Gunns Castle

Gunns Castle is a small rectangular keep on an isolated rocky stack on the east Caithness coast. There may have been a walled courtyard and outbuildings associated with the castle – it would be surprising if there was not – but nothing remains that is clearly visible from a distance, and accessing the rock is dangerous. However if so the courtyard would by necessity have been limited in size unless rockslip has damaged the stack significantly (which is perfectly possible).

It is commonly believed that the tower was abandoned and the nearby site of Halberry Castle replaced it, but the history of the area is fragmentary and obscured by myth. It was probably a comital castle of the earls of Caithness, and may have been occupied – as tradition states – by the Gunn family, one of whom was the coroner of Caithness in the 15th century. The truth is that there is no history of the castle that can be confirmed – and no archaeology has been carried out on the site. Most of the stone that lay on the stack was removed in the 19th century and used for drystone walling, and this may be the reason for the very badly damaged steps leading down to the shore and up to the rock. I elected not to risk the climb…

Folk tale about the king of Norway destroying Gunns Castle

HES Canmore database entry