Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the North of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the chiefs of the clan for nearly 800 years. Originally designed to keep people out, it was first opened to visitors in 1933. Since then, the castle is consistently ranked as one of Scotland's premier visitor attractions. Over the years, the castle has been visited by Sir Walter Scott, Dr Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and the Japanese Emperor Akihito.
And also by Grandmère Mimi and Cathy.
Below are pictures of the lovely castle gardens, which were laid out in the 18th century, no doubt at great cost and effort to make them look as natural as possible. The walk through the gardens was the highlight of my visit to the castle.
The bridge and waterfall.
The waterfall up close.
Monkey puzzle tree.
Daylilies? (amyj says that the flowers are Asiatic lilies.)
More flowers...
...and more flowers. (Penny tells me these lovelies are lacecap hydrangeas.)
...and more flowers, including blue hydrangeas...
And a birdie, a sea gull with pink legs and feet. (susan s. tells me the speckled bird is probably a juvenile.)
The sea gull's mate?
All this on the beautiful Isle of Skye.
Text and top photo of Dunvegan Castle from Wikipedia. The other pictures are mine.
