Kisimul Castle

Kisimul Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Chiosmuil) and also known as Kiessimul Castle, is a medieval castle located on a small island off Castlebay, Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It gets its name from the Norse ciosamul, meaning "castle island".

The earliest documentary record of Kisimul Castle dates from the mid 16th century. Writing in 1549, Dean Monro stated of Barra that "Within the southwest end of this isle, ther enters a salt water loche, verey narrow in the entrey, and round and braide within. Into the middis of the saide loche there is ane ile, upon ane strenthey craige, callit Kiselnin, perteining to M’Kneil of Barray." However, Campbell (1936) points out that Monro has in part confused the nearby Bàgh Beag with Bàgh a' Chaisteil.

The castle is built on a rocky islet in the bay, just off the coast of Barra. It can only be reached by boat. Kisimul has its own fresh water wells. Legend has it that was the stronghold of the MacNeils since the 11th century.

Kisimul was abandoned in 1838 when the island was sold, and the castle's condition subsequently deteriorated. Some of its stone was used as ballast for fishing vessels, and some even ended up as paving in Glasgow. The remains of the castle, along with most of the island of Barra, were purchased in 1937 by Robert Lister MacNeil, the then chief of Clan MacNeil, who made efforts at restoration.

In 2001 the castle was leased by the chief of Clan MacNeil to Historic Scotland for 1000 years for the annual sum of £1 and a bottle of whisky. For the 2011 census the island was classified by the National Records of Scotland as an inhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses".

Prior to the Covid pandemic, the castle was open to the public and could be accessed via boat trips. However, since then the castle has been closed to the public due to structural safety concerns. In late 2025, conservation efforts began with the intention of eventually re-opening the castle to the public.

Archaeological investigations were carried out at Kisimul Castle by Headland Archaeology, on behalf of Historic Scotland. This involved some excavation, building recording and archival research. It was hoped that the project would help clarify the date of the castle and its sequence of construction.

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

Kisimul Castle ranks #1,127 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #35 of the 167 mapped in Scotland. Founded 1427, it is older than 51% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 434 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,405 times in the last 60 days, more than 78% of the atlas. 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.

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