A Castle for All Seasons
Urquhart was transformed many times during its long history, shaped and reshaped by its owners' changing needs and circumstances.
1. The Pictish Hill Fort
The first defences could date from before St Columba's . . . — — Map (db m127302) HM
A Highland Icon
‘S a bhaidealan àrda
Air sgàineadh o chèil’
‘S chan eil eachdraidh no seanchas
A dh'fhàg dearbhadh o chèin
Air an àl chuir an àird e
No dhaingnich a stèidh
Òran do Ghleann urchadain — Tòmas an Todhair
. . . — — Map (db m127243) HM
The greatest castle of the Scottish Highlands stands before you. Within its ruined walls, you can discover stories of the remarkable people who lived here, learn more about some of the dramatic chapters in Scotland's history and share memorable . . . — — Map (db m87602) HM
Destroying the Gatehouse
Blocks of masonry were thrown here by an explosion in 1692 that ended the castle's long military career. Its garrison deliberately destroyed the gatehouse to prevent their Jacobite enemies from holding the medieval fortress . . . — — Map (db m127246) HM
Doocot
This beehive-shaped home for pigeons was built in the 1500s torovide fresh meat and eggs during the harsh winter months. Four of its stone nesting boxes survive.
John Grant was required to build a 'dove grove' under the terms of the . . . — — Map (db m127296) HM
Ghosts of Urquhart’s Past
Urquhart Castle is a jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing. Walls have been demolished and new ones raised many times during the last 1,500 years. Timber buildings have rotted away entirely.
Stone Free . . . — — Map (db m127294) HM
Loch Ness and the Great Glen
Urquhart guards the Great Glen, An Gleann Mòr in Gaelic, that runs 73 miles (117km) from coast to coast. People have sought to control this route since ancient times. The castle commands Loch Ness as well as . . . — — Map (db m127304) HM
The Chapel
On the rocky knoll above you are the foundations of what may have been Urquhart's chapel. The laird and his family needed somewhere private to hear Mass and receive Holy Communion from a priest.
From Worship to Warfare
There . . . — — Map (db m127253) HM
The Gatehouse
This once mighty structure protected the weakest point in Urquhart's defences — its main entrance.
Attackers had to negotiate the rock-cut ditch that was crossed by a drawbridge you can see where its pillars once fitted, . . . — — Map (db m127248) HM
The Grant Tower
This tower was built some time after King James IV gave Urquhart to John Grant of Freuchie in 1509. It was reward for supporting the monarch in his struggle against the MacDonald Lords of the Isles.
The King's Gift . . . — — Map (db m127258) HM
The Great Hall
Lavish banquets with music, dancing and storytelling were staged in the building before you.
This was where Urquhart's lord or his constable entertained guests and showed off their wealth and status. It was also where they . . . — — Map (db m127255) HM
The Great Kitchen
This room was alive with the sights, sounds and smells of a great medieval kitchen. It was where the culinary creations enjoyed by the 14th-century lord and his guests were concocted.
The discovery of an older kitchen rubbish . . . — — Map (db m127250) HM
The Great Raid of 1545
In 1545, a MacDonald-led force stormed Urquhart. Over the next month they systematically stripped the castle and Glen Urquhart of everything of value. The loot was carried away down the Great Glen. They burned what they could . . . — — Map (db m127252) HM
The New Kitchen
Hearty Highland meals may have been prepared here for the residents of the Grant Tower.
The building was part of a small complex added to the castle when it was rebuilt in the 1500s. The old kitchen block had been demolished by . . . — — Map (db m127257) HM
The Private Chamber
The laird of Grant probably entertained close friends here on the first floor and had his bed on the second. Servants may have slept above.
All In the Family
The Grants were based in Strathspey, southeast of . . . — — Map (db m127259) HM
The Service Close
In the 1300s, you would have seen men and women making and repairing clothes, heard wood being worked into furniture and smelt ale being brewed around here.
The service close was sited away from the main castle buildings and . . . — — Map (db m127291) HM
The Stables
These walls may have echoed with the clatter of horses' hooves. Close to the gatehouse, this was the ideal spot for the castle's stables.
Carrying a Heavy Load
Riding horses or ‘coursours' carried nobles; pack horses or . . . — — Map (db m127260) HM
The Trebuchet
To breach the walls of a castle as mighty as Urquhart, an attacker needed siege engines. Most fearsome was the trebuchet, a type of giant catapult that could hurl massive stone balls hundreds of metres.
There is no record of . . . — — Map (db m127245) HM
The Water Gate
This gate linked Urquhart to the outside world. When roads were almost nonexistent, it was easier for people to travel along the loch by boat.
Everything the castle needed came through the water gate, including exotic imports . . . — — Map (db m127293) HM
Urquhart the Defiant
Urquhart was held by some of the most powerful men in medieval Scotland and forged a reputation as a virtually impregnable fortress during the Wars of Independence.
A New Castle
This is the oldest part of the . . . — — Map (db m127301) HM
