Achallader Castle

Achallader Castle stands as a ruined 16th-century tower house beneath Beinn Achaladair, about 5.6 kilometres north of Bridge of Orchy in Argyll and Bute. It was built near the northern end of Loch Tulla and added to over decades by different clans, mainly the McHoughtons. The Fletchers, originally Macinleisters, were among the first to settle the Braes of Glenorchy. Sir Duncan Campbell of Glen Orchy took control of the castle and lands in 1587 after betraying the Fletcher chief. The MacGregors destroyed the castle in 1603 during a conflict. The castle’s history includes a violent episode where Sir Duncan Campbell ordered an English servant to graze his horse on Fletcher land. When warned off in Gaelic, the servant did not understand, so the Fletchers shot him. Campbell advised the Fletcher laird to flee to France to avoid punishment, and the property was handed over to him. The MacGregors later burned the castle in 1603. In 1683, a royal commission led by Sir William Drummond of Cromlix stayed at the castle and met with McIain, who would later be killed in the Glencoe massacre. Today, only two walls remain of the castle, which once had three storeys and a garret with shot-holes for defence. The ruins shelter the farm buildings of Achallader Farm and are protected as a scheduled monument. In 1689, the McIains returning from the Battle of Killiecrankie pulled down what they could of the castle, leaving it in its current state. In 1691, John, Earl of Breadalbane, met with Highland chiefs at the ruin to negotiate treaties under King William’s authority. The castle’s remaining walls show traces of corbelling, marking its former strength.