Castle Stalker
History
The Clan MacDougall, the Lords of Lorn, built Castle Stalker around 1320. The MacDougalls lost their title after King Robert the Bruce defeated them at the Battle of Brander Pass but regained the title in 1328. In 1388, the Lordship of Lorn passed to the Stewarts, including its lands and Castle Stalker, when Sir John Stewart of Innermeath married Isabel MacDougall, the heiress of the Lords of Lorn. Stalker in Gaelic is Stalcaire, which means Hunter or Falconer.
The current castle was built by the Stewarts in the mid-15th century. Sir John Stewart, the 3rd Lord of Lorn, had a son, Dugald, out of wedlock in 1446. In 1463 John married his son's mother at Dunstaffnage Castle and was murdered outside the castle by Alan MacCoul, a MacDougall ally. His son Dugald became the 1st Chief of Appin. The Stewarts would have their revenge on MacCoul at the Battle of Stalc in 1468, opposite the castle, when the Stewarts defeated the MacDougalls and Alan MacCoul, who Dugald himself killed.
Castle Stalker on its tidal islet, with a boat beside it.
Dugald was succeeded as Chief of Appin by his son Duncan in 1497 after being killed during a raid against Macdonald of Keppoch in reprisal for a cattle reiving. King James IV of Scotland was a cousin of the Stewarts of Appin and visited Castle Stalker frequently during hunting trips to the Highlands. Additions to the castle were made around this time, including the top floor and roof. Duncan Stewart was murdered in 1512 by the McLeans at Duart Castle and was succeeded by his younger brother Alan Stewart. In 1513 the Stewarts of Appin supported King James IV at the Battle of Flodden. Though King James was killed and the English routed the Scottish forces at Flodden, the Stewart Chief, and his five sons survived the battle.
Further tensions arose in 1520, when Sir Alexander Stewart of Invernahyle was assassinated by the Campbells while fishing near the castle. His son, Donald nan Ord, led raids in revenge and took part in battles such as Pinkie in 1547.
The assassination of John Campbell of Cawdor in 1592 began a feud between the Stewarts and the Campbells. In 1645, the Stewarts of Appin fought the Campbells at the Battle of Inverlochy under Montrose. Around 1620 the 7th Stewart Chief, Duncan, lost Castle Stalker to the Campbells of Airds due to a drunken wager in exchange for an eight-oared wherry. The Stewarts would regain the castle in 1689 when they supported King James VII against King William, but after being defeated at the Battle of Dunkeld, the castle was again forfeited to the Campbells. The clan fought for the Jacobites at Sheriffmuir in 1715. Another account dates the Stewarts' recapture of the castle to 1685, after a long siege, and the surrender of their garrison to the forces of William and Mary to 1690.
The castle with the hills behind it.
During the 1745 Jacobite Rising, Castle Stalker was garrisoned with about 59 Government troops under the Campbells. The Stewarts of Appin, supporting Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, besieged the castle with 300 soldiers, but the castle held out against the siege. Castle Stalker was used during the rising as ships frequently stopped with troops and supplies as they sailed between Inveraray and Fort William. Another account says that Dugald, the 9th Chief, did not support the Rising, and that the clan was led by Stewart of Ardshiel. After the Loss at Culloden in 1746, Castle Stalker was used by Government forces as a center where Clansmen had to surrender their weapons.
In 1775 the last Campbell was born in the castle and continued to use it as a home until 1800 when they built a house on the mainland. By 1840, the roof had fallen in or been removed to avoid the roof tax, and the castle was abandoned. The Stewart chief had sold the Appin lands in 1765, and one account says the castle was roofless by 1831.
Charles Stewart of Achara purchased Castle Stalker from the Campbells in 1908 and conducted preservation work to keep the castle from further ruin. In 1947 Duncan Stewart was murdered, passing the castle to his widow. Then in 1965, Lieutenant Colonel D. R. Stewart Allward purchased the castle and spent the next ten years rebuilding and restoring it to its current state, once again a home.
Castle Highlights
The castle seen through the trees from the shore.
Castle Stalker is a four-story tower house castle located on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off of Loch Linnhe. It is a Category A listed building and one of the best-preserved medieval tower houses in western Scotland. The castle is privately owned but sometimes opens for visitors in summer. It is only accessible by boat when the tours are available. You must book online ahead of time, as only a limited number of visitors can go on each tour. The tours for 2026 have finished and the castle is closed for the winter, and the 2027 tour dates are expected to be released in February 2027, so check the calendar on the castle's website closer to the time. The great hall is the best feature inside the castle, containing large fireplaces, suits of armor, and medieval weaponry, including swords, spears, and targes.
The castle reflected in Loch Laich.
The castle is very picturesque on its island and is worth the drive just viewing from across the Loch if you are in the area. It may look familiar to many as it appears in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Castle of Arrrgh!), Highlander: Endgame, Sense8, and the Black Mirror episode "Loch Henry," and it inspired Castle Keep in Susan Cooper's children's book The Boggart. A legend says that a ball of shining light appearing above the castle is a herald of death for the Stewarts. Kilchurn Castle and Dunstaffnage Castle are close enough to visit on the same day.
