A former stronghold of the MacDougalls, the ruined Dunollie Castle occupies a prominent cliff-top position on the Argyllshire coast a mile (1.5 km) north northwest of Oban. The ivy-clad castle overlooks the northern tip of the island of Kerrera and comprises a four-storey square tower, which most-likely dates from the 1400s, with a barmkin added the following century. The site is known to have been occupied since the 7th C. as a stronghold of the Kings of Dalriada, fought over several times and abandoned in the 10th C. Dunollie became the property of the MacDougalls in the 12th C. and the earlier stronghold was re-fortified with the current structure built later. Archibald Campbell, the Marquis of Argyll, captured the castle in 1644 but, following his execution in 1661, it was returned to the MacDougalls. Dunollie Castle was abandoned in the later 17th C. the MacDougalls having built Dunollie House nearby which remains their home. The castle was drawn in 1815 by William Daniell (1769 - 1837) with the resulting aquatint published in his Voyage Round Great Britain. It is now rather diminished, having been quarried for stone.
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