Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan Castle sits dramatically on a rocky outcrop above a sea loch on the north-western coast of the Isle of Skye. It has been the ancestral seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for some eight centuries, making it one of the longest continuously inhabited castles in Scotland. The castle visible today is a layered building, with medieval origins, Jacobean additions and a striking 19th-century romantic remodelling that gave it its current battlemented profile.

Inside, visitors can explore a sequence of richly furnished rooms hung with family portraits, weapons and Jacobite relics. The most celebrated treasure is the Fairy Flag, a fragile silk banner whose origins remain a mystery and which is said to have miraculous powers of protection for the clan. Other highlights include letters from Sir Walter Scott and a lock of Bonnie Prince Charlie's hair.

The five acres of formal gardens are an unexpected pleasure on this windswept coast, with a walled garden, water garden and woodland walks leading down to the loch. From the jetty below the castle, small boats run seal-watching trips out to the colonies on the offshore skerries, providing close views of common and grey seals against a backdrop of the Cuillin and MacLeod's Tables.