Castle Stalker, Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom

Castle Stalker is a four-storey tower house or keep set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich. The island castle's picturesque appearance, with its bewitching island setting against a dramatic backdrop of mountains, has made it a favourite subject for postcards and calendars, and something of a cliché image of Scottish Highland scenery. Castle Stalker is entirely authentic; it is one of the best-preserved medieval tower-houses surviving in western Scotland.

The original castle was a small fort, built around 1320 by Clan MacDougall who were then Lords of Lorn. Around 1388 the Stewarts took over the Lordship of Lorn, and it is believed that they built the castle in its present form around the 1440s. The Stewart's relative King James IV of Scotland visited the castle, and a drunken bet around 1620 resulted in the castle passing to Clan Campbell. After changing hands between these clans a couple of times the Campbells finally abandoned the castle in about 1840, when it lost its roof. In 1908 the castle was bought by Charles Stewart of Achara, who carried out basic conservation work. In 1965 Lt. Col. D. R. Stewart Allward acquired the castle and over about ten years fully restored it. Castle Stalker remains in private ownership and is open to the public at selected times during the summer.

While most castle scenes in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) were filmed in and around Doune Castle, Castle Stalker appears in the final scene as 'The Castle of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh'.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Shannon Houston (3 years ago)
I would recommend putting The Old Inn - into google maps rather than Castle Stalker, as google maps lead us down a side road you couldn’t park down but you can park in the cafe car park. We came around sunset and would recommend stopping if you love a good view! Really pretty

Andrea Urbán (3 years ago)
A lovely little place, worth a visit. Park at the cafe and walk down to the lock by the road as you cannot park anywhere down there. Looks best at high tide but even in rain and low tide we were amazed by it. Unfortunately it was not open because of the virus so we need to go back to have a peak inside another time.

Tim Bull (3 years ago)
Iconic place (Monty python!!) Great to see. just a shame you can't get get to the island and see round the place. Ps. Nice cafe that love looks it.

Tomasz Derlacki (3 years ago)
I have not had a chance to visit this magnificent iconic place but only see it from the shore. Even so my life is now more complete :)

Simon Kingsnorth (3 years ago)
Who wouldn’t want to visit Castle Aaargh from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Beautiful area and looks exactly as in the movie minus the French people. Peaceful and easy to get to.

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