Ardtornish

Ardtornish lies on the Sound of Mull at the mouth of the Rannoch River, where a sheltered anchorage faces the mountains of Morvern. Fertile coastal ground and sea routes made the site valuable to clans controlling western Scotland. Fishing, cattle and passing ships supplied the local economy.

The castle was a residence of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. From the fourteenth century their sea-borne domain linked the Hebrides, western Highlands and Ireland. Ardtornish controlled movement through the Sound of Mull and served as a base for counsel, tribute and naval expeditions. In 1462 John of Islay negotiated the Treaty of Ardtornish with England against the Scottish crown.

Royal power broke the Lordship in the late fifteenth century. Ardtornish passed to Campbell owners and the medieval castle decayed, but the anchorage and route remained. Its history belongs to a maritime lordship where castles guarded straits rather than large inland estates. The sheltered bay also sustained fishing and passage along the western sea road.