Bogging It

Today’s walks were both really close to where we are staying. From our cottage, we look across a small loch to Beinn Lora so we walked up to the summit in the morning. Nice trail through forest then boggy once the trail emerges from the trees, we seem to walk boggy ground every day. As a result, our pants and boots are always covered in mud.

The afternoon walk took us along the coast just north of Oban and up and down the hills to Dunstaffnage Castle. Dunstaffnage Castle is a bit of a monstrosity, built by the MacDougalls in the 13th century atop a plug of rock. It has a massive curtain wall around the edge of the plug of rock making for a great defensive position.

The castle was defended from the battlements at the top and there were arrow slits which were later converted to gun openings. The three round towers allowed covering fire, the towers were always built in a round shape to defend against cannon balls. The weakest part of the curtain wall was the entrance gate, but it was rebuilt in 1500.

During the wars of independence against England, Alexander MacDougall allied himself with King Edward I of England. Edward I was known as the Hammer of the Scots for his relentless aim to become the overlord of Scotland. His retaliatory measures against the Scots often involved slaughter of the people.

As MacDougall was allied with Edward I, Robert the Bruce attacked Dunstaffnage and laid siege. Bruce defeated the MacDougalls and captured the castle, which was the end of the MacDougalls control of the castle. In 1321 or 1322, Dunstaffnage was granted to Archibald Campbell. Campbell rebuilt the entrance gate and the rounded gate tower was eventually replaced by a more quadrangular tower which exists today.

Later in the 16th century, two floors were added to the gate tower, transforming it into a Scottish towerhouse.

View from Beinn Lora

Dunstaffnage Castle