Ghosts of Urquhart's Past
Urquhart Castle is a jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing. Walls have been demolished and new ones raised many times during the last 1,500 years. Timber buildings have rotted away entirely.
Stone Free
Locals plundered the castle for building materials. They started with its roofs — 10 tonnes of stolen lead were found in nearby cottages and barns in 1717. The stonework was also robbed, leaving little to help scholars determine how its buildings were used. Contemporary records from Urquhart's long history are even more meagre.
Tidied Up
Between 1912 and 1922, after the castle passed into State care, the ruins were cleared of rubble and crumbling walls were consolidated. While well-intentioned, this work removed important clues to Urquhart's past and the shape and purpose of its many buildings.
( photo caption )
Below: The gatehouse and Grant Tower in 1878, before the ruins were consolidated.

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The Stables
Doocot
The Water Gate
A Castle for All Seasons
Urquhart the Defiant
The Service Close
The Great Kitchen
The Great Raid of 1545
Loch Ness and the Great Glen
The Gatehouse

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