I had planned to do a quick picknick with a view of Eilean Donan Castle but the weather wasn´t quite in the mood for that. But I still enjoyed looking at this Scottish beauty I´ve already known from so many movies.
Eilean Donan ( Eilean Donnain) Is a small island in the Scottish Highlands where three lochs meet: Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh. The picturesque castle is often described as the most beautiful in Scotland and is connected with a stone bridge to the mainland since a renovation in the 20th century.
The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan MacRae. In the early eighteenth century, the Mackenzies’ involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle’s destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap’s twentieth-century reconstruction of the ruins produced the present buildings (Wikipedia)
The village Dornie about one kilometre from the castle. The castle was rebuilt between 1919 and 1932 and included the construction of the arched stone bridge. The rebuilding followed the exact ground plan but details of the present castle differ from its original appearance.
I didn´t feel the need to go inside (and visit during the day) but came back the next day in the evening. When the official opening times are over one is allowed to cross the bridge for free and walk around the island – and there were way fewer people than during the day!
Again the view from above – from the old road.
