Torrisdale Castle is a historic mansion residence, overlooking Torrisdale Bay, Argyll, south of Carradale, Kintyre, Scotland. The castle is situated at the edge of the village of Torrisdale.

History
The mansion was built in 1815, by General Keith Macalister, of Loup and Torrisdale in 1815. Designed by architect James Gillespie Graham, the mansion is castellated and consists of two storeys and a basement. Further extensions occurred in the 1900s.

The estate is home to the Macalister Hall family who have owned Torrisdale since 1890. A number of lodges, cottages, houses and even apartments within the mansion are available as tourist accommodation. An organic Tannery & Craft Shop also run on the estate.

Torrisdale Castle

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Saddell Castle is a historic 16th-century castle on the shore of the Kilbrannan Sound near Saddell, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland of significant importance. The Castle originally served as a bastion of the MacDonald family for several centuries and continues to be visited by MacDonald diaspora from around the world who return to West Scotland. The tower house was built near the site that housed the remains of the ancient hero Somerled, the progenitor of the MacDonald clan. Several MacDonald Lords have resided at Saddell over the centuries, once giving refuge to Robert the Bruce for more than a year during Scottish War of Independence.

Built by David Hamilton, Bishop of Argyll, between 1508 and 1512, the castle was built from the stones of the ruined Saddell Abbey. The castle was gifted to James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran by Bishop James Hamilton, as payment of debts and taxes in 1556.

Later, The Earl of Arran was forced to exchange it with the Chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, James MacDonald in exchange for James's lands on the Isle of Arran. The Castle then became one of several ancestral homes of the MacDonald family in Scotland until it was captured in 1558 by Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Lord Deputy of Ireland under orders of Queen Mary I of England in retaliation of James MacDonald's involvement in Ireland against the English Crown.

Saddell castle was later rebuilt by successive MacDonald lords and it was enlarged together with a trap door in the main entrance passage, which upon activation, sent unwanted visitors into a dungeon which had no exits. In 1607, the Clan Donald lands in Kintyre, including Saddell, were conveyed by King James VI to Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll. The castle fell into disrepair when Saddell House was built c. 1774. The castle was bought and restored by the Landmark Trust, which now rents it out as a self-catering property. It can also be seen in the video for Paul McCartney's hit Mull of Kintyre, with the Campbeltown Pipe Band marching along the beach - a song which became Christmas number one in 1977. Diaspora from Clan Donald (the MacDonald family) continue to make pilgrimages to Saddle Castle every year, in memory of its place in Scottish history.

Saddell Castle

Lochranza Castle is an L-plan tower house situated on a promontory in Lochranza, on the north of the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Most of the castle was built in the 16th century.

The castle dates from the 13th century when it was owned by the MacSweens. In 1262, King Alexander III granted the castle and its lands to Walter Stewart, the Earl of Menteith. It is believed that Robert the Bruce landed at Lochranza in 1306 on his return from Ireland to claim the Scottish throne. By 1371, the castle was the property of Robert II. It is thought that at this time it was used as a royal hunting lodge.

During the 1490s, James IV used the castle in his campaign against the Lord of the Isles and the Clan MacDonald. In 1614 it was occupied by James VI and in the 1650s it was used by Cromwell.

By 1705, Lochranza Castle was the property of the Hamilton family, after it was purchased by the Duchess of Hamilton. The Hamiltons had owned other estates on the Isle of Arran so eventually sold it to the Blackwood-Davidson family who used it as their principal seat. During the 18th century, the castle fell into disuse and was abandoned. The castle is now in the care of Historic Scotland.

In popular culture
Lochranza Castle was the model for the castle in The Adventures of Tintin comic The Black Island, for the English translation in the 1960s when the drawings were modernised. Bob de Moor, Hergé's chief post-war assistant toured Britain following in Tintin's footsteps, using various locations to produce a series of background drawings. The castle appeared in "Dom Joly and the Black Island" on Channel 4 TV on 19 March 2010, in which it was portrayed as being Kisimul Castle on the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, as it appeared directly after Joly was shown attempting to reach Kisimul Castle.


Lochranza Castle (Arran Island)

Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Early and High Medieval
A fortress has been on the site since at least the fifth century, when Gaelic invaders from Antrim expanded their kingdom of Dál Riata. By the tenth century Norse influence had grown, and Arran formed part of Sudreys or Súðreyjar, administered either from Dublin or the Orkney islands (Nordreys or Norðreyjar) and nominally under the control of the King of Norway. This can be deduced by the number of Scandinavian place-names on the island including Brodick, or Breiðvík (Broad Bay). The site is thought to have been a centre of relative importance, on account of its strategic position on the Firth of Clyde.

By the mid-thirteenth century Arran was part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles ruled by two Gall Gaidheal kings, Magnus of Mann and Dougal of the Isles, sub-rulers of Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway. Alexander III of Scotland had inherited his father's desire to control the islands in order to stabilise his kingdom, and made numerous unsuccessful advances to that effect. In 1262 the Earl of Ross sacked and pillaged Skye with the king's blessing. King Hákon determined to avenge this slight and set out in July 1263, with a large fighting fleet (leiðangr) for Scotland. After linking up with the fleets of Magnus and Dougal, and showing his might throughout the Hebrides, Hákon's force anchored in Lamlash Bay on Arran, where they were approached by envoys from the Scots King. The Scots envoys were unsuccessful, and battle was engaged at Largs, a short distance across the firth. Although no rout, the Scots were victorious, and Hákon's forces retreated to Arran, and thence to Orkney to over-winter, where Hákon died. The ensuing Treaty of Perth in 1266 ceded the Sudreys to the Kingdom of Scotland. This is the height of Scotland.

Interregnum and Wars of Independence
When both Alexander III and his heir, Margaret, Maid of Norway died, the Kingdom of Scotsland was thrown into turmoil. In 1291, Edward I of England, was called on to choose the most suitable successor. John de Balliol was chosen and was forced to admit Edward as his suzerain. John defied Edward in 1295, and did not answer his request for assistance in his war in France. Edward invaded Scotland the following year and forced John to abdicate. At some point around this time an English garrison was stationed at Brodick. During Robert the Bruces's time in hiding, following his escape from the English after his coronation and defeat at the Battle of Methven, he is said to have had his legendary encounter with a spider on Arran.

On the behest of Robert the Bruce, James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, early in the winter of 1307 previous to their attack on Carrick, attacked forces supplying Brodick castle giving a first minor victory and gaining their forces much needed supplies.

He was able in 1307 to dislodge the English from Brodick, one of the first castles to fall to him in his struggle to regain his country.

Late Middle Ages
In 1406 – the same year that James I was captured by English pirates and Robert III died – the castle was badly damaged by an English force that had sailed into Brodick bay. Further destruction was inflicted by John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, in 1455. At some point after 1470 the castle was granted by James III to his brother-in-law, James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton. His son, James Hamilton, 2nd Lord Hamilton was created Earl of Arran in 1503. At this point Hamilton added the Lymphad of the Isles to his Armorial bearings.

The Hamiltons
Earls of Arran
The castle had been rebuilt by the Earl by 1510 in the form of a tower house, but suffered at the hands of the Campbells and the MacLeans. During the "Rough Wooing" of Mary, Queen of Scots, Brodick castle was attacked by an English force led by the Earl of Lennox on behalf of Henry VIII, in revenge for the actions of the 2nd Earl. Lord Arran was the Regent of Scotland whilst Mary was in her infancy, and was second in line to the Scots throne. In 1543, he had been heavily involved in arranging the marriage of Mary to the Dauphin of France, prior to this she had been promised to Edward, Prince of Wales. Arran was rewarded for his efforts, however, and was created Duke of Châtellerault in the Peerage of France. During Regent Arran's tenure at Brodick he continued to enlarge and expand the castle.

Dukes of Hamilton
Brodick Castle did not escape the religious paroxysms that affected seventeenth century life (see the Wars of the Three Kingdoms). In 1639, Scotland was divided between the Presbyterianism of the Lords of the Congregation, and the Episcopalianism favoured by King Charles I. James Hamilton, 3rd marquess of Hamilton, the King's advisor on all things Scottish, was sent north to enforce the King's will, he had previously dissolved the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland when they had abolished the Episcopacy. Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, was the de facto ruler of Scotland and leader of the presbyterian faction. Argyll seized Hamilton's castle of Brodick. Hamilton was made a Duke in 1643 and recovered his castle the following year at the outbreak of the Scottish Civil War. It was lost again to the Campbells in 1646, as the Royalists fortunes foundered. The Duke was captured after the disastrous Battle of Preston, and faced the block in March 1649. He was succeeded by his brother William, Earl of Lanark, but the second Duke died of wounds received at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The Duchy of Hamilton and Earldom of Arran passed to the first Duke's only surviving child, Anne. She had been unwittingly sent to Brodick for safety. In 1650, Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads had taken control of the castle and had extended it by building an Artillery battery to defend the Firth at this strategic position.

Duchess Anne returned to her estates in Lanarkshire and West Lothian and in 1656 married William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk. Anne did not return to Brodick, however her husband the newly created Duke of Hamilton for life, used the castle as a base for hunting excursions.

In the following years Brodick was used mainly as an occasional sporting estate. In the nineteenth century, it became residence for the eldest son of the 10th Duke, styled the Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale.

William, 11th Duke of Hamilton married in 1843, Princess Marie of Baden, youngest daughter of the Grand Duke of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais, adopted daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1844, massive building work was undertaken at the castle, almost tripling the size of the building, under the architect James Gillespie Graham. The Twelfth Duke, William had no male heirs, so although his titles passed to his distant cousin Alfred Douglas-Hamilton upon his death, he entailed the castle upon his only daughter the Lady Mary Louise Douglas-Hamilton. She married James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose in 1906. Unlike in 1651 when the property also passed through the female line and the then spouse assumed the Hamilton name, at this time, after more than five hundred years, Brodick castle was no longer possessed by someone bearing the Hamilton name.

Today
The Castle and gardens were acquired by the National Trust for Scotland from the Lady Jean Fforde in 1958, in lieu of death duties upon the death of her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Montrose. The castle is open to the public during the summer, with Brodick Country Park open all year round. The castle is closed during 2017, but the gardens and country park will remain open.

A black-and-white copy of William Woollett's engraving of The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West can be seen at the castle.

Since 1987, an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of twenty pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The 1998 film The Governess, starring Minnie Driver, was filmed at Brodick Castle.

Brodick Castle

Skipness Castle stands on the east side of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, near the village of Skipness. Together with the nearby Kilbrannan Chapel it is a scheduled ancient monument.

The main structure of the castle was built in the early 13th century by the Clan MacSween, with later fortifications and other additions made to the castle through the 13th, 14th and 16th centuries.

The castle was garrisoned with royal troops in 1494, during King James IV of Scotland's suppression of the Isles. Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll, granted Skipness to his younger son, Archibald Campbell, in 1511.

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1646, the castle was besieged by forces under the command of Alasdair Mac Colla. During the siege, Alasdair's brother, Gilleasbuig Mac Colla, was killed in August 1646. The castle was abandoned in the 17th century.

Castle ghost
The Green Lady of Skipness Castle is said to haunt the location.