A lifetime of Islands: Island 73 - Kisimul Castle, Outer Hebrides

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Island 73 - Kisimul Castle, Outer Hebrides

Kisimul Castle is located in the middle of Castle Bay a few hundred metres south of Barra. The Gaelic name is Caisteal Chiosmuil, which means ‘castle of the rock of the small bay’.

Barra was granted to the MacNeil Clan in 1427 by Alexander, Lord of the Isles. Kisimul Castle was built by them in the 15th Century. It was remodelled in the 17th century but had been abandoned as the MacNeil's main residence by the mid 18th century. At some point after this it was gutted by fire and much of the stone was plundered to use as ballast for fishing boats. The MacNeil's were forced to sell Barra and Kisimul Castle 1838 to repay debts and it fell into disrepair. It was bought by American architect Robert MacNeil in 1937 and he set about restoring it. However the restoration was not completed until 1970.

The Clan MacNeil leased Kisimul Castle to Historic Environment Scotland in 2000 and there is a passenger ferry service over to the castle from Castlebay in the summer. There isn't a huge amount to see in the castle but it is worth the trip. You can climb up on the battlements and look out over Castlebay. I think there is a guidebook, which you can buy, which might be a good idea to make the most of your visit, as when I visited in June 2016 there weren't many interpretation boards to read.