Dunstaffnage Castle

Dunstaffnage Castle and the Jacobites

During the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745, the castle was occupied by government troops. Right up until the end of the second rising Dunstaffnage’s story is inextricably interlinked with the constant struggles by the Crown and the Campbells to control their unruly western subjects.

Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape from Scotland, was briefly imprisoned here while en route to imprisonment in London.

This gentle-mannered woman was visiting her brother in South Uist when she met Bonnie Prince Charlie, then fleeing from the redcoats following his April defeat at Culloden. Flora agreed to help him get away, and dressed him up as her serving girl, ‘Betty Burke’.

The pair crossed to Skye, from where the prince made his escape. But Flora was arrested and brought to Dunstaffnage. She remained there just a few days, before being moved to the Tower of London. She was released the following year.

Brief History of Dumbarton Castle

Before the construction of the castle, Dunstaffnage may have been the location of a Dál Riatan stronghold, known as Dun Monaidh, as early as the 7th century. The castle itself as it now stands was built in the second quarter of the 13th century, as the seat of Duncan MacDougall, Lord of Lorn and grandson of Somerled. Dunstaffnage Castle is an irregular quadrangular structure of great strength, and its strong location means it was considered to be guarding the heart of Scotland.