In July, we spent a week in an apartment within walking distance of Eilean Donan, arguably the most romantic and most photographed of all Scotland’s castles. It’s a bit of a cheat though – originally established in 1230, it was destroyed during the Jacobite uprising in 1719 and what you see today was rebuilt between 1912 and 1932 by a British army officer, John MacRae-Gilstrap. The MacRae clan has ancestral links to the area and its war memorial is below the castle walls (see gallery below).
We took a stroll round the exterior after we arrived late on Saturday afternoon, and returned a few days later to look inside. No interior photography was allowed, but I think the exterior is the spectacular part anyway.
In the last picture above we are looking down from the castle onto the remains of a medieval tower (more or less obscured by a tree). Beyond it, immediately before the northern end of the road bridge, you can just make out our apartments. To the right of the bridge is the village of Dornie, and we finished our afternoon / early evening by following the dead-end road through the village to its termination at the small settlement of Bundalloch (just over a mile each way). We could again see our apartments on the other side of Loch Long.
In the last image above, the windows just above the fence belonged to us. I can highly recommend Eilean Donan Apartments which are operated by the same trust which owns the castle. The building was initially constructed as a hotel in the late 19th century, but has been extensively refurbished over the last few years into eleven self-catering units for 2-8 people. We loved it!
We settled in for our first evening, but the view across Loch Long to Dornie kept distracting us from making plans for the next seven days. These pictures were taken around 10pm – it’s wonderful when it stays light so late.
Spoiler alert: we did make some plans. What would the next day bring? Coming next – Applecross.
Those Scottish castles are so impressive and I don’t think it really matters that it was rebuilt 100 years ago. Still fairly old and looks amazing.
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Wow! What a gorgeous place. You had beautiful weather, and your photos, with all those reflections, are stunning. I can see why that castle is one of the most romantic and most photographed of Scotland’s castles. I know it was reconstructed, but it might be in ruins otherwise. So I’m glad it was. And your apartment looks marvelous. What a special place this is. 🙂
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I love the first photo of the castle, it’s a beautiful shot 🙂 To me there’s nothing more frustrating than going to somewhere like that and not being allowed to take photos inside, especially when most places encourage you to buy their official guide book 😦 Your apartment looks very nice and I love the photo of Dornie and Loch Long, it looks really nice 🙂
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It was all gorgeous! Kudos to John for that first shot (though actually, I took one with my phone that wasn’t bad either …)
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That first photo of the castle is very lovely. It really stands out given the castle is sunshine and the hills behind it are not. I’m looking forward to reaching here on my coast walk (though it will not be until next year).
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It was right at the end of the afternoon – gorgeous light. It’s a lovely bit of coast, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
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I also think, like Duart, it actually looks like a “castle” whereas Culzean I always thought looks more like an overgrown country house. Excellent photographs and the village of Dornie look quiet and peaceful. You have been very lucky with the weather of late. Hope it keeps up for Applecross
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We were lucky that whole week – just one afternoon of rain. It does look like a proper castle even if it is a bit fake!
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I’ve been to Eilean Donan, possible on one of the Scottish Six-day weeks for orienteering, which I did through the 80s and 90s. I remember Dornie forest, and may be able to find the map in my tidy up and throw out sessions coming up.
And you’re off to Applecross! That was very memorable day out. I think I drove over from the Black Isle, down along Loch Torridon, which seemed almost Mediterranean that day. I loved Applecross, and had the pastel painting I did displayed on a wall until the other day when paintings got sorted. It’s definitely staying, though.
Looking forward to your photos!
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It’s a beautiful area especially with the sun shining – which it did for Applecross too. Fabulous!
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The weather was very kind to you this day, giving you clear skies for such beautiful photos. A castle with a matching stone bridge will always be an eye-catcher for me!
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It was kind – in fact it held up for most of the week. In 3 separate Scottish breaks this year we have been lucky. Eilean Donan is certainly eye-catching: it was great to come home to that every evening.
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