Kinlochaline Castle is a 12th century Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 fortress on the Ardtornish

Ardtornish

Ardtornish is a Highland estate in Scotland located in, Morven, Lochaber. Ardtornish House is famous for its gardens and the estate is the location of the ruined Ardtornish Castle and the still-inhabited Kinlochaline Castle.-History:...

 estate in Morvern

Morvern

Morvern is a peninsula in south west Lochaber, on the west coast of Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne . The highest point is the summit of the Corbett Creach Bheinn which reaches in elevation....

 in the Highland

Highland (council area)

Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...

 council area. It is also known as Caisteal an Ime (Scottish Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....

 for Castle of Butter) because a Lady of Clan MacInnes

Clan MacInnes

Clan MacInnes is a Scottish clan from the highlands. As there is currently no clan chief, it is currently regarded as an Armigerous clan.-Origins of the name:...

, Dubh Chal (Lady of the Black Veil), is said to have paid the builder with butter equal to the volume of the castle.

History

Kinlochaline Castle is located at the head of Loch Aline

Loch Aline

Loch Aline is a small salt water loch home to fish, birds and game, located in Morvern, Lochaber, Scotland. Key features of interest are Kinlochaline Castle, Ardtornish Castle and the Ardtornish Estate located at its head....

, positioned strategically for coastal defence. Four stories tall, 43 by 34 feet, with walls that are 10 feet thick blocks of rare sandstone. The castle was burned in 1644, when it was besieged by Alasdair Mac Colla during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The castle was attacked by the Archibald Campbell

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer.He was born in 1629 in Dalkeith, Scotland, the son of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll....

, 9th Earl of Argyll in 1679, during a feud. Kinlochaline was abandoned about 1690.

Re-construction in the late 1990s was overseen by Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...

. The castle is now a residence.