Invergarry Castle
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Invergarry Castle was the seat of the Chiefs of the Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry, a powerful branch of the Clan Donald.
The castles' situation on Creagan an Fhithich - the Raven's Rock - overlooking Loch Oich in the Great Glen, was a strategic one in the days of clan warfare. It is not certain when the first structure was erected on Creagan an Fhithich but there are sites of at least two prior to the present Castle.
The present structure was designed on the "L" plan, with a round tower at the north-east angle. The main building rose to five and the angle tower to six storeys in height. The hall, on the first floor, measured 44 by 20 feet.
After raids by the Clan Mackenzie in 1602 which included the burning of Strome Castle, the MacDonalds of Glengarry fortified the Rock of the Raven, a rocky outcrop on the west bank of Loch Oich. The result was an imposing five storey L-plan tower house.
During the Civil War Oliver Cromwell's troops under General Monck burned the castle down in 1654. Repaired, it was held for King James VII of Scotland from 1688 until its surrender to the Government forces of William and Mary in 1692.
It was then held by the Jacobites during the 1715 uprising, but taken for the government in 1716. And during the 1745 uprising it was again held by Jacobites and visited twice by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
During the Jacobite Risings of 1745 to 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart - "Bonnie Prince Charlie" - visited the Castle in 1745, shortly after the raising of the Royal Standard at Glenfinnan and is said to have rested there after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden, in 1746. In the aftermath of Culloden it was sacked and partially blown up by troops under "Butcher Cumberland" as part of his systematic suppression of the Highlands. However the stout walls refused to yield and have survived the centuries to serve as a reminder to their glorious past.
Today there is a near by mansion called Glengarry Castle Hotel. In 1960 Invergarry House was reborn as the Glengarry Castle Hotel. It enjoys an enviable position overlooking Loch Oich, with the added attraction of the ruins of Invergarry Castle in the grounds.[1]
