View source for Castle Stalker

{{short description|Tower house in Argyll, Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox building
|name                    = Castle Stalker
|image                   = Castle Stalker - geograph.org.uk - 204092.jpg
|caption                 = Castle Stalker with the Lynn of Lorne and [[Lismore, Scotland|Lismore]] beyond
|map_type                =
|coordinates             = 
|location                = [[Argyll and Bute]]
|location_town           = Tidal island on Loch Laich
|location_country        = Scotland
|client                  =
|construction_start_date =
|completion_date         = 
|date_demolished         =
|structural_system       =
|style                   =
|size                    = 
|website                 = {{url|castlestalker.com}}
}}
'''Castle Stalker''' ({{langx|gd|Caisteal an Stalcaire}}) is a four-storey [[tower house]] or [[keep]] in the Scottish county of [[Argyll]]. It is set on a [[tidal island|tidal islet]] on Loch Laich, an inlet off [[Loch Linnhe]]. It is about {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km|abbr=off|round=0.5}} north-east of [[Port Appin]] and is visible from the [[A828 road]] about midway between [[Oban]] and [[Glen Coe]]. The islet is accessible with difficulty from the shore at low tide. The name "Stalker" comes from the [[Scottish Gaelic language|Gaelic]] ''Stalcaire'', meaning "hunter" or "falconer". The [[island castle]] is one of the best preserved medieval tower houses to survive in western Scotland and is a Category A [[listed building]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Visit Fort William|url=http://visit-fortwilliam.co.uk/castle-stalker-near-port-appin}}</ref><ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB12345|desc=Castle Stalker|cat=A|access-date=28 March 2019}}</ref> It stands in the Lynn of Lorn [[National Scenic Area (Scotland)|National Scenic Area]].<ref>[http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/national-designations/nsa/ "National Scenic Areas"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311014235/http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/national-designations/nsa/ |date=2017-03-11 }}. SNH. Retrieved 30 March 2011.</ref>

==History==
The original castle was a small fort built around 1320 by [[Clan MacDougall]], who were then Lords of [[Lorne, Scotland|Lorn]].<ref name="Brief">{{cite web |last1=Allward |first1=Ross. S.S. |title=A Brief History |website=Castle Stalker |url=https://www.castlestalker.com/wp/about/ |access-date=23 June 2023 |date=March 2011}}</ref> Around 1388, the [[Clan Stewart of Appin|Stewarts]] took over the Lordship of Lorn, and it is believed that they built the castle in its present form around the 1440s. The Stewarts' relative King [[James IV of Scotland]] visited the castle, and a drunken bet, around 1620, resulted in the castle passing to [[Clan Campbell]].<ref name="Brief" /> After the castle changed hands between these clans a couple of times, the Campbells finally abandoned it about 1840 when it lost its roof. In 1908, the castle was bought by Charles Stewart of Achara, who carried out basic conservation work. In 1965, Lt. Col. D. R. Stewart Allward acquired the castle and over about ten years fully restored it. Castle Stalker remains in private ownership and is open to the public at selected times during the summer.<ref name="Visitor">{{Cite web |title=Visitor Info |website=Castle Stalker |url=http://www.castlestalker.com/wp/visitor-info/ |access-date=5 August 2022 }}</ref>

For the 2011 census, the island on which the castle stands was classified by the [[National Records of Scotland]] as an inhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses."<ref>{{NRS1C}}</ref>

{{Panorama
|image = File:Loch Laich and Castle Stalker.jpg
|caption = View of Loch Laich and Castle Stalker with the mountains of [[Morvern]] in the background
|height = 250
|alt = View of Loch Laich and Castle Stalker with Morvern mountains in background
|}}

==In popular culture==
Castle Stalker has been used as a location for the filming of multiple works including:
* ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' (as "The Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh")
* ''[[Highlander: Endgame]]''<ref>[http://www.scotlandthemovie.com/movies/h4stalker.html "Highlander: Endgame - Castle Stalker"]. Scotland the Movie. Retrieved 19 October 2013.</ref>
* ''[[Sense8]]'' (as the estate of the "Old Man of Hoy")<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sense8, A Netflix Original |url=https://www.filminargyll.co.uk/single-post/2016/05/09/this-is-your-third-post |access-date=11 December 2022 |website=Argyll and Bute Council|date=5 May 2017 }}</ref>
* ''[[Black Mirror]]'', "[[Loch Henry]]"

Castle Stalker is the inspiration for Castle Keep in the children's book ''[[The Boggart]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.markscott.f9.co.uk/thelostland/sconbogg.htm | title=Susan Cooper on Writing the Boggart}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Castle Stalker}}
*[http://www.castlestalker.com/ Castle Stalker web site]

{{Coord|56|34|16|N|5|23|10|W|display=title|region:GB_type:landmark}}
{{Argyll Islands}}
{{Portal bar|Scotland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stalker, Castle}}
[[Category:Castles in Argyll and Bute]]
[[Category:Category A listed buildings in Argyll and Bute]]
[[Category:Listed castles in Scotland]]
[[Category:Clan MacDougall]]
[[Category:Hunting lodges in Scotland]]
[[Category:Tower houses in Scotland]]
[[Category:Tidal islands of Scotland]]