Gylen Castle, Kerrera

Gylen Castle is a key place to visit when you go to the island of Kerrera. It also marks a nice, convenient halfway point on the South end of the island to walk to and back to the ferry. The castle is now a ruin, but you can still look around and explore it. This is a free entry site. Although there is no livestock within the castle, there is a colony of breeding Ravens at the castle and sheep around it on the working farmland.

Gylen Castle overlooks the sea on the West coast of the island and is a key historical site within Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. Below the castle, there is a beautiful bay and beach area, making it a great place to stop for a picnic, lunch, a swim, or a paddle in the crystal-clear water. The views from this side of the island are a great thing to witness on a sunny or stormy day. Gylen Castle is a short 15–to 20-minute walk from the Kerrera Tearooms and is located up a steep hill to reach the ruins. On reaching the castle, you will be provided with beautiful views across the waters and out across the rest of Kerrera.

Gylen Castle has a fascinating and torrid history behind it. In Gaelic, Gylen translates to ‘the castle of fountains’, although there is no running water there now in the present day. Gylen Castle was created and built in 1582 by the MacDougall clan. The MacDougall clan and family are famous in the local area, as they also built the nearby castle of Dunollie, located just outside Oban. It is believed that Gylen Castle was built as a second fortress on the Isle of Kerrera to help defend the area and its surrounding waters. The castle did not even manage 100 years of occupation as another local, neighbouring clan attacked it.