A very old castle on Scotland’s west coast is soon to shine in renewed splendour and once again stand proudly overlooking the Sound of Mull.
Until now, the castle has barely stood out. Tourists taking the ferry from the wild Ardnamurchan peninsula to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull may have glanced, puzzled, at the grey, unremarkable block near the ferry landing. There’s no way to guess that an ancient castle lies hidden behind it.
The beauty of Mingary Castle truly doesn’t reveal itself from a distance, either, since from there all you see are grey stone walls up to 14 metres high.
Only as you draw closer does its geometric elegance catch the eye. Mingary Castle is a hexagonal statement of power, built on a rocky spur jutting into the sea. Wall-walks run behind the battlements, and inside are simple, multi-storey quarters, primarily intended for a military garrison.
There’s nothing contrived about Mingary Castle, no frills. It has remained exactly what it was built to be: an honest fighting colossus, a looming guardian over the Sound of Mull, once controlling the sea route so vital to trade along Scotland’s west coast.
At a time when old castles elsewhere were being “manor-housed” and surrounded with elaborate gardens, Mingary Castle’s owners had already left it to decay – and, strangely enough, that very neglect is precisely what preserved its original construction.
But today, decay threatens the castle in a place you wouldn’t expect – not in the metre-thick walls. It’s the rock beneath, slowly gnawed away by wind and sea, now crumbling away block by block. Mingary is under threat right at its foundations.
A second spring for Mingary Castle
Anyone looking at the castle today (as of autumn 2014) sees nothing at all of the walls. A large scaffold envelops the castle, because Mingary Castle is being rebuilt. (It almost feels as though there’s currently something of a castle renaissance underway on Ardnamurchan – nearby Castle Tioram was also due to be renovated soon, though that plan has since fallen through.)
Landowner Donald Houston set up the Mingary Castle Trust for this purpose, which drew up a restoration plan and is now carrying it out. First, specialists tackled the rock beneath the walls. They drilled metre-deep holes and filled them with resin or mortar in order to “pin” the outer blocks back into place.
After that, the field was left to the archaeologists, who calmly unearthed some fascinating finds: coins, cannonballs, the stones of the old archway, arrowheads, bones, and fragments of glass and pottery all came to light.
Builders have been at work since the autumn and have already given the castle a temporary roof for the winter. The stones inside are being collected, washed by hand, sorted and stored in a shed, ready to be returned to their original place in the castle walls at the right moment, bonded with a special mortar modelled on the original.
By the end of 2014, Mingary is expected to overlook the Sound of Mull once more in its old splendour. This time, though, without any warlike purpose. Instead, there’s talk of a kind of guesthouse, with several bedrooms, a dining hall, a library and more – though whether it will be open for visits is, unfortunately, still unclear at this stage.
Know: Mingary Castle’s mysterious history
The thick fog of time has obscured the castle’s origins. No one knows for certain either the date it was built, its builder, or the precise meaning of the name “Mingary”. So all that remains are guesses. It’s generally assumed, for instance, that Mingary was built around the same time as Tioram. Castle Tioram was mentioned in a chronicle in 1380, so a date in the mid-14th century is probably likely for Mingary too.
Even more uncertain than the founding date is the identity of the builder responsible. Historians disagree considerably over who held sway over the Ardnamurchan peninsula in the 13th and 14th centuries. No fewer than four parties are in the running: the MacIans, the MacDonalds, the MacDougalls, and the MacRuairis. No one can say for certain who was really responsible.
What is clear, however, is that Mingary was at times part of the coastal defence network of the Lords of the Isles – just like, for example, Duart Castle on Mull. In this way, the sea route along the west coast, so crucial for trade at the time, was controlled and secured.
And finally, the castle’s name too is a matter of guesswork alone. Mingary is likely an anglicised version of the Gaelic “Mioghairidh”. Some believe it derives from the Old Norse words “mikil gardhr”, meaning roughly “great house”. Others claim it means “great land between machair and moor” (machair being a fertile strip of coastal land).
Reliable historical knowledge exists for the second building phase, however, carried out in the 16th century, when the interior of the castle was given its present-day form. Further building work followed in the centuries after that, until the castle was finally abandoned in 1848.
Tip: Follow along as the castle is restored
What really impresses me is the blog documenting the construction work. It lets you follow the progress of the work in real detail, with photos from every conceivable angle – even aerial shots. It also reports on the archaeologists’ findings, presenting discoveries and explaining building plans.
So you can watch Mingary being rebuilt from up close, without ever having to travel to Scotland. By the way, blog author Jon Haylet also kindly provided me with all the photos here except one.
Personal note: A view from the ferry
I too have so far only ever seen Mingary from a distance – after all, the castle sits on private land. So my own photos of the castle are taken only from the pier at Kilchoan.
Set against the dramatic backdrop behind it, the grey walls barely stand out – probably one reason why some tourists don’t even notice it at all. I’m sure that’s set to change soon, once life returns to the old stones.
Getting there:
With a sat nav: “PH36 4LJ” takes you close to the ferry landing, from where you can see the castle.
Without a sat nav: either take the ferry from Tobermory on Mull over to Kilchoan, or approach via Ardnamurchan on the A861 and then the B8007.