visiting dunstaffnage castle and chapel ruins in scotland

There certainly are differences between ruins and ruins when it comes to castles – some being just a few scattered stones remaining, others with parts intact and restored – and the rest left for exploring. The ruins of Dunstaffnage Castle and nearby chapel near Oban in the region of Argyll and Bute in Scotland, are certainly closer to the first category – but were still worth a little pit-stop during our tour de Scotland the past summer.

Of these outer walls there is not much more than an arch and a window peep-hole remaining today…

This castle dates all the way back to 13th century, thus making it one of the oldest castles in Scotland. It had a somewhat irregular shape with three round towers, one of which was turned into a gatehouse in 15th century and has been partially now restored. The chapel was already in ruins by 1740, when a burial site for the family was built there.

Although the site doesn’t have that much to see, it does offer a good deal of exploring and beautiful scenery as it looks out to the sea and local bay full of boats – and gives a lot of ideas for imagination to go back in time… we thought it was a great stop on our way around from Scotland back towards England and the Lake District…

 In some areas it is easier to tell what rooms used to be located there from mill stones and fireplaces – but a lot is certainly left for imagination at this point!

Ship ahoy! The location of the castle was strategic from sea access point of view