The MacDonald's

After crossing Skye Bridge and finding my way to the MacKinnon Country House Hotel (it was pretty nice) I realized that I had a lot of light left so off I went.  I decided not to venture too far so I looked at the map and found my way to Castle Donald.

 

 

Castle Armadale

The MacDonald Clan Tartan

The MacDonald's or "Clan of Donald" is one of the largest clans in Scotland.  They can trace their origins from Dòmhnall Mac Raghnuill (1250), whose father Reginald or Ranald was styled "King of the Isles" and "Lord of Argyll and Kintyre.   They also fought with Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. It is told that Donald's great grandson, Angus Og of Islay led a small group at the Battle of Bannockburn and in recognition of the clan's service, King Robert the Bruce proclaimed that "Clan Donald would always occupy the honored position on the right wing of the Scottish army. Donald's son was the original 'Mac' which means 'son of'." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Donald

 

 

 

 

Clan Donald Skye was once a part of the traditional lands of Clan Donald, but the estate was purchased by the Clan Donald Lands Trust in 1971. The purpose of the trust was to promote an understanding of the history and traditions of Clan Donald and the Lordship of the Isles.

 

 

 

Armadale Castle was build in 1790.  It actually began as a country house that was built in the 1700s to house the widow of the late chief (a dower house). In 1790 a mansion house was built and then in 1815 a Scottish baronial style mock-castle, intended for show rather than defense, was built next to the house.  In 1855, after a fire destroyed parts of the original castle, the house was replaced by just a central wing.  You can stay in one of the lodges on the property as well as hold your wedding in the gardens and castle.

 

 This is a shot from the path on the way to the castle

 

 

 

I was too late to be able to go through the museum but again I was able to walk the grounds which were just fabulous. The gardens around the castle have been maintained, and they total 20,000 acres.   On the Estate, the Trust has the Home Farm, some 10,500 acres of crofting townships, and commercial and natural woodlands.

 

Everything was in full bloom 

 

The land runs right up to the sea and there are some lovely views from the grounds.

 

I had dinner that night just outside the grounds at The Stables Restaurant.  I had the whole place to myself and I ate venison that was from the somewhere on the estates 20,000 acres and mussels (for the first time) from the sea.  It was a good start to this part of my trip.