Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 1 on 5/3/2002.

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Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye

Charles Douglas takes a trip to picturesque Skye to take in 800 years of history at the MacLeod ancestral home - Dunvegan.

Skye is perhaps best known for the fleeting visit of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 1746, but it is also an island of contrasts with a busy infrastructure and a thriving tourist industry. And foremost among its visitor attractions is Dunvegan Castle, the ancient stronghold of the Chiefs of Clan Macleod, once one of the most influential families of Scotland's western seaboard.

It is generally accepted that the original Leod was a younger son of Olaf (The Black), a Viking who was King of the Isle of Man and the northern isles, and who died in 1237. Leod inherited the island of Lewis and part of Skye and later Glenelg on the mainland, from his brother. His marriage to the daughter of Paul Balkasson, Sheriff of Skye, brought him Dunvegan, the formidable castle on the rock on the west coast of the island, and consolidated his power.

Leod had four sons. Tormod, the eldest, inherited Harris and Dunvegan and adopted the title 'Macleod of Dunvegan' as Chief of the Clan. The second son, Torquil, inherited Lewis, founding the Macleod of Lewis line, which failed in 1610.

Although the Macleods of Dunvegan have possessed their castle for over 800 years, the fortress we see today bears little resemblance to the original fortification. A 'romantic' restoration was carried out by the 25th Chief between 1840 and 1850 with plans by Robert Brown of Edinburgh at a cost of £8,000. Leod's fort would have been enclosed within a mighty curtain wall with a single entrance where the sea gate sta.....

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By Charles Douglas

Section : Historic Houses

Page number : 26