Tour Scotland Travel Video Clan MacDonald of Sleat Castle Isle Of Skye Inner Hebrides

Tour Scotland travel video Blog of the Clan MacDonald of Sleat Castle, with Scottish bagpipes and drums music, on ancestry visit to the North Coast of the Isle Of Skye, Inner Hebrides. The castle was built in the 14th and 15th centuries, when the area was subject to feuds between the rival MacLeod and Macdonald clans. The defences were improved in the 16th century, and by the early 17th century the MacDonalds had finally gained the upper hand in the area. In 1618 the Privy Council and Sir Donald MacDonald of Sleat, " Donald Gorm Og ", the 9th chief, signed a charter, requiring him to repair Duntulm. Around 1732 the castle was abandoned, when Sir Alexander MacDonald built a new residence, Monkstadt House, 5 miles to the south, robbing much of the castle's stone as building material. According to one local legend, the castle was abandoned after the infant son of the chieftain who dwelt there at the time, in the charge of a nursemaid, fell from a window and was dashed on the rocks below. As a punishment, the nursemaid was set adrift on the North Atlantic in a small boat.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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