Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle is surely one of the most picturesquely situated castles in the Scottish Highlands. Located 16 miles south-west of Inverness, the castle, one of the largest in Scotland, dominates a sandstone bluff overlooking much of the length of Loch Ness. In the past the location endowed Urquhart with strategic importance; as far back as the beginning of the Christian era, a small Iron Age fortification occupied this promontory.

Today, visitors come to stroll through the ruins of the late-13th century castle, which was blown up in 1692 to prevent the Jacobites from occupying it. More interestingly, they come because Urquhart has earned the reputation of being one of the best spots for sighting Loch Ness's most famous inhabitant. Its formal name is Nessiterras Rhombopteryx, a name bestowed by Dr. Robert Rines, President of the Academy of Applied Science and Sir Peter Scott, Honorary Chairman of the World Wildlife Council International. But for more than 55 years she's been known by a more familiar name. To both advocates who swear to her existence, and to sceptics who see her only as a figment of creative Scottish imagination, she is simply 'Nessie'.

Urquhart Castle and the Great Glen The history of Urquhart Castle and the glen on which it stands from its Pictish occupation to the arrival of industry in the 19th century and the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. Using the physical evidence from the site, author Nick Bridgland traces the development of castle and glen, chronicling the role it played in Scottish and regional history. Well illustrated with artefacts, paintings, maps and diagrams, it includes: Pictish occupation and culture; The spread of lowland Royal control into the region and the early origins of Urquhart Castle; Urquhart as a Highland prize during the wars of independence; The Battle of Ross; Decline of the castle in the 17th century; Highland risings, government forts and agricultural developments on the site during the 18th century; The 19th-century arrival of industry, the Caledonian canal, and the first siting of the Loch Ness Monster.

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