Dunvegan Castle

This castle is one of the castles that has been lived in by one family for the longest time in Scotland.  The McCleod (said Mc Cloud) family is still in residence.  The current owner is the 30th clan chief of Clan McCleod with the first chief dating back to 1200.  There has only been one female clan chief (Dame Flora).

The family has lived in the castle for over 350 years.  In the late 1800s the chief decided it was time to remodel and update the castle, so much of the bare rock walls were covered and wooden floors put down, etc.  Its very liveable today.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I got one of a hallway to give the flavor of the building.

Renovations continue in different parts of the castle.  I also snuck a picture of the stone walls with the drywall being fitted against it.  It must be pretty labor intensive and take a lot of workmanship.

Two of the four levels were open to the public.  The tour ladies said that it was quite expensive to keep up a historic castle.  They worked on renovating the entryway last winter and was started as a straightforward job became more costly when asbestos was discovered in the walls.  I'm sure that's the story of the whole castle.

The most enchanting part of the castle was the "fairy flag" that has been the most treasured possession of the family for centuries.  The Victoria and Albert museum dates the silk and embroidery fabric to 400-700 AD originating in Syria.  There are lots of legends about how it came to the family, but no one knows the truth.  It is believed that the flag has magic powers and those that carry it into battle will win. (There are what appear to be cut out chunks of the flag and one of the guides speculated that the family would take parts of the flag with them to battle).  Its now in a frame under glass, so it would be difficult to carry in to battle today : )

List of the 30 chiefs of the Clan McCloed. With the current Hugh as the 30th chief in residence.

There are still several servant hallways inside the walls.  This leads from the kitchens in the basement to the dining hall.

Front entry to the castle.  This was added later.  In earlier years the only entry was from the sea side door (seen in the picture below this).

You can see the original sea side entrance just above David's head in the wall below the main castle.

The gardens were amazing.  The water garden actually had two waterfalls and a stream flowing through it.  There was a "round garden" that was quite formal.  And a Walled garden with a green house.  The green houses (or glass houses as they are called) have all had lots of geraniums in them.  At Crathes castle, I found several scented varieties that were quite strong.  I spoke to a gardener and she said she was one of 4 full time gardeners, along with two part times.  I asked how she kept up with everything and she said "I just keep working one end to the next".

The water Garden

The circle garden

Lots of the greenhouses had geraniums.

The walled garden

Sea side view