstadt House and then Armadale Castle in Sleat. Some say this was after a nursemaid accidentally dropped the baby son of the clan chief from a castle window above the cliffs. The ghost of the nursemaid, killed in retribution, is still said to wander the ruins. She is apparently kept company by the ghost of Hugh MacDonald, who plotted against the rightful clan chief in the 1600s, and who was starved to death in the dungeon at Duntulm.
The outer isles are visible in the distance
IMG_9267 Duntulm Castle
Duntulm is believed to have been first fortified in the Iron Age, and the site continues to be associated with the name Dùn Dhaibhidh or "David's Fort". Later in life it was fortified by the Norse, and subsequently by their successors, the MacLeods of Skye. It would have been while it was under the MacLeod's tenure that James V visited the castle in 1540, where he was impressed by its strength and the quality of the hospitality on offer.
By the early 1600s, Trotternish was under the control of the MacLeod's rivals on Skye, the MacDonalds of Sleat. They appear to have made a number of improvements to the castle and it is possible that much of the structure recorded in the late 1800s, apart from the keep, dated back to this period. The MacDonalds abandoned the castle in about 1730 in favour of nearby Monkstadt House and then Armadale Castle in Sleat. Some say this was after a nursemaid accidentally dropped the baby son of the clan chief from a castle window above the cliffs. The ghost of the nursemaid, killed in retribution, is still said to wander the ruins. She is apparently kept company by the ghost of Hugh MacDonald, who plotted against the rightful clan chief in the 1600s, and who was starved to death in the dungeon at Duntulm.
The outer isles are visible in the distance