Eilean Donan Castle

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unique gifts collection - pictures of Eilean Donan Castle

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unique gifts from Scotland . The " unique gifts " collection from the Highlands include many unique gifts such as prints of Urquhart Castle and Duncraig Castle . The collection includes unique gifts - posters and large format prints of 25 castles . Over the portcullis at the entrance is a Gaelic inscription which translates as: As long as there is a MacRae inside, there will never be a Fraser outside. Some people say Eilean Donan is really 2 castles - the original one built in 1216 which was destroyed by 3 Spanish frigates and the castle which was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century . Inside the courtyard is the famous Murchison Stone with an inscription about John Murchison of Auchtertyre who was killed in the Battle of Sherrifmuir in 1715. In the upper floor inside the castle there are six bedrooms named Loch Alsh,Loch Long, Eilean Donan, Ballimore, Loch Duich and Conchra. There is also a panel with the names of the constables of the castle carved on it . The Castle was garrisoned by Government troops but later retaken by the Jacobites before the Battle of Sheriffmuir. In 1719 3 English frigates bombarded the castle and destroyed it . The castle them lay in ruins for nearly 200 years .In 1911 , John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the castle and set about making plans to rebuild it . It took twenty year and a quarter of a million pounds to complete the task . Local materials were used wherever possible.

Eilean Donan Castle is on a rock in the middle of 3 lochs - Loch Alsh , Loch Long and Loch Duich - and surrounded by the mountains of the Highlands . The castle is next to the village of Dornie and about 8 miles from the Kyle of Lochalsh and the bridge to the Isle of Skye . The castle is open most of the year and it is run by the Conchra Charitable Trust . The castle was built around 1200 and has been used in many films including James Bond and Highlander .

Eilean Donan means Island on Donan.Eilean Donan was Clan MacKenzie's most important stronghold from the 13th Century until it was destroyed in 1719. Robert the Bruce was given refuge in Eilean Donan Castle by John MacKenzie, Second of Kintail when he was being hunted by the English at the beginning of the fourteenth century.

Eilean Donan Castle was built in 1220 and owned by the MacKenzies of Kintail. In 1719 it was held by Spanish Jacobites. Three English frigates attacked the castle and left it in ruins. In 1912 work started on restoring the castle over a period of twenty years at a cost of a quarter of a million pounds. More recently the castle featured in the new Bond movie. The MacRae Clan who settled in the area came from the Beauly Firth

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