Invergarry Castle

Invergarry Castle stands on Creagan an Fhithich, the Raven’s Rock, above Loch Oich in the Great Glen. It was the stronghold of the MacDonell chiefs of Glengarry, a powerful branch of Clan Donald. The site commands a strategic view over the glen, a position that mattered in times of clan feuds. Earlier fortifications may have existed here, but the present ruins date from after 1670. The castle was built partly with stones passed hand to hand from Ben Tee, according to tradition. The castle’s history is tied to Scotland’s turbulent centuries. Cromwell’s troops burned it in 1654, and it was later held for James VII before surrendering to William and Mary’s forces. It sheltered Jacobites in 1715 and 1745, and Bonnie Prince Charlie rested here after Culloden. Government troops under the Duke of Cumberland partly demolished it in 1746. The stout walls survived, though the MacDonells moved to a new house nearby. Visitors today see a roofless L-plan tower of five or six storeys. The great hall on the first floor once held painted ceilings and tapestries. An external staircase led to the upper floors, while the basement contained kitchens. The courtyard once held stables, workshops and a brewhouse, all now gone. A 1714 drawing by the Board of Ordnance shows how the castle looked in its prime. The ruins stand as a quiet reminder of the clan’s past.