Located at the side of the remote B 886 road which runs west through North Harris, Amhuinnsuidhe Castle dates from 1868. Built in the Scottish Baronial style by architect David Bryce (1803-76) for Charles Murray, the 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841 - 1907), this fine country house looks out across Loch Leosavay, an opening in West Loch Tarbert. Originally known as Fincastle, Lord Dunmore suffered bankruptcy before the castle could be finished and both it and the surrounding North Harris Estate were taken over by Sir Edward Scott, on behalf of Dunmore's London bankers. It passed to his son, Sir Samuel Scott, whose house parties were legendary for their generosity. It was while staying here that Sir James Barrie (1860 - 1937) wrote the first draft of his play Mary Rose.
The estate were purchased by William Hesketh Lever, Lord Leverhulme, in 1919, although the Scotts took a lease on the castle. On Leverhulme's death six years later, Sir Samuel bought the castle once again and held it until his death in 1944. Amhuinnsuidhe was then purchased by Sir Thomas Sopwith, the aircraft-manufacturing tycoon. Sopwith sold the estate in 1961 and it passed through various hands, and began to be used as a base guests who were willing to pay to hunt and fish.
Later owned by the Bulmer family, of cider fame, the castle was separated from much of its North Harris estate following the buy-out of that estate by the local community in 2003. The castle is now used for corporate and sporting events.
