Eilean Donan

Scotland · castles · history

Medieval fortress. The original castle was built in the 1200s to protect the Scottish Highlands. It became the stronghold of two powerful Scottish clans, the Mackenzies and the MacRaes, who ruled the lands around it.

Island at the crossroads. Eilean Donan sits exactly where three sea lochs (narrow arms of the ocean) meet in western Scotland. This perfect location made it an ideal place to build a castle to watch over the water and the lands beyond.

Destroyed and rebuilt. In 1719, British Royal Navy ships destroyed the castle because the Mackenzies had supported a rebellion against the newly united British kingdom. Centuries later, a man named John Macrae-Gilstrap rebuilt the castle in the 1900s, and it still stands today.

Bridge to the island. For most of history, you could only reach the island by boat, but in the early 1900s a footbridge was built to connect it to the mainland. Now visitors can walk across to explore the castle.

Famous in movies. Eilean Donan's stunning castle appears in many movies and television shows because it looks like something straight out of a storybook. It has become one of the most photographed castles in the entire world.