Heading to Skye from Spean Bridge (Whispering Pine Lodge). Wanting to see the Eilean Donan Castle. Is it worth a full stop and a look inside? Can a person see it from the road without going on the property if it isn't open (opens at 10:00am in October) when we go through on our way to Skye (taking a rental car and would like to have as much light on Skye as possible) or should we try to go on our way back to our hotel?
Thanks for any insight!
Posted by
Chicagoland
1301 posts
IMO, pull into the parking lot. Walk around to get a few pics and then move on. While impressive from the outside in a lovely setting, the present castle is relatively new. There are far more interesting castles to visit in Scotland.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
good to know! Thanks for the reply! :)
Posted by
Freedonia
17932 posts
I was talking to a Rabbies tour guide the other day about the castle and he said that arriving at 10 AM is the worst time and the most crowded.
Tours leaving from Innsbruck for Skye get to Eilan Donan about 10 AM on their way to Skye and tours departing Skye for Inverness and other Scottish cities get to the castle about the same time.
If you wanted to go in, it would be better to stop on the way to your hotel later in the day.
But I also agree, there are more impressive castles.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1538 posts
You don’t even have to go into the car park to see it and get a great photo. Drive past the castle heading for Skye. You will almost immediately cross a bridge. Just after the bridge is the local community centre which has a car park and public toilets. You can walk down to the little jetty or wander to the water’s edge just behind the community centre and get a great photo of the castle with no people or tour buses in your shot.
Posted by
RIchmond, BC,Canada
1076 posts
I stopped when leaving Skye, and made sure I was there before 0930 so that my photos weren’t full of cars, buses and tourists. Eventually, I got curious and went inside. It is a small castle, so gets crowded quite quickly. Since it is a complete reconstruction, and many claim a romanticized version of a medieval castle, I did not find it as interesting as other castles.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1983 posts
Eilean Donan is beautifully situated on a site where two or three lochs come together. It is heavily restored. The interior is interesting but Downton Abbey style, not "knights in shining armor" style. We have stopped at the site for photos several times, but only went inside once when we needed something to do on a rainy day.