Eilean Donan Castle

Our great adventure has started, with a wonderful drive over to the west Coast of Scotland in the most glorious sunshine. We arrived at our Hotel in Balmacara, a few miles from Kyle of Lochalsh and after dropping our case off, carried on over the Skye Bridge to Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye where we had our evening meal.

Just before we reached Balmacara we stopped at the world famous Eilean Donan Castle, which is my Blip for today.

Tomorrow we head up the amazing coastline to Ullapool where we will catch the Ferry over to Stornoway on the Island of Lewis and then on to the other remote side of the island to my Niece's Croft.

If you would like to see the Skye Bridge from Kyle see my Flikr Set.

Wikipedia gives the following info about the Castle:
Eilean Donan is a small tidal island where three lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland; since the castle's restoration in the early 20th Century, a footbridge has connected the island to the mainland. A picturesque castle that frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island, which lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the village of Dornie.

Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. In 2001, the island had a recorded population of just one person,[3] but there were no "usual residents" at the time of the 2011 census.

Eilean Donan, which means simply "island of Donnán", is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.

The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan Macrae. In the early eighteenth century the Mackenzies' involvement in the Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap's twentieth-century reconstruction of the ruins produced the present buildings.