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Eileen Donan Castle.
There was once a hermit on the island, St Donan, and Eileen Donan is "Island of Donan" in Gaelic.
The present castle was built on this site by Alexander II in the 13th century to protect against Viking raids, and given to Colin Fitzgerald. The strong keep was defence against all attempts to take the castle, including many raids by the MacDonalds of the Isles.
During the first Jacobite rebellion, the owners of the castle, the MacRaes, supported the Old Pretender, and garrisoned a small force of Spanish soldiers here. The castle was pounded into submission in 1719 by four English frigates.
It was left in ruins until 1912, when a Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap decided to re-build his ancestral home. For the next twenty years he restored the castle faithfully, paying great attention to detail. It was opened to the public in 1934, and Col MacRae-Gilstrap lived there for part of the year. It also became the spiritual home of the MacRae clan.
Eilean Donan is said to have its own ghosts. One is a Spanish soldier killed in the battle when the castle was destroyed in 1719. He is said to have been seen carrying his head under his arm. The other ghost is reported to be a certain Lady Mary who haunts one of the bedrooms.
The castle has been used in some movies, among these the most famous is Highlander with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery from 1984. It was also used in James Bond movie 'The World is Not Enough'and other less known movies.
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