Castle Dounie

Also known as:
Creag Mhor
Nearest town:
Lochgilphead (10km E)
OS reference:
NR76749323
OS sheet:
55
Latitude:
56° 4' 46.92 N
Longitude:
5° 35' 18.07 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

The view inside of the suspicious hole, filled with fallen stones.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 15, 2025
Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

The south wall heads west. Scarba, the island with the hill.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 15, 2025
Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

To me, the line suggests another possible entrance and a definite change of builder.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 15, 2025
Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

The possible souterrain, very unlikely and no old lady with old fashioned clothes stuck in the hole. (see Canmore link)

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 15, 2025
Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

As normal, a walkers cairn on top of the north east section.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 15, 2025
Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

The north east side of the entrance, with walls continuing.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 14, 2025
Image of Castle Dounie (Stone Fort / Dun) by drewbhoy

Taken from a pile of logs next to the track on the south west. The walls of Castle Dounie in the middle.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 14, 2025

Articles

Castle Dounie

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Oct 21, 2025

After getting back down the hill from the dun at Ardnackaig, head north west on the track which eventually leads to Crinan. When you reach a part where the track widens, the wide part being used for logs, look up and north east, impressive stonework can be seen perched on top of the hill.

Don’t think about climbing from here, head further north at you’ll find a path, part of the Crinin Trail, that leads straight, in a curvy way, to the dun. No difficult parts but at the end of a long hike quite tiring.

The first glimpse of the dun is as you come out of the trees to the site’s entrance. This is a stunning place with stunning views of Jura, southern parts of Islay along with Mull and a lot of Argyll.

Originally the entrance was 2 metres wide but that has been reduced to 1 metre thanks to the wall being extended. Alterations have also happened to the outer wall as can be seen by the ‘join work’ in the photos. Clearly two sets of stone masons have been used. The small room, described by some as a souterrain, has been part of a possible outlook tower. Other little recesses might have been cupboards / storage areas made possible by the east wall being strengthened.

After scrambling around the outside of the fort and almost tripping over two long stones, possible lintels, and a wee sit down it was time to head back down the hill to the track to head south back to Carsaig.

Visited 07/04/2025.

Sites within 20km of Castle Dounie