Aros Castle

Aros Castle, known in medieval records as Dounarwyse Castle, stands on a rocky headland above the Sound of Mull, near the village of Salen on the Isle of Mull. Its ruined walls command wide views along the Sound, and for centuries it was one of the key strongholds controlling this busy sea route between the mainland and the islands.

History

The castle was probably built in the thirteenth century by one of the MacDougall lords of Lorn, descendants of Somerled, who then held much of Argyll and the neighbouring islands. When the MacDougalls backed the losing side in the struggle between Edward I of England and Robert the Bruce, their lands were forfeited, and the king gave Aros to his ally Angus Òg of Islay, Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald.

In the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Aros, then called Dounarwyse, was used as an occasional base by the Lords of the Isles as they travelled around their island domain. When the Lords of the Isles in turn challenged the Scottish Crown, their lordship was forfeited in 1493, and the Macleans gained the castle at the expense of the MacDonalds.

Aros is remembered for an episode of royal treachery. In 1608, Lord Ochiltree, sent by James VI to bring the Hebrides under control, invited the island chiefs to meet him here and then to dine aboard his ship. Once they were aboard, he sailed away with them as prisoners, and they were only released after agreeing to the Statutes of Iona, which aimed to change the way of life of the Highland clans.

By 1688 the castle was described as ‘ruinous, old, useless and never of any strength’, though it seems to have been garrisoned by the Earl of Argyll’s troops in 1690. There is no evidence that it was occupied after that.

The ruins

The site is a scheduled monument. It includes the thirteenth-century hall-house, a two-storey building whose walls still stand to a good height on the seaward side, and a bailey, or enclosed courtyard, with traces of other buildings. Below the castle, to the east of the bailey, is a small stone-built landing place for galleys, a reminder that the sea was the main highway of the medieval Hebrides.

Visiting

Aros Castle is a short walk from the main road just north of Salen, roughly halfway between Craignure and Tobermory. A path leads up to the headland, and the views along the Sound of Mull, towards Morvern and back to the mountains of Mull, are excellent. The ruins are unstable in places, so care is needed. Nearby, Aros Park, on the edge of Tobermory, offers woodland walks and waterfalls.

Wildlife

The Sound of Mull is one of the best places in Scotland to see white-tailed eagles, which are often seen hunting over the water near Salen. Otters live along the shore, and seals, porpoises and dolphins are seen in the Sound. The ferries between Oban, Craignure and Tobermory pass along the Sound within sight of the castle, giving another view of its ruined walls from the water.