kilchurn castle

We visited it from the loch by boat and it was an enjoyable trip and had an interesting history but, one visit was enough. It was a dry and sunny day and the surrounding views from the tower of the castle were very good.

This interesting castle sits on a peninsular at the northeast end of the loch. It is an easy walk from the car parking area to the castle.

Visited Castle Kilchurn in October 2014 on the way to Fort William from Oban. After parking at the small car park, followed the signs for the castle. A short 10 minute walk to the castle through open fields bring you to the castle ruins. It was empty the day we visited and the mist was rolling in over the mountains. It is out of the way but well worth a visit. It was one of the highlights of the holiday as it was so atmospheric and quiet. If you are in the area I would highly recommend a visit. In total I would say 1 hour would suffice to visit the castle.

We visited a lot of castles when we were in Scotland, and this was by far our favorite. Mostly, because it's been preserved and protected, not rebuilt and refurbished. The overturned turret in the courtyard is amazing and the barracks are vast. The placards they've built into the self-guided tour are very helpful to imagine how the castle must have looked when it was fully operational and intact, and they provide enough history to fascinate. The short walk to the castle - across an open field and herds of sheep is such a nice, lovely walk that it alone make the visit worthwhile.

Great to just be able to wander up and explore, lovely setting and deserted apart from a few sheep! Shame it was closed though.

Ever since I first seen a photo of this castle I have always wanted to go ,on a recent holiday to the lowlands we took a couple of days out to travel to Loch Ness.We picked out three spots along the way to stop for a rest and this was one of them.This is a ruin but you can climb up the towers ,it is in state care with info boards all around and it is free.As other reviewer said it is a beautiful walk with fantastic views all around, off the beaten track it has a wonderful isolation about it great for photos.If you like these things then its a good place to visit, it is one of my favourite castle sites because you can look around and imagine it pretty much the same since the olden days.We used the A 819 to get there and saw the castle and the Loch on the left the road ends and leads on to the A85 ,turn left towards Oban , the car park for the castle is almost immediately on your left its small opening in the bush's and easy to miss.If you do miss it, drive on a bit theres a road to your right where you can turn around, the car park is very bumpy so drive slow.Approaching on either side of the A85 look out for the opening just before/after the junction for the A 819.We had a wonderful time here we hope you do ,it was a dream come true for me,a place I have always wanted to visit.P.S there are no toilets here.

Kilchurn Castle is a great stop for views and photos. A beat off the beaten path and not even marked from the road, we did not have to doge any crowds. In fact, we were the only ones there, well with the exception of the NBC sports crew and a couple of pro golfers shooting a Ryder Cup commercial! The castle looms over Loch Awe and if you are heading toward the Glencoe or Fort William area, it's worth a side trip for a short hike and amazing photos.

Beautiful walk out to the castle from the road. Great views from up in the castle. Castle itself is in ruins but if driving by it's worth the visit. We stopped on our way from Glasgow to Oban. A bit difficult to find but the road passes the Loch Awe and if you can see the castle it's relatively easy to figure out where to go (or turn around and go to in our case).

We're currently staying on Loch Earn taking daily drives of the area-this one has been our favourite to date! We left St Fillans on our loch then drove on "green" (tourist) roads from Lochearnhead to Oban. Kilchurn Castle sits on the appropriately named Loch Awe and really is stunning. It's just a short walk from the car park to the castle and you get a different photo opportunity every step of the way almost. No charge, no gift shop, walking in, around and opposite the ruins, it's easy to fill in over an hour (especially if you take photos too). Lots of small bus tours the day we were there, it was hard to keep the photos people free! After the visit to the castle, we drove on through the extremely scenic Brander Pass-more a nice road through a valley than a windy pass I was expecting! Lunch at a very undeveloped spot on Loch Etive, finally into Oban itself. We could have taken a few detours on the way home but just drove straight back taking a few more photos as we went.

Kilchurn Castle is the ancestral home Breadalbane family branch of Clan Campbell (AKA, the Campbells of Glen Orchy). It was originally built in 1450 by Sir Colin Campbell, Lord Glenorchy, as a five-storey tower house and outer wall.As both a residence and as a defensive structure, however, it was extended several times up into the 18th century. This includes being converted into barracks in 1681 by the John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, including the addition of a new three storey structure. Kilchurn was used by the government as a garrison during the Jacobite risings.When the castle was built, it would have been on an island. Due to changes in the water level, however, it is now connected by a causeway. During winter months, however, it is still usually accessible only by boat.One of the charming aspects of Kilchurn as a visitor is that it is completely unmarked, and requires a (short) hike to reach, thus keeping down on the visitors. Outside of a small construction crew replacing a gate (which had apparently been stolen!?) we had the place to ourselves. That said, as we were leaving we did pass a busload of Dutch high school students, so your mileage may vary.As a castle it's definitely in ruins, although since it hasn't been subject to major restoration efforts it's easy to get a sense of what was original. Further, since most of the updates represented new buildings being added (as opposed to remodels of existing buildings) it's pretty easy to deconstruct the history of the space.

We called by this castle as e love history and architecture. The setting at the head of the loch is adyllic, the ruins extensive. A nice range of informative boards, with access to both the upper and lower levels of the castle makes this a great place for history buffs. Well done to Historic Scotland for maintaining this castle for the general public

First of all the drive from Connell through the Fearnoch Forest to the Pass of Brander is gorgeous. I defy anyone to not be impressed with the scenery full of rivers, mountains, stately trees, and Loch Awe. Even the name is appropriate. The word I would use for the castle is dreamy. It sits on a rocky peninsula on the edge of the lake in a very quiet part of Scotland. On a chilly April day the only sounds were the rustling of leaves and water lapping softly on the shore. One can easily get lost in thoughts of the distant past. It's a haunting, romantic, and very dramatic sight. You know how some sights evoke strong feelings and leave a lasting impression? This is one of those. It was home to the Campbells, built in 1450 and added onto later. In 1715 and 1745 it was used as a garrison during the Jacobite uprisings. In 1760 it was badly damaged by lightning. So violent was the storm, the remains of a turret tower still rest in the center of the courtyard. William Turner painted the castle and it's one of Scotland's most photographed. If you don't want to walk to the castle through a semi-marshy area, you can still pull off the road and enjoy it and it's picturesque setting. It's free either way.

Kilchurn castle is a must visit as there is no gift shop and no entrance fee. and the view from the tower is amazing ... take a picnic and enjoy the tranquillity

And it was one of the highlights of our trip to the UK. It's a little gem, and so different from Inverary castle or Edinburgh castle. No gift shops, no mobs of tourists. Just a beautiful ruined castle overlooking a loch. A wonderful place to have a picnic or just enjoy the quiet and ruminate on the history surrounding you.

Kilchurn Castle is a beautiful free-to-enter castle under the care of Historic Scotland between the villages of Loch Awe and Dalmally. Access is via a relatively long access path (or by boat). The car park is not signed from the main road. It is the first turning on the right after crossing the bridge over the corner of the loch coming out of Loch Awe Village.