Mingary Castle

Arguably the best castle in Scotland... and so little known and studied. This is a real castle for a castle lover. Mingary Castle in Ardnamurchan is unlike any of our modern concepts of what a castle should be like.

LH could (and did) sit and look at it for hours, slowly studying and interpeting the wall lines and subtle structural changes.

Mingary is one of a number of castles on the west coast of Scotland that evolved independantly of the traditonal Norman stone Castles of England and most of Scotland. These structures were built as large, irregular compounds with virtually no windows or openings. Most subsequently modernised or altered with fashions in the subsequnet 800 years, but Mingary had very few changes and as a result this historic seat of the MacIans of Ardnamurchan is a wonderful 13th century survival.

This view is taken from the beach below the rock. The door facing the sea was in all likelihood the main entrance for a people that travelled and lived by sea. The wonderful banding and clear lines on the structure are season and structural breaks, essentially levelling out during building and over the Winter. The bartizans or corner towers are one of the few later addittions and nods to the prevailing fashion.

Superb stuff!