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Building or ruin · Medieval · Highland

Inverlochy Castle

About 90 min

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A 13th-century stone quadrangle that has kept the same four corner towers and curtain wall since it was built, having hosted two battles without ever being substantially rebuilt.

Where the River Lochy widens toward the sea, four round towers still mark the corners of a stone quadrangle much as they did when the walls were finished some seven hundred years ago. Unlike most Scottish castles, which were extended, slighted, rebuilt, and extended again across the centuries, this one has barely changed shape since it was raised, so the courtyard a visitor stands in today is close to the one its first builders laid out.

That builder was John Comyn, known as “the Black”, Lord of Badenoch and Lochaber and chief of Clan Comyn, who chose the spot for the plainest of reasons: it commands the entrance to the Great Glen, the natural corridor cutting through the Highlands, with the river itself doing the work of a defensive ditch on one side. A curtain wall up to nearly three metres thick did the rest, with the largest of the four towers serving as the donjon, or keep, at the heart of the defence.

The castle’s history reads as a run of confrontations rather than gradual decline: a king’s army defeated close by its walls in the fifteenth century, a royalist victory fought under its shadow in the seventeenth, and, in between, spells as a royal garrison and a private stronghold changing hands between rival families.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

History

Around 1270 to 1280, John Comyn, known as "the Black", Lord of Badenoch and Lochaber and chief of Clan Comyn, built the stone castle on the south bank of the River Lochy, choosing a site that commanded the entrance to the Great Glen, the key passage through the Highlands. Some later writers believed the position had been fortified long before: the historian Hector Boece, writing in the early sixteenth century, described an earlier settlement there as a "city" destroyed by Vikings, though this claim rests on his account rather than on physical evidence.

After Robert the Bruce won the Scottish throne in 1306, he moved against the Comyns, his rivals for the crown, and in 1307 captured and burned the castle. The Comyns, stripped of Lochaber, never recovered the stronghold, and for a time afterwards the burned castle stood empty, its future uncertain until new lords took an interest in the strategic river crossing it guarded.

In 1431, the castle's location saw one of the more striking upsets of the fifteenth-century Highlands: clansmen loyal to Alexander MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, defeated a considerably larger royal army sent by King James I in the first Battle of Inverlochy, fought in sight of the walls. Clan Cameron subsequently held the castle, keeping it under their control until the opening years of the sixteenth century.

In 1501 control passed away from the Camerons, and by 1505 the partially ruined castle had been granted to Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly, whom King James IV charged with repairing it for use as a royal garrison. Huntly's brother, William Gordon, Laird of Gight, took up the post of master of Inverlochy under this new arrangement, a role that ended when he was killed leading Cameron fighters at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

In 1645 the castle became a waypoint in the civil wars convulsing Scotland, serving as a stopping-off point for the royalist army of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, as he marched against the Covenanter forces commanded by the Marquess of Argyll. The campaign reached its climax on 2 February 1645 at the second Battle of Inverlochy, fought near the castle and won decisively by Montrose's royalists.

In the nineteenth century the surrounding estate passed to James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger, who built a new Scottish baronial mansion to the north-west of the old castle; that building later became the Inverlochy Castle Hotel. Ahead of a visit by Queen Victoria in 1873, Lord Abinger carried out minor restoration on the medieval ruin itself, repairing loops and battlements, and the castle has since been designated a scheduled monument in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

People

  • John Comyn, "the Black"

    Lord of Badenoch and Lochaber and chief of Clan Comyn, who built the castle around 1270 to 1280.

  • Robert the Bruce

    King of Scots who captured and burned the castle in 1307 after dispossessing the Comyns.

  • Alexander MacDonald, Lord of the Isles

    Whose clansmen defeated a royal army near the castle at the first Battle of Inverlochy in 1431.

  • Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly

    Granted the ruined castle in 1505 and charged by James IV with repairing it as a royal garrison.

  • William Gordon, Laird of Gight

    Became master of Inverlochy under his brother Huntly and was killed leading Camerons at Flodden in 1513.

  • James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose

    Royalist commander whose army used the castle as a staging point before winning the second Battle of Inverlochy in 1645.

  • James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger

    Nineteenth-century estate owner who built the nearby baronial mansion and restored parts of the old castle before Queen Victoria's 1873 visit.

Cultural influences

  • Inverlochy’s defences reflect the struggle for control of Lochaber between Highland lordships and the Scottish crown.

Connections

  • Clan Comyn

    The castle was built by John Comyn, chief of the clan, and lost to them permanently after Robert the Bruce's capture and burning of it in 1307.

  • Clan Cameron

    Took control of the castle after the 1431 Battle of Inverlochy and held it until 1501; a Cameron force later fought under William Gordon at Flodden.

  • Inverlochy Castle Hotel

    The Scottish baronial mansion built to the north-west of the ruin by James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger, in the nineteenth century, later converted into this hotel.

  • Battle of Flodden (1513)

    William Gordon, Laird of Gight and master of Inverlochy, was killed there while commanding Cameron fighters.

Discovery & excavation

Archaeological excavations at the castle were carried out between 1983 and 1995 by John Lewis and Helen Smith, with the results published in 1998 in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The castle remains a scheduled monument in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

What to look for

  • The curtain wall and corner towers

    The castle's principal defence is a substantial curtain wall up to 2.7 metres thick and 7.6 metres high, enclosing a quadrangular courtyard about 31 by 27 metres across, with a round tower at each corner.

  • The Comyn Tower

    The largest of the four corner towers, 6.1 metres across internally, served as the castle's donjon, or keep, and gives the clearest sense of the building's original strength.

  • The water gate and stairways

    A north-facing "water gate" opened directly onto the River Lochy, complementing the main south entrance; both were defended by a portcullis, and stairways curve up within the thickness of the walls in all four towers.

What is said

Folklore and tradition, recorded as what is said — not as established fact.

  • A city before the castle

    The sixteenth-century historian Hector Boece is said to have recorded that an earlier Pictish settlement on the site, described by him as a "city", was destroyed by Vikings, though this tradition is not supported by physical evidence and rests on his written account alone.

Plan your visit

Location
56.8323°N · 5.0823°W
Time needed
About 90 minutes
Best time
Visit in daylight and dry conditions, when the castle ruins and surrounding landscape can be viewed safely.
What survives
The castle is currently closed behind protective fencing while Historic Environment Scotland carries out vital conservation work.
Facilities
No dedicated visitor facilities are documented at the ruins; plan to use facilities in nearby settlements.

Opening & admission

Some grounds are open to explore, but the castle itself is closed and can only be viewed through protective fencing while conservation work continues.

  • Historic Environment Scotland records parking at the site.
Opening times & visitor information →

Nearby places

Questions people ask

Who built Inverlochy Castle and when?
John Comyn, known as "the Black", Lord of Badenoch and Lochaber and chief of Clan Comyn, built it around 1270 to 1280.
Why is Inverlochy Castle unusual among Scottish castles?
It has remained largely unaltered since it was built in the reign of Alexander III, unlike most castles which were rebuilt or extended over the centuries.
What battles were fought at Inverlochy Castle?
Two: the first Battle of Inverlochy in 1431, won by Alexander MacDonald's clansmen, and the second in 1645, won by Montrose's royalist army.
Who looks after Inverlochy Castle today?
It is a scheduled monument in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
Has Inverlochy Castle been excavated?
Yes, John Lewis and Helen Smith excavated the site between 1983 and 1995, publishing their findings in 1998.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Inverlochy Castle
  2. Historic Environment Scotland — Canmore
  3. Lewis & Smith, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1998)

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