10 Best Historic Castles To Visit From Oban
A lot of people visit Oban, but not everybody gets the most out of their trip. For many, it’s just a place to spend the night, a pit-stop on a tour of Scotland’s west coast. Don’t fall into that trap, Oban makes the perfect base to explore so much more of the country, especially if you love castles as much as me!
Not only is this wee, west-coast town the Gateway to the Isles, very dog-friendly and home to some of the best seafood joints, it’s also at the heart of an area packed with history! You’re spoilt for choice for castles to visit from Oban, whether you want one within walking distance or you’re up for an island adventure!
I make a living from sharing history and legends from Scotland’s incredible locations and here is my pick of the 10 best historic castles to visit from Oban!
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Driving In & Around Oban
While it’s possible to get to Oban by public transport, once you start exploring the areas, things get more difficult. Hiring a car allows you to reach those more remote (and therefore quieter) spots! Some of the castles to visit from Oban have very little bus access and the last thing you want to do is rush your visit somewhere that instead you could sit for hours and soak in the stories!
Here’s the best place to find car hire in Scotland and if you’re nervous about driving on these roads, this article will help a lot!
If you want even more information about spending time in and around this amazing wee town, this Travel to Oban Itinerary & Planning Guide will be a massive help.
For just £10 you get all of my expert knowledge of travelling around this underappreciated part of Scotland!
Where To Stay In Oban?
If you want to visit as many of these castles near Oban as possible, you’re going to need somewhere to stay! Here are all of my favourite tried and tested options:
No 17 The Promenade – My absolute favourite place to stay in Oban, beautiful rooms with a spectacular view!
Kilchrenan House – Just along the esplanade, I’ve stayed here a few times and the hosts are the friendliest couple you could meet!
The Oban Bay Hotel – Still on the esplanade with a brilliant restaurant, bar and sun room so you don’t even need to leave after a long day!
The Perle Oban Hotel & Spa – Right in the middle of town with easy access to the harbour, this place is a little bit of luxury!
1. Dunollie Castle
You don’t have to travel far to find the first historic castle to visit from Oban, this one is right in the town itself! A lot of people seem to miss Dunollie Castle, tucked up at the north end of the town, but towering over the road on a small cliff. It’s a quiet walk along a wooded path, past the legendary Dog Stone and in spring, expect wild garlic everywhere!
Long before the modern town of Oban developed, this was MacDougall territory and they ruled from Dunollie. The ruins we see today are mostly 15th century, replacing an earlier MacDougall castle from the 13th century. Amazingly, this fortification goes back at least another 500 years to when it was one of the main bases in the Kingdom of Dalriada!
In 1715, the MacDougall chief Iain Ciar led his men into battle for the Jacobites, but was forced to go on the run after the rising failed. Eventually, after months as a fugitive, he decided to storm the castle on his own to reclaim it from government soldiers. He burst in the door to find the startled soldiers already preparing to hand the keys back!
In 1746, the old castle was abandoned and the MacDougalls moved to a more modern mansion next door. The ruins are open for visitors to explore along with a museum telling its story. It’s worth visiting just for the views alone and if you’re lucky, a bagpiper will be playing in the grounds to add to the atmosphere!
2. Dunstaffnage Castle
I’ve visited Dunstaffnage Castle many times, it’s one of my favourite places to stop when heading towards Oban. To make things even better, it’s entirely dog friendly, so Molly got to come with me! It’s just a ten minute drive out of town and even if you don’t go inside, the grounds outside are open to wander.
There aren’t many castles as important as Dunstaffnage in Scotland’s history. This ancient stronghold is one of Scotland’s earliest stone castles, dating from the 13th century and looking like an impregnable limpet clinging to a protruding rock. Initially another home of Clan MacDougall, after their defeat to Robert the Bruce it became a royal castle.
The position of keeper of the castle eventually fell to John Stewart , the Lord of Lorne. In 1463 he made the short walk from the castle to get married in the tiny chapel still found in the woods. Unfortunately, a MacDougall descendant ambushed the wedding party, stabbed John and captured the now empty Dunstaffnage!
John completed his wedding vows with his dying breath, hoping to pass his home onto his now legitimate son, but it was no use. While a royal army eventually ousted the MacDougalls from the castle, it was then granted to the Campbells instead! They are still Captains of Dunstaffnage, but it’s run by Historic Scotland for visitors to explore today.
3. Castle Stalker
With a name like Stalker, this tiny towerhouse, perched on a rock in a sea loch was always going to have an interesting past. Back when roads were scarce and travel by boat was easiest, this was an important route inland. The loch slices deep into the Highlands from the Isle of Mull all the way to Fort William.
The original island castle was built around 1320 by Clan MacDougall. However, after opposing Robert the Bruce, they lost their power and we have the Stewarts of Appin to thank for building Castle Stalker. Their main rivals in the area were the Campbells and in 1520 Alexander Stewart was killed by them while fishing alone here.
His son Donald was only a baby and his nurse knew she couldn’t outrun the Campbells while carrying the infant. Instead, she hid him in Castle Stalker while she fled to safety. Once the coast was clear, the nurse came back to find the baby safe and sound.
The child grew up with legendary strength and became known as “Donald nan Ord” or Donald of the Hammers because he could wield a huge blacksmith’s hammer in each hand. He put those hammers to work at the age of 24 by attacking the Campbells at Dunstaffnage Castle and avenging his fathers death. As reckless as Donald sounds he lived to the grand age of 87!
Eventually Castle Stalker was lost by the Stewarts to their old enemy the Campbells, not in battle but by a drunken wager in 1620! The Stewarts failed to reclaim it several times until eventually purchased by Charles Stewart of Achara in 1908. Today, you can sail out for a tour of this Scottish island castle, but spaces are very limited!
4. Kilchurn Castle
One of the most popular castles to visit from Oban is easily Kilchurn Castle. It’s a photographer’s dream, sitting on a small peninsula jutting out into Loch Awe, with mountains rising behind it. Originally built by Colin Campbell of Glenorchy in the 15th century, it’s been closed for conservation works for a while now. Fortunately, the best view of it is actually from a field across the loch – right here.
It’s said that Colin once rushed home from crusade to Loch Awe after receiving a vision in his dreams about a terrible tragedy. He arrived to find that his neighbour, the Baron MacCorquodale, had convinced his wife that Colin had died and they were due to be married that evening! Disguising himself as a beggar, the crusader was invite into Kilchurn Castle for the wedding as an act of charity.
Now safely past the Baron’s guards, he asked if the lady of the house would serve a drink to this lowly beggar. Happy for any distraction on this miserable wedding day, Colin’s wife agreed and after the goblet was drained, she heard a clink inside. It was a ring she had gifted her husband for luck when he left!
Declaring to the Campbell clansmen that their lord had returned, the hall of Kilchurn Castle erupted with cheers. Baron MacCorquodale and his men made a hasty exit, with the door slamming behind them. The wedding feast was put to much better use, as a welcome home party.
5. Inveraray Castle
It’s a little further away, but you can still visit Inveraray Castle in around an hour from Oban. Don’t worry, the trip is more than worth the effort and there’s a lot more you can do in and around Inveraray itself! The castle is still home to the Chief of Clan Campbell – the Duke of Argyll, so visitors are limited to a few of the most impressive rooms. In terms of Scottish castles, this one is quite new having only been built only around 250 years ago…
Inside you’ll find the lavish state rooms, complete with the expensive furnishings. However, it’s the Armoury Hall that takes the breath away, lined with weaponry and with the Campbell crest on the soaring ceiling! The muskets were used by the Argyll regiments at the Battle of Culloden and a case contains items once belonging to Rob Roy Macgregor.
Upstairs, watch out for the haunted MacArthur Room. It has a very ominous feeling and the carved bed is connected to an Irish harp player who was murdered in the old Inveraray castle. Things have been known to move about on their own and eerie harp music play any time on of the Duke’s family is near death…
6. Carnasserie Castle
Spotting Carnasserie Castle, high up on its hill, is the first sign you’re entering Kilmartin Glen, just an hour south of Oban. It’s a beautiful Renaissance tower, that seems fit for a King or at the very least a Bishop. The castle was created in the 16th century as a lavish home by John Carswell, the first Protestant Bishop of the Isles.
While the Bishop built Carnasserie, it was designed in honour of his benefactor, the Campbell Earl of Argyll. The Earl technically owned it, John was just a resident. However, Argyll thought the building elegant but erected on a dung hill! Some people just have no taste.
The worn Gaelic inscription above the door roughly exclaims “God be with the Campbells”. Gaelic just happens to be what John Carswell was best known for. He translated the Book of Common Order into the first book ever printed in Gaelic. This was his attempt to get local people reading Biblical stories instead of sharing old folk stories!
Carnasserie Castle might have been built for a man of God but it was still designed to defend itself. The castle only saw action once during the Earl of Argyll’s rebellion in the 17th century. The garrison gave up before a shot had been fired, accepting a bribe to leave instead. The soldiers set the castle on fire on their way out and Carnasserie was never restored.
The door is left open for responsible tourists. Climb to the top of either tower, enjoy the incredible view and see if you can spot any of Kilmartin Glen’s standing stones or cairns below!
7. Gylen Castle
Some of the best castles to visit from Oban are found on the many islands nearby. Getting a ferry always makes a trip feel like more of an adventure anyway!
The tiny island of Kerrera is the low lying land seen just off the coast from Oban and it’s this protection that makes the harbour so safe. To reach it involves a short drive to Gallanach and a five minute passenger only ferry. Once you’re there, it’s a bit of a hike to reach Gylen Castle, but it makes for another excellent daytrip.
Impossibly perched on a cliff over the crashing waves, this soaring tower dominates the skyline. It’s an icon of the island and this alone is worth a visit to Kerrera. Gylen might look ancient, but it’s almost modern by the standards of Scotland’s West Coast.
Built in 1582 by the MacDougalls, it’s an impressive place, but it wasn’t to last. Just 65 years later, the Royalist MacDougalls in Gylen found themselves under siege by an army of Covenanters. The castle’s position was near impossible to attack, but the defenders weren’t well prepared. Even though its name means Castle of the Fountains in Gaelic, thanks to an unusually dry spell they were running out of water.
After being offered good terms for surrender, the garrison decided it was their best chance of survival. They were wrong. The Covenanters murdered everyone inside apart from John the 19th MacDougall chief because he was just a baby at the time. Gylen Castle was destroyed and abandoned to become the romantic ruin we see today!
8. Duart Castle
I visit a lot of historic places around Scotland, but Duart Castle remains one of my absolute favourites. It’s everything that a Scottish castle should be – dramatically positioned, packed with fascinating stories and with a strong clan connection. You’ll find it on the Isle of Mull, but it’s still an easy castle to visit from Oban and the ferry journey offers one of the best views of it atop its crag!
There are dungeons inside, an impressive great hall full of ancient weapons, a museum to Clan Maclean and spectacular views from the ramparts. You’ll discover stories of great clan chiefs, as well as some less than respectable characters.
There’s the first ever clan chief, Gillean of the Battle Axe who never let his trusty weapon out of his sight. Later, Lachlan Lubanach MacLean gained Duart Castle as the dowry for marrying the Lord of the Isles’ daughter. Or my favourite, Red Hector of the Battles who faced duel challenges from travelling swordsmen looking to prove their skill!
9. Castle Coeffin
Mull gets plenty of visitors already, but if you want a much quieter castle near Oban, head to the Isle of Lismore! That’s where you’ll find the incredible Castle Coeffin. Be aware that you will have to walk a little to reach it, but Lismore is a beautiful island to wander. Its crumbling walls rise from a solid lump of rock like a shattered crown to create an iconic image of the island.
Be aware that it’s a bit of a hike down to the castle, there’s no vehicular access, but its worth the effort. You’ll need to save some energy for climbing up into the ruins, but just be careful of loose stone! Like so many strongholds around Argyll, Castle Coeffin is thought to have been built by Clan MacDougall. It was eventually abandoned by the 17th century and left to crumble.
Local legend says that the castle was built in place of an old Viking fortress and Coeffin was the name of a Scandinavian Prince! One day, Coeffin’s sister Beothail learned that her lover had been killed back in Norway and soon died of a broken heart. Her ghost began haunting the castle, begging for her body to be buried beside her love.
Coeffin immediately had his sister’s bones washed in St Moluag’s holy well and returned to Norway. However, the haunting continued to echo around the castle walls until one of Beothail’s toe bones was discovered in the bottom of the well! Thankfully, it was reunited with the rest of her body and the only noise around Castle Coeffin today comes from the west coast wind!
10. Castle Sween
Castle Sween might be the oldest of all stone Scottish castles and it’s the furthest in this list from Oban at around 90 minutes drive. Built in the 12th century, it’s easy to imagine dozens of birlinn ships pulled up on the beach behind you. Sween was built by the man who founded Clan MacSween – Suibhne (or Sven) the Red. He founded a small personal empire but his descendants were less adept and slowly lost more and more land.
By 1310, Castle Sween was firmly in the hands of a Stewart by the name of John Menteith. King Edward II of England invited disinherited clans like the MacSweens to join him in his war against Robert the Bruce. A great fleet was assembled to assault Castle Sween but the attempt to gain back their home had failed. The MacNeils and then the MacMillans became keepers of the castle for the MacDonalds until it was abandoned.
Reaching Castle Sween involves driving down a long winding road, much of it single track. There’s actually a holiday park between the road and the castle, so you need to park up by a telephone box. It’s not a long walk down and the way is signposted between the buildings. The castle is managed by Historic Scotland but free to access and wander around. Don’t miss the latrine tower and checking out a seat with a view!
Why not consider visiting some of these castles as part of a Scotland’s Stories Private Driving Tour?
If you enjoy stories from around Scotland that help you find interesting places to travel, Grab a copy of the Scotland’s Stories book here!
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