Dunstaffnage Castle

Dunstaffnage Castle, Scotland

One of the old curtain-wall castles of Argyll, near Oban; this type of building was a frequent pattern in western Scotland, consisting basically of a thick stone wall built around the edge of a large rocky extrusion, with a simple arched entrance passage (towers were added later) -- other examples are Mingary and Tioram, which I haven't visited. This style is stark and solemnly impressive. Dunstaffnage was the capital ('Dun') of the ancient Irish kingdom of Dalriada, Fergus and Ossian and that crowd.