Innis Chonnel Castle
Innis Chonnel Castle is a ruined medieval castle on a small island in Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute, one of the oldest and most historically significant castles in the western Highlands and the original seat of the Campbell family who rose to become the most powerful noble dynasty in Highland Scotland. The island position in Scotland's longest freshwater loch provided exceptional natural defence that made the site essentially impregnable before artillery. Dating from at least the thirteenth century, the surviving curtain walls, towers and ancillary buildings represent successive phases of Campbell occupation across several centuries before the family's main residence moved to Inveraray. Loch Awe is one of the most beautiful and historically rich lochs in Argyll, with Kilchurn Castle at its northern end.