Kilchurn Castle, Scotland

The Kilchurn Castle is a ruined medieval castle located on a small peninsula along the marshy banks of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The castle was built around 1450 by Sir Colin Campbell and the 1st Lord of Glenorchy as a five storey tower house encircled with an outer wall. Under the Campbell family in 15th and 16th century the Kilchurn Castle went through further improvements and extensions but at the end of the 16th century the Campbells appointed the MacGregors of Glenstrae as the keepers of Kilchurn Castle.



The MacGregors stayed the keepers of the castle until the beginning of 17th century when after a serious dispute between the two families the Campbells retook possession. In the 1690's was along the northern wall of the castle constructed a range of barracks and along the north side added a three storey L-shaped block. During the Jacobite rising in 1715 and 1745 was the Kilchurn Castle used as a Government garrison. The Campbell family left the castle in 1740 and after it was seriously damaged by a lightning in 1760 was the Kilchurn Castle completely abandoned and fell in to a disrepair. In 1950's the Kilchurn Castle came under guardianship of the State and is today maintained by Historic Scotland and is during the summer open to the public.