Knock Castle, Sleat, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Introduction

This evening, I am posting information on Knock, one of Scotland’s lesser known castles. However, despite the castle’s obscurity it is passed by tens of thousands of visitors each year. This is because the castle is close to the main transit road to/from the ferry port of Armadale. The latter provides a link with the mainland ferry port of Mallaig.

Information on Knock Castle

Knock Castle is close to the highway known as the A851, about four miles north of Armadale. Parking in the vicinity of the castle is very difficult. Although there is no signage it is possible to reach the castle on foot.

As a defended settlement, the site has a history dating back to the Iron-Age, about 2000 years ago. At this time the castle site was known as Dun Thoravaig. The first medieval castle was built in the 1300s by the MacLeods. This was replaced by the current structure in the 1400s by the MacDonalds. The latter remained in control through to abandonment in the 1600s. (There was a brief period of occupation by forces of King James I in 1431.) After abandonment the structure fell into ruin and was used as a quarry for its building stone.

Like many castle sites in Scotland, Knock is located in a natural ‘command and control’ position. It overlooks the Sound of Sleat (waterway), which would have formed a marine highway.This pre-dated the advent of roads in relatively recent times. Land in the background is the remote Knoydart Peninsula.

More Information

For more information on castles and Scotland in general please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.