Castle Stalker on Loch Linnhe in the Appin District of Argyll & Bute. XPL 4571-431
Castle Stalker is a four story tower house or keep picturesquely set on a small islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe. It is located about miles ( km) north east of Port Appin, Argyll, Scotland and visible from the A828 main road about mid-way between Oban and Glen Coe. The islet is accessible (with difficulty) from the shore at low tide. 56°34′″N, 5°23′″W. Castle StalkerThe name 'Stalker' comes from the Gaelic Stalcaire, meaning 'hunter' or 'falconer'. In recent times the castle was brought to fame by the Monty Python team, appearing in their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It also appeared in the film Highlander: Endgame. The Castle's almost exaggeratedly picturesque appearance, with its island setting against a backdrop of mountains, has made it a favourite subject for post-cards and calenders, and something of a cliché image of Scottish Highland scenery. It should be noted, however, that Stalker's appearance is entirely authentic, and it is one of the best-preserved medieval tower-houses surviving in western Scotland. The site is similar to the prehistoric crannogs, but the official web-site history page gives the origin of the castle as being a small fort built around 1320 by Clan MacDougall who were then Lords of Lorn. Around 1388 the Stewarts took over the Lordship of Lorn, and it is believed that they built the castle in its present form around the 1440s. The web-site tells a dramatic story of arguments, murders, hunting visits by the Stewart's relative King James IV of Scotland and a drunken bet around 1620 resulting in the castle passing to Clan Campbell. After changing hands between these clans a couple of times the Campbells finally abandoned the castle around 1840, when it lost its roof. Then in 1908 a Stewart bought the castle and carried out basic conservation work, and in 1965 Lt. Col. D. R. Stewart Allward acquired the castle and over about ten years fully restored it. Castle Stalker is in private ownership, but the o
Size: 5445px × 3528px
Location: Castle Stalker, Appin. Argyll and Bute. Strathclyde. Scotland. United Kingdom
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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