Duntulm Castle

Duntulm Castle stands ruined on the north coast of Trotternish on the Isle of Skye. It overlooks the sea from a basalt promontory near the hamlet of Duntulm. A ditch once defended the landward side of the site. The main structure measures about twenty-five by nine metres and once held a four-storey tower. An irregular curtain wall surrounds the remains of the tower and vaults. A later rectangular house was built inside the wall around 1650. The castle was the seat of the chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Sleat in the 17th century. In 1618 Sir Donald MacDonald of Sleat, known as Donald Gorm Og, signed a charter to repair the castle. Repairs added a second tower and improved defences. By 1732 the castle had been abandoned when the MacDonalds moved to Monkstadt House five miles to the south. Much of the stone was taken to build the new residence. Visitors find the ruins in very poor condition, with major falls of masonry. The only entrance was through a narrow cleft in the sea cliff. A local legend tells of a chieftain’s infant son who fell from a window and died on the rocks below. As punishment, the nursemaid was set adrift in a small boat on the North Atlantic. The site remains a scheduled monument on the Isle of Skye.