Introduction
Taymouth Castle is situated on the banks of the River Tay near Kenmore. Location is about eighty miles north of Edinburgh.
This castle dates from the 19th century but during the 20th century underwent a series of changes of use and ownership changes. Since 1982 the building has been unoccupied.
Although closed to the public, the writer has had the good fortune to benefit from two, one-off, private tours of the castle.
History of the Castle
The present building dates from the 1830s albeit on the site of an earlier castle (known as Balloch Castle) dating from the 16th century.
At its peak this neo-Gothic edifice sat at the heart of an estate extending to 400,000 acres. It was then owned by a branch of Clan Campbell headed by John Campbell, the 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane. It was this 2nd Marquess who spent lavishly on the building when he hosted the newly married Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1842.
The Campbell family sold the castle and estate in 1922. This was prompted by a deteriorating financial condition due to a combination of extravagant living and gambling debts.
After the change of ownership the underwent various changes of use including a hotel, hospital (WW2), boarding school and drama school until final closure in 1982.
In 2005 the building was sold for GBP12M (about USD15M) to a consortium with plans to convert the building into a 6 star hotel. However, this project did not proceed.
After 2008 the castle underwent numerous ownership changes culminating in DLC, an Arizona based property developer. DLC have plans to convert one wing of the property into a VIP suite for high net worth individuals from around the globe.
Acknowledgement: The history listed above was obtained from an article in the Daily Mail newspaper of June 13th 2020.
Readers should be aware that the on-going major threat to this castle is the deterioration of the fabric in context of the Scottish climate.
Images of the Castle
Exterior
Interior
Visiting
As mentioned above, this property is not open to visitors. However, a landscape view can be obtained from a minor, single track road from the Kenmore end of the road between Kenmore and Amulree. This is also known as Glen Quaich which is a popular ‘backroads’ drive offering outstanding views.
More information
For more information on Scottish castles, Scotland’s history and touring please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4