Monday, October 12, 2015

The abandoned Kilchurn Castle in Scotland


Kilchurn Castle was built around 1450 by Sir Colin Campbell, first Lord of Glenorchy on an island inside Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was a a five storey tower house with a courtyard, defended by an outer wall. 

During the next centuries, the castle was extended and new chambers were built. In 1681, the castle was turned into a modern barracks, capable of housing 200 troops by its then owner, Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, 1st Earl of Breadalbane. During the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings, Kilchurn was used as a government garrison. 

The castle was abandoned in 1760, when it was badly damaged by lightning. The remains of a turret of a tower, are still resting upside-down in the centre of the courtyard. In 1817, the water level fell and since then the castle is connected to the mainland, resting on on a rocky peninsula at the northeastern end of Loch Awe.

Today, Kilchurn Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland and it is open for visits during the summer months. 































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