Urquhart Castle is believed to have been home to Bridei, King of the Pics in the 6th century and in AD 580 was visited by St. Columba. The first known castle was built by the Durward Family around the 1230s after they were granted permission to do so by King Alexander II. During the Wars of Independence, Urquhart Castle was seized by the English. However, following their defeat at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, the garrison at Urquhart either abandoned or surrendered the castle. In the 1300s, Urquhart featured prominently in the Scots’ struggle for independence. The castle came under the control of Robert the Bruce from the English after he became King of Scots in 1306. In 1332, in the dark days following Robert I’s death, Urquhart was the only Highland castle to hold out against the English. The castle remained a royal Scottish stronghold until 1509 when it was granted to Clan Grant. This brought it into the frontline as clan warfare broke out between the MacDonalds, Lords of the Isles, and the Grants. Time and again, they swept through Glen Urquhart in their quest for more power. Their last raid, in 1545, proved the worst. The Islesmen stripped Urquhart of virtually everything of value, including 3 great boats and 20 guns. The castle played no notable role during the War of the Three Kingdoms other than being stormed by a band of Covenanters on Christmas Day 1644, who were protesting at the Grants’ support of King Charles I. The castle was last garrisoned in 1689 when King James VII fled in the wake of the Glorious Revolution which prompted the first of the Jacobite Risings – a string of armed attempts to restore the Catholic Stuart line. Much of the Jacobites’ support came from the Highlands, and so Urquhart became a garrison for government forces for more than two years. When the last soldiers marched out of the castle in 1692, they blew it up. Today Urquhart Castle is cared for my Historic Environment Scotland and open to public. #scotland #castle #lochness #scottishhighlands #travel
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