Dunderave Castle

Dunderave Castle seen across Loch Fyne from a hill track above St Catherines

The castle lies on a small promontory on the northern shores of Loch Fyne, around 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-east of Inveraray, Argyll. The castle is in use as a residence. The present castle was built after their previous castle was destroyed following a Plague infection. The old castle, and remnants of McNaughton crannógs, can still be seen on the lochan known as the Dubh Loch at the head of Glen Shira.

The name Dunderave is of Gaelic origin. Since the MacNachtans were designated 'of Dunderave' from as early as 1473, the place-name appears to have moved with the clan from the Dubh Loch. It has been suggested that the name derives either from Dun-an-Rudha, meaning 'The Knoll on the Promontory', or else from Dun-da-Ramh, 'The Castle of Two Oars'. The latter is taken to imply that there was a ferry near the site of the castle.[1]

Alexander Campbell of Cawdor visited Dunderave in September 1591.[2]

The castle was restored and remodelled in 1911 by Sir Robert Lorimer relandscaping the gardens at the same time.[3]

1912 datestone

• Fraoch Eilean, Loch Awe - earlier MacNauchtan castle
• Dundarave House - the Irish seat of the MacNaughton clan

• Cock, Matthew (1998), Dunderave Castle and the MacNachtans of Argyll, Dunderave Estate, ISBN 978-0-9658338-0-6

• Overview of Dundarave Castle from the Gazetteer for Scotland
• Dundarave Castle in the 1900s