Details
Cultural Attraction: Castle Ruins
Region: Argyll & Bute
Location: Castle Grounds, Dunbeg, Oban PA37 1PZ, Scotland, United Kingdom
Hours:
- April – Sept: open daily 9:30AM – 4:30PM
- Oct – March: open Sat – Wed 10AM – 4PM, closed on Thursdays and Fridays (closed Dec 25th – Jan 3)
- last entry 30 minutes before closing
Pet friendly: No (service animals only)
Handicapped accessible: The chapel and main paths are wheelchair accessible but the castle interior is not.
Restrooms: Yes
DEN Rating: 9/10
Website: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/dunstaffnage-castle-and-chapel/
Standard Admission:
- Adults – $7.50
- Concession (65+) – $6.00
- Children – (7-15) – $4.50 (kids 6 & under FREE)
Family Tickets available
Same price for advanced tickets and walk-up tickets
Valid with Explorer Pass
Historic Scotland Membership accepted
Several partner organization passes accepted
Audio tours are free of charge
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Dunstaffnage Castle and Chapel is one of the many castles we visited on our two week journey through Scotland. Every castle has its own flavor and features which set it apart somehow, and here it’s the castle wall walk and the tranquil lochside wooded castle grounds that carry the day. It was also not busy and does not seem to be one that’s on people’s radar, making this a great spot to enjoy some peace and quietude in the shadow of history.
Darkening skies gather above Dunstaffnage Castle in the Argyll region of Scotland north of Oban.
Dunstaffnage Castle
Darkening skies gather above Dunstaffnage Castle in the Argyll region of Scotland north of Oban. Visitors are able to walk the top of the curtain wall which surrounds the castle’s main courtyard, providing views looking out over the Sound of Mull, Ardmuckinish Bay, and the surrounding forest of the castle estate. Stairs hugging the side … Read more
What You Will See
Dunstaffnage Castle is an impressive medium-sized courtyard castle with a mighty curtain wall built atop a stone outcropping on a small peninsula overlooking the Firth of Lorn, constructed prior to 1240 by the MacDougall Clan. It originally had a huge drawbridge and causeway that led up from the water, but today the castle is accessed by a set of stone steps that wrap around the rock to the castle gate. I love the design of the castle. The front in particular has a powerful visual cohesiveness and grandeur to it. A superb lawn area surrounds the castle on three sides, upon which a fluffle of bunnies was frolicking when we visited.
Dunstaffnage Castle is in a state of partial ruin. The castle gatehouse does have a roof and what appears to be more recent wood floors on the three explorable levels, accessed by the original stone spiral staircase which eventually leads up to the castle wall walk. What a view! The kitchen section of the castle is in a much more advanced state of ruin. Like many larger castles it was added to and remodeled a few times throughout the centuries. To fully explore the castle and read all the informational signs takes 45 to 60 minutes. We got there with about half an hour to check it out and wished we had a little longer.
Follow the main track past the smaller workshop ruins to Dunstaffnage Chapel, a small chapel ruin tucked into the woods on a spot of high ground. Part of the chapel is viewable but inaccessible as it contains recent graves of MacDougall Clan members. Many smaller trails crisscross the woods, with some leading to small lochside beaches and views. Benches are placed strategically throughout the grounds. Be aware that there are plenty of soggy and muddy patches in the woods if you go exploring. We lucked out with really nice weather when we were at the castle and spent an hour just exploring the pretty woods but wound up having to pick our way through an area of boggy ground to reach the chapel.
Audio Tours
No audio tour of Dunstaffnage is available. When we visited there was a staff member in the castle ruin available to answer questions.
Entry Considerations
While advanced timed-entry tickets are available, we visited on a Saturday afternoon in July and it there were very few other people there so you should have no problem. We just walked up to the visitors center and showed our Explorer Passes. The Chapel and the surrounding castle grounds are free to enter and are open 24 hours – it’s only the castle interior that requires an admission ticket and has specific entry hours.
Facilities and Mobility Considerations
It’s a five minute walk up a nice lochside track from the parking area to the visitors center and castle. It does incline a bit as you approach the castle. If in doubt, park outside the castle car park gate in the adjacent Ocean Explore Center parking lot as the car park gate is locked half an hour after the castle closes. There are nice, modern, fully accessible restroom facilities at the small castle visitors center, located across the lawn from the castle. The castle itself is not handicapped accessible. The Chapel, however, is!
Explore Nearby
I highly recommend following your whimsy through the castle grounds down whichever little path suits your fancy. What a great spot for a pleasant forest walk! There are lot of little cool spots to discover. The Ocean Explore Center, which you pass by en route to the castle, offers displays, exhibits, and information about local marine life and apparently has a very good cafe.
