Old Inverlochy Castle - A 13th Century Fortress defending the river by Britain's tallest mountain
Old Inverlochy Castle is quite a large defensive fort that lies in the town of Fort William on the west coast of Scotland. Dating from the 13th century, it is now a ruin, but its walls are so thick that the main walls and four corner turrets are still largely intact.
The Castle is right beside River Lochy, upon which it used to control shipping. And it actually had a moat around it - you can sort of see the dip around it, in the grass outside (pic above).
We used to visit Fort William fairly often when we lived on the west coast, so we've been quite a lot of times. Its free to enter, and is maintained by one of the historic agencies in the UK, so it is safe.
The walls and turrets are very thick and large, and its what always strikes me when we visit. I'd say the walls are atleast 6 foot (2 metres) thick. Back when it was first built it would have been impenetrable.
It has seen its fair share of history, with two battles having actually occurred on the site. The first in the 15th century and the second in the 17th century. In the later battle, after the castle fell to the invaders, all of the remaining defenders were taken out and executed - pretty grim !
I really do enjoy visiting it for some reason. Its just a large square fortress with 4 corner turrets - but its about the location, age and size I guess.
The castle also lies a short distance away from the foot of Britain's tallest mountain - Ben Nevis (ben is the Scottish word for a large hill or mountain). In the pic above the two lines going up are from a pumped storage hydro scheme. And you can see snow up on the peaks, with one of Scotlands few ski areas lying just over to the left (Nevis Range).
Maintenance always seems to be on the go when we visit, but its great to see that they are preserving this historic structure for the future.
You can make out the hollow or dip of the moat better in the pic above, which is taken along one side.
Above you can see one of the defensive arrow slits, and also the outline of what was probably another small structure that used to stand against this wall. There would have been a whole settlement close to the castle, as it would have provided a source of trade, money and defense.
I do enjoy visiting it, and even though I've been many times, I'll continue to drop in and see it when I'm in the area - I just love the history.
The view above is taken from inside one of the four corner turrets, looking inside to the opposite wall.
If you are ever in the area, I'd highly recommend it - especially noting that its free ! All-in-all its well worth the visit !
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I am fascinated by these places and buildings with an ancient history.
Aye - me too, the things these walls must have seen !
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I think that wall was built for massive defense against invaders, we have also the same wall here in my country which is located at Intramuros Manila, the wall was built to protect the center of civilization during the Spanish colonization of my country, I'll post it here later for that some readers can see the place and the history behind it.