Dunvegan Castle

The MacLeods have held Dunvegan since around 1200 and have lived in it continuously since, longer than any other family in a Scottish castle. The building grew from a keep by accretion over eight centuries and was given a uniform castellated skin in the 1840s, which is why a very old structure looks Victorian from outside. Its most famous object is the Fairy Flag, a fragment of silk analysed as originating in the eastern Mediterranean somewhere between the fourth and seventh centuries, brought here by unknown means; tradition holds it can be waved to save the clan three times and that two of those uses have been spent. Also displayed are the Dunvegan Cup and Rory Mor's drinking horn. Boats run from the castle jetty to a common seal colony in the loch.

What you actually see

• The Fairy Flag - a silk fragment from the eastern Mediterranean, dated to the first millennium.
• The eight centuries of building - a keep grown by accretion under a Victorian skin.
• The seal colony - common seals reached by boat from the castle jetty.
• The gardens - woodland and water gardens unusually lush for Skye.

When to go

April to October; the castle closes for winter. Seal trips run seasonally and cancel in swell. The gardens are best in late spring and early summer.

Honest expectations

The exterior is a Victorian remodelling and reads as such. Photography inside is restricted. The Fairy Flag is a small, faded fragment in a case rather than a banner. Seal trips are short and weather dependent.

Nearby

Neist Point lies west; Portree is forty minutes east.