Castle Moil, Isle of Skye

Caisteal Maol (Gaelic: Caisteal, 'Castle', Maol, 'bare')

Castle Moil is also known as Castle Moal, Caisteal Maol, Dun Akyn, Dun Haakon and Castle Dunakin. It is located near the village of Kyleakin next to Loch Alsh on Isle of Skye. It was a MacKinnon castle built between 1490 and 1513.

We walked to the castle from the beautiful small village of Kyleakin. 

I had to show you this cute sign in Kyleakin. :)

It's a short hike to the castle that includes walking along village streets and then through bracken fern and along the shore where the water flows in at high tide. This is a flagstone with a warning about the tide. I suppose someone could get stuck at the castle overnight if they weren't careful.

To prevent unpaid crossings through the narrow straight between Skye and the mainland, the reputed builder of Castle Moil, a Norwegian princess and wife of a MacKinnon chieftain remembered today as "Saucy Mary", had a chain hung from the castle walls across the channel to the mainland. The chain was raised to block passage and thus allowed her to extract toll from all vessels which passed through the Kyles. Why was she named Saucy Mary? Allegedly Mary, following payment of her tolls would, as a gesture of thanks, flash her breasts at the sailors as the ships would pass. Today, there is a lodge and restaurant in Kyleakin called Saucy Mary's.

Looking across the bracken and heather toward Castle Moil and Kyle.

 At one point on our hike, we followed some other tourists who didn't know where they were going either. :) And two of us ended up climbing a rocky, muddy hillside. Very difficult! I took the above photo from there. Once we realized this was the wrong trail, we climbed back down again. LOL Sometimes the bracken grows over five feet tall. It's easy to see how enemy warriors could've hidden in it before an attack. Above, you can also see the heather (pinkish purple). It was in bloom all over Scotland when we were there in mid-September.

Walking along through the edge of Loch Alsh while the tide was out. As you can see from the seaweed, the water comes in pretty far.

After all that walking, I needed a break. Here, I'm sitting on a bench below the castle ruin.

The hardest part of the hike normally would be climbing up to the castle itself. My two friends didn't want to join me in the climb but I enjoyed it. :) I love exploring old ruins and taking photos of everything possible.

I love this one remaining window.

Looking up at the "ceiling" of the window alcove.

View from Castle Moil across Loch Alsh.

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Castle Moil window

View from Castle Moil window.

View in the opposite direction from the window.

 I took pics of the sign below the castle. It contains historical information. Click to enlarge them.

Click to enlarge. How the castle originally looked before it fell into ruin.

Click to enlarge and read the history of the castle.

Click to enlarge to see diagrams of castle.

What's left of the window and wall. The holes above the window are where wooden floor joists were originally for the floor above. You can also see how thick the wall is.

Click to enlarge. View from the castle across to the village of Kyle of Lochalsh.

After leaving the castle, we walked back to the village and ate at Castle Moil Restaurant. The food was delicious and I recommend it highly. I hope you've enjoyed this wee visit to Castle Moil. Thank you for taking the journey with me. :)
Vonda
www.vondasinclair.com

 PS Coming soon... the audiobook version of My Daring Highlander. :)

Facebook Party--Her Highland Hero and All Things Highland--July 18!!!

Dunnottar Castle Ruins–a stairway to heaven, early 15th Century Tower House. These were the castle ruins where I envisioned A Highland Werewolf Wedding took place. Dunnottar, Scotland, United Kingdom

For lovers of everything historical, Celtic, Highland, Scottish, Romance, HEA, this is for you!

Fall Colors in Scotland Reflected off a Loch

Some of the prizes I’ll be giving away are: A Highland teddy bear that I make, 2 The Viking’s Highland Lass T-shirts (Gunnolf had to be part of the party), Highland print books, Highland ebooks!
If you’d like to attend my first ever Facebook party, this one for Her Highland Hero, I’ll be here on July 18 from 6 PM to 11 PM, CST for anyone who wishes to attend! We’ll be having several guest authors also and they’re bringing goodies too! Hope you can come to the party. Kilts not required! https://www.facebook.com/events/276934839159040/

Special guests will be featured:
6:30 Victoria Roberts
7:00 Nancy Lee Badger
7:30 Vonda Sinclair
8:00
8:30 Eliza Knight
9:00 Mary Elizabeth Wine
9:30 Debra Dier
10:00
10:30 Dawn Marie Hamilton
Willa Blair will drop in if she can! More who are checking their schedules

Her Highland Hero
Lady Isobel is a Norman laird’s daughter, living near the Scots border where her father, Lord Pembroke, is trying to keep the peace. But her mother was a Highlander and the man Isobel loves most of all is Laird Marcus McEwan, who has been bringing news of her mother’s people for years. But now Isobel’s father wishes her wed to an English nobleman, who will carry on his title. Isobel will wed no other man but her heart’s desire—and that is one braw Highlander from her mother’s homeland.
Laird Marcus McEwan has loved the feisty lass forever. For years, Marcus has tried to convince Lord Pembroke to allow him to wed his daughter. But the Norman lord will not allow it. Then ambushes and murders make it too dangerous for Marcus to reach a peaceful resolution.
Nothing goes as planned and keeping the lass for his own is fraught with danger, as they try to determine who was behind the killings. Isobel and Marcus will do everything in their power to ensure they are together as they have always vowed they would be.

Audiobook will be coming, and print is coming soon.
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
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Smashwords
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Print

This will be my first time at hosting a a Facebook Party. After this one, I’ll be doing one for A Hero of a Highland Wolf. Different genre, and I hope to get some shifters, I mean, shifter writers, to join me on that. :)
In the meantime, I’m working on Call of the Cougar, reached 15,000. Shooting for 20K by Sunday night. :)
Have a great Saturday!

Back to writing!

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”

www.terryspear.com

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Inveraray Castle, Argyll, Scotland

After about an hour or two drive from Glasgow, through Rest and Be Thankful, we arrived in Inveraray, a beautiful small town. Nearby is Inveraray Castle, home to the Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell.

They have some beautiful black Highland cattle.

We enjoyed a tour of the castle's extensive interior. No photos were allowed inside, but there was plenty outside to photograph. The azaleas were in full bloom.

Wow look how blue the sky is! When the sun does come out in Scotland, the colors are so vivid.

The original castle on this spot had been here since the 1400s. At the time, the village was a collection of cottages very close to the castle. The third duke had the old castle demolished. The current Inveraray Castle dates back to 1744. This castle isn't a true castle in the traditional sense (used for defense), but a Georgian mansion house in a Gothic style. It took about 40 years to complete.  After a fire in 1877, a third floor was added along with the conical roofs on the corner towers.

 I love these beautiful old trees covered in moss.

The old village of Inveraray, which was very close to the castle, was moved a short distance away. The fifth Duke of Argyll had the town constructed on it's present site beginning in 1770. This is one of the best examples of an eighteenth century town in Scotland and most of the buildings are protected because of their architectural significance. This is one of the prettiest towns I've seen.

 Dun na Cuaiche sits on a hilltop far above the castle, near the site of an Iron Age fort.

 Millions of bluebells grow on the castle grounds. They even have a Bluebell Festival here at the castle in May and children dress up like fairies.

Click to enlarge.

The gardens were incredibly beautiful and large. We had a nice long stroll through them.

To learn more about the castle, especially the interior, click here for the ground floor. After you view that, there's a menu to the side where you can select the other floors.

Thanks for checking out my photos!
Vonda

My website has been redesigned! Hope you'll check it out!
www.vondasinclair.com

My Fierce Highlander is on sale for .99 cents for Kindle and Nook!

Gwyneth Carswell, an English lady banished by her father to the harsh Scottish Highlands, wants nothing more than to take her young son away from the violence of two fighting clans--her own distant kin, the MacIrwins, and their enemies, the MacGraths. She risks everything to rescue the fierce MacGrath warrior from the battlefield where he’s left for dead by her clan. She only knows she is inexplicably drawn to him and he wants peace as she does. When her clan learns of her betrayal, they seek vengeance. Dare she trust the enemy more than her own family? 

Laird Alasdair MacGrath is driven to end two-hundred years of feuding with the MacIrwins. But by taking in and protecting Lady Gwyneth and her son, he provokes more attacks from his mortal enemy. As the danger and conflict surrounding them escalate, Alasdair and Gwyneth discover an explosive passion neither of them expected. With the arrival of a powerful man from her past, a horrible decision confronts her--give up her son or the man she loves.