Duntrune Castle Holiday Cottages

Two hundred years later, the O'Challums (now anglicised to Malcolm) bought out the Campbells. Today heir direct descendants still occupy Duntrune and farm the land. Situated like San Francisco's Golden Gate at the narrows between deep water and a tidal loch, Duntrune was build to guard the glens of Kilmartin and Kilmichael from seafaring marauders. Always a Campbell stronghold in those days, it wa

s never the scene of a major conflict, and is now accepted as the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland. The vaulted rooms on the ground floor date from the 12th Century, and the remainder of the keep from the 16th. Our ghost is well-authenticated, handless piper, whose musical warning "Cholla mo Run, Seachain a Dun" saved his master Colkitto McDonald from a Campbell ambush. Four thousand years before the first Campbell, neolithic man gave up a nomadic hunting life to settle here where the land drained easily and responded to his simple implements. The Scots of Dalriada came later, attracted not only by the fertility of the area, but also because it was central to their kingdom and all outposts were easily reached. So it is today. No part of mainland Argyll is more than seventy miles away, which makes Poltalloch an ideal base from which to see all the county offers. On the other hand, some guests arrive with a boat, or fishing rods, or just sensible walking shoes, and only leave the estate to shop or eat out. An indefinable magic draws families here, often year after year, which is the best advertisement of all. Experience this magic for yourselves in one of our unique cottages.