Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan (pop. 250) lies by the loch of the same name to the west of the Isle of Skye. It is noted mainly for its castle, one of the last inhabited seats of a Scottish clan, namely the MacLeods, who for centuries fought bloody battles against the MacDonalds of Armadale for supremacy of the island. The original building dates from the 13th century, but the keep was added in the 14th century and the Fairy Tower at the southeast corner of the rock was built ca. 1500. Norman, the 23rd clan chief, converted the building into a comfortable Victorian-style residence in the 19th century. Legends about fairies and crusaders surround the Fairy Flag (Am Bratach Sith), a piece of silk that originated in Rhodes or Syria and is said to date from between the fourth and seventh century. This ancient banner became a talisman for the MacLeods in battle and, according to legend, twice saved the clan from disaster. Of special interest in the castle are the family portraits which include work by Ramsay and Raeburn, letters from Sir Walter Scott and Dr Samuel Johnson who stopped off here on his Hebridean journey with companion James Boswell in 1773, an exhibition about the music and poetry of the MacCrimmons, old bagpipes, works by the Gaelic poetess MacLeod of Rodel (d. 1710) and the harp-playing bard Ruaraidh Dall Morrison.