Urquhart Castle (/ˈɜːrkərt/ⓘUR-kərt; Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal na Sròine) is a ruined castle that sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The castle is on the A82 road, 21 kilometres (13 mi) south-west of Inverness and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the village of Drumnadrochit.
The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. It was subsequently held as a royal castle and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross. The castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued. Despite a series of further raids the castle was strengthened, only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed. In the 20th century, it was placed in state care as a scheduled monument and opened to the public: it is now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland and received 547,518 visitors in 2019.[1][2]
The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area.[3] It was approached from the west and defended by a ditch and drawbridge. The buildings of the castle were laid out around two main enclosures on the shore. The northern enclosure or Nether Bailey includes most of the more intact structures, including the gatehouse, and the five-story Grant Tower at the north end of the castle. The southern enclosure or Upper Bailey, sited on higher ground, comprises the scant remains of earlier buildings.
^"ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
^Historic Environment Scotland. "Urquhart Castle (SM90309)". Retrieved 26 October 2021.
UrquhartCastle (/ˈɜːrkərt/ UR-kərt; Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal na Sròine) is a ruined castle that sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The...
in Scotland named Urquhart, one in Elgin and one on the Black Isle. There is also most famously UrquhartCastle, by Glen Urquhart and on the banks of...
southwestern end. There are nine villages around the loch, as well as UrquhartCastle; the village of Drumnadrochit contains a "Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition"...
buildings in Urquhart and Glenmoriston UrquhartCastleUrquhart and Logie Wester, a parish in the county of Ross and Cromarty, Scotland Urquhart, Georgia...
of UrquhartCastle on the shores of Loch Ness, wrote to King Edward in July 1297: "Some evil disposed people have joined Andrew Moray at the castle of...
Previous sonar attempts were inconclusive or negative. Peter MacNab at UrquhartCastle on 29 July 1955 took a photograph that depicted two long black humps...
other fieldwork at Forteviot, Perthshire, 1981; B, Excavations at UrquhartCastle, Inverness-shire, 1983; C, Excavations at Dunnottar, Kincardineshire...
during the First War of Scottish Independence. He was the constable of UrquhartCastle (1296-1297) and after the English defeat at the Battle of Stirling...
Alexandre Trauner. The scenes set in Scotland were filmed on location at UrquhartCastle on the banks of Loch Ness; Kilmartin Hall on Loch Meiklie; Nairn railway...
of Flodden when he decided to attack the UrquhartCastle. Some sources say that Macdonald occupied the castle for three years despite the efforts of the...
The Raids of Urquhart were two raids carried out in the vicinity of UrquhartCastle in the Scottish Highlands in October 1544 and April 1545 where a large...
(the Loch Ness Backpackers Lodge). Attractions include the nearby UrquhartCastle, one of the most visited sites managed by Historic Scotland, and Nessieland...
Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and UrquhartCastle. Along with the A9 and the A90 it is one of the three major north–south...
Morrow. ISBN 9780688033248. Retrieved 10 May 2012. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tower houses. Cutaway drawing of UrquhartCastle tower house...
a' Chàirn Stac Polly Strathspey Railway Sutherland Tor Castle Torridon Hills UrquhartCastle West Highland Line (scenic railway) West Highland Way (Long-distance...
in Canada. Castle Grant was the seat of the Chief of Clan Grant. Muckrach Castle was the seat of the Grants of Rothiemurchus. UrquhartCastle owned by the...
Feargus Urquhart is a Scottish-American video game designer and CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. Urquhart is best known for his work at Interplay Entertainment...
choose to travel by dragon, which took 21 minutes. When navigating from UrquhartCastle to Fort Augustus( see it ), the user would choose to travel by the...
Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and is an historic home of the Urquhart family. The U-plan castle is composed of two main wings flanking the entrance and connected...
This is a list of castles in the Highland council area of Scotland. Castles in Scotland List of castles in Scotland List of listed buildings in Highland...
Phadrig is not universally accepted, and other sites including UrquhartCastle and Inverness Castle have been suggested. "Craig Phadrig". Forestry and Land Scotland...
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