Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan Castle, main entrance.

Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the North of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the chiefs of the clan for nearly 800 years. Originally designed to keep people out, it was first opened to visitors in 1933. Since then, the castle is consistently ranked as one of Scotland's premier visitor attractions. Over the years, the castle has been visited by Sir Walter Scott, Dr Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and the Japanese Emperor Akihito.

Currently visitors can enjoy tours of the castle and highland estate, take boat trips on Loch Dunvegan to see the seal colonies (home to common seals, grey seals, great black-backed gulls, hooded crows, herring gulls and oystercatchers), stay in one of its estate cottages and browse in one of its four shops. Activities in the area range from walking, fishing and sightseeing to fine local cuisine, shopping and camping at the foot of the estate’s Cuillin mountain range. The castle houses a number of important clan relics; chief among them is the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan, the Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn.

Gallery

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  Dunvegan Castle, home to the same MacLeod family for over 800 years

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  Panorama of Dunvegan Castle

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  Dunvegan Castle port

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External links

• Dunvegan Castle's homepage
• Castles of the World
• grid reference NG245490