Ormond Castle

Ormond Castle stands on a ridge above the village of Avoch on the Black Isle, overlooking the Moray Firth. Built in the late 12th century, it was later rebuilt as a strong rectangular fortress with square corner towers between 1200 and 1214 by William the Lion. The castle controlled sea access to Inverness and was a key royal stronghold in the region. By the 13th century, it passed to the de Moravia family, who ruled vast lands across Moray. Andrew de Moravia gathered men from Moray to join King John Balliol at the castle during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The castle later came into the hands of the Douglas family through marriage. Joanna of Bothwell, heiress to the de Moravia estates, married Archibald the Grim in 1362, bringing Ormond Castle into the Douglas domain. The title of Earl of Ormonde was created in 1445 for Hugh Douglas, third son of the 7th Earl of Douglas. After the Black Douglases fell in 1455, the castle was forfeited to the crown and granted to George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, a rival of the Black Douglases. Today, only ruins remain of Ormond Castle, destroyed in the 1650s by Oliver Cromwell. The site offers views over the Moray Firth and the surrounding countryside. The remains of the rectangular fortress and its square corner towers are still visible. The castle’s history reflects the power struggles of medieval Scotland, from the de Moravia and Douglas families to Cromwell’s forces. A visit reveals both the strategic importance of its location and the layers of its past.