Duart Castle

Duart Castle, on the Isle of Mull, dates back to the 13th century. It was the seat of the Clan MacLean for over 400 years and the base for their seaborne power.

Built at the strategic intersection of three expanses of water on a rock crag, it guarded the Sound of Mull while being in a commanding position with views up the length of Loch Linnhe and across the Firth of Lorn to the Scottish Highlands on the mainland. It is also within view of the castles, Dunstaffnage, Dunollie, Aros and Ardtornish.

The views around the Castle are simply stunning.

The castle has a colourful history. As with many of the Scottish Clans over the years, the MacLean Clan found themselves in various struggles or alliances with other Clans to maintain control over the seaways and islands against invaders.

Close to Duart Castle there is an archaeological site (designated by Historic Scotland) where Cromwell’s armies laid siege to the Castle. In 1653 AD Cromwell had a task force of six ships anchored and during a storm three were lost, including HMS Swan. Their mission was futile as the intended target, a ten year old child who was Clan Chief at the time, had already been removed to the Treshnish Isles for safety.

Not many years after that the Castle was surrendered to the Clan Campbell and in 1751 abandoned. It fell into ruin and has only been restored since it was was bought in 1911 AD by Sir Fitzroy Donald MacLean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean.

These photographs were taken in August 2004 using a Fujifilm S2 DSLR. Shot in RAW and processed in Photoshop CS2 ACR2.4

All the photographs were taken by Scottish photographer Norman Young and are copyright ©. Please respect copyright.