Caisteal Maol

Caisteal Maol is a ruined tower on a rocky knoll overlooking the Kyle Akin, separating the mainland from the Isle of Skye. It sits directly above a sandy inlet providing shelter for modest shipping, and can clearly be seen from the Skye Bridge.

The castle was a simple rectangular tower with joisted floors at all levels; access between the floors may have been via trapdoors or a mural stair in part of the tower that has collapsed, and the entrance was at first floor level. There is no evidence of decorative stonework, giving the tower a rather spartan and utilitarian look.

The castle was built before 1513, when Donald “Gallda” Macdonald was recognised as Lord of the Isles in defiance of the forfeiture of the title. By 1549 it was in the hands of the Mackinnon clan, who served under the Macdonalds, possibly having achieved a degree of autonomy after the forfeiture. It is likely that the castle, recorded as roofless in 1652, was burned out during the Bishops Wars, and never reoccupied.

HES Canmore database entry