Aros Castle

With commanding views over the Sound of Mull, Aros Castle is located at the mouth of the Aros River, where it enters Salen Bay on the northeast coast of the island of Mull in Argyll and Bute. Little remains of this 13th-century castle which was home to the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. Built by the MacDougalls before passing to the MacDonalds around 1300, it was once a strong hall-house and courtyard fortress, protected by a fosse and drawbridge. The castle passed to the MacLeans in 1493 and much later to the Duke of Argyll. It is believed that treasure from a sunken Spanish galleon is buried amongst the ruins and it was at Aros Castle in 1608 that Lord Ochiltree gathered together the Highland chiefs for dinner aboard his ship before imprisoning them and taking them south to Blackness, Dumbarton and Stirling.

The castle was drawn in 1815 by William Daniell (1769 - 1837) with the resulting aquatint published in his Voyage Round Great Britain.


Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry arrow

If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...

By using our site you agree to accept cookies, which help us serve you better