Castle Tioram

Castle Tioram (; Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Tioram, meaning "dry castle") is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Scotland. It is north of Acharacle, approximately 80 km (50 mi) west of Fort William. Though hidden from the sea, the castle controls access to Loch Shiel. It is also known locally as Dorlin Castle. The castle is a scheduled monument.

Castle Tioram was one of Somerled's castles in his time (the 12th century), though some may date it from the 13th or 14th century. It appears to have originally been a principal stronghold of Clann Ruaidhrí. Eilean Tioram, the island the fortress sits upon, is first recorded in a charter of Cairistíona Nic Ruaidhrí, daughter of Ailéan mac Ruaidhrí. According to early modern tradition, preserved by the 17th-century Sleat History, the castle was erected by Ailéan's granddaughter, Áine Nic Ruaidhrí. The castle certainly served as the seat of the latter's Clann Raghnaill descendants for centuries.

As such, Castle Tioram is the traditional seat of the Clanranald (Clann Raghnaill) branch of Clan Donald. The castle was seized by Government forces in around 1692 when the clan chief Allan Macdonald of Clanranald joined the exiled court of James VII and II in France, despite having sworn allegiance to William III and II and Mary II. A small garrison was stationed in the castle until the Jacobite rising of 1715 when Allan recaptured and torched it, purportedly to keep it out of the hands of Hanoverian forces. It has been unoccupied since that time, although there are some accounts suggesting it was partially inhabited thereafter including for the storage of firearms from the De Tuillay in the 1745 Jacobite uprising and Lady Grange's account of her kidnapping.

Proposals to restore the castle by the new owners, Anta Estates, were announced in 1997 and received planning consent from Highland Council. This included the creation of a clan centre/museum, domestic apartments, and some public access. However, Historic Scotland refused Scheduled Monument Consent, a decision upheld after a local public inquiry.

The Council issued a Dangerous Buildings Order closing the castle to the public in 1998 due to its poor condition.

Text adapted from “Castle Tioram” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castle Tioram ranks #1,386 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #48 of the 167 mapped in Scotland. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 6,308 times in the last 60 days, more than 88% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. It is one of the 57 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Scottish Highlands. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗