Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Castle Spotting on a Run Round Loch Awe


It was bright sunny spring day today, so I went for a run on the FJ.

Loch Awe is about 75 miles, by road, north west of Glasgow and like many lochs it is long & narrow (23 miles long x about 1/2 a mile across)


At the north end of the loch are the ruins of Kilchurn Castle. There are good views of the castle on the road from Inveraray to Oban. The castle was built in about 1450 and extended in the 16th & 17th centuries. The castle was abandoned after suffering damage by a lightening strike in 1760.


 Giant Lego at a quarry on the west side of the loch.



The loch contains a number of crannogs. These are small islands just offshore. They are man-made and would have had a house built on them. Some are as much as 5,000 years old and were inhabited until the 17th century. A home on a crannog would have been a easy defendable stronghold, but evidence suggest that they actually used for hunting & fishing and as an ancient holiday home!   

 Looking up the loch from the south end.

 The ruins of Fincharn Castle. Not much info on it - "probably 13th century"

 Barnacle Geese grazing the field beside the castle - visitors from Greenland

Innis Chonnel Castle - a favourite of mine. Early 13th & 15th century - a stronghold of the clan Campbell

 The north end of the loch.

The road round the loch is mostly single track - so you've got to look out for oncoming traffic...... 


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