Taymouth Castle

When the main drive of a great estate debouches into a village - in this case Kenmore on Loch Tay - it usually means that the village was truly feudal. Two things are happening in Kenmore. One is that the company who own the castle and had hopes of developing it into a six or seven star hotel, has gone bankrupt. Two is that the picturesque cottages in the village are being bought up by a company converting them into self-catering accommodation. So the population is dropping.

The Campbells of Breadalbane were one of Scotland's greatest landowning families. At its height their estate extended to 437,696 acres and was over 100 miles long. From Aberfeldy it was possible to reach the west coast of Scotland without leaving the Breadalbane's land and at its core lay Taymouth, a vast baronial castle, built at the height of the family's power.

The present owners have tried to ensure that the Castle is kept in good order. Many hundreds of thousands have been spent on the main roof. Sadly modern safety regulations preclude the opening of the Castle to the public.