Castle
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01 / THE STORY
Carrick Castle: history and highlights
Carrick Castle rises from a rocky outcrop on the western shore of Loch Goil. Its imposing tower marks a strategic route between the Clyde and Loch Fyne, with the water and surrounding hills giving it a memorable setting.
A Campbell stronghold by the loch
Carrick Castle stands on a rocky spur on Loch Goil's western shore. Historic Environment Scotland dates the main tower probably to the late fourteenth century and links it to the Campbells of Lochawe, later Earls of Argyll. Its position mattered on a route between the Clyde and Loch Fyne, when waterways and passes shaped movement through Argyll.
From about 1500 hereditary captains held the castle. The tower was changed over the centuries, so its present appearance brings together medieval stonework and later work rather than a single building campaign.
A royal visit and the fire of 1685
According to the Lochgoilhead community information pack, Mary, Queen of Scots, visited Carrick in 1563. The source does not establish enough detail to reconstruct her stay, but the connection places this small lochside castle in a larger royal story.
In 1685 government forces burned the castle during the rebellion of the ninth Earl of Argyll. The roofless tower remained a dramatic landmark for generations. HES records clearance and repairs in the early twentieth century and a later phase in 1988, when architect Ian Begg brought part of it back into use as a dwelling.
Argyll and the IslesGlengorm Castle 
Aberdeen & MorayAuchindoun Castle 
Scottish BordersBuckholm Tower 
