The key of the Eilean Donan, the huge iron key that the unlocks the main door of the 13th-century castle on the island at the confluence of the 3 sea lochs (the Loch Duich, the Loch Long, and the Loch Alsh), the bridge that was the added in the 1911, the castle that is the most photographed in the Scotland, and the key that the represents the essential Scottish-castle experience: the remote, the romantic, and the impossibly dramatic. The Scotland has the 1,500 castles (the 1 per the 8,000 people, the most per the capita in the world), and the “enchanted” are the 3 that feel the most like the fairy-tale. Here are the top 3.

The Top 3 Most Enchanted Castles in Scotland

• 1. The Eilean Donan Castle (the Kyle of the Lochalsh, the most beautiful): the island of the Eilean Donan, the 13th century, the most photographed castle in the Scotland, and the essential Scottish castle: the Mackenzies and the Macraes, the Jacobite rising (the 1719, the castle was the destroyed by the government ships and the rebuilt in the 1911–1932 by the John Macrae-Gilstrap), the bridge (the 1933, the film, the “Highlander”, the 1986, and the most recognised castle image in the world. The interior: the £10, the small, the 5 rooms, the banqueting hall, the oak, the stone, and the best castle interior in the Highlands. The essential tip: the 9am, the first entry, and the bridge photograph with the no-one on the shot. The essential alternative photograph: the viewpoint from the A87 road on the way to the Kyle of the Lochalsh, the free, the best angle, and the essential stop. The essential Eilean Donan accommodation: the Conchra House (the B&B, the £100/night, and the view of the castle). 2. The Dunnottar Castle (the Stonehaven, the most dramatic): the headland, the 160-foot cliffs, the North Sea, the fortress that the held the Scottish Crown Jewels (the Honours) during the Oliver Cromwell’s invasion (the 1651, the smuggled the out in the bedding and hidden in the nearby church), the ruin (the ruined, the roofless, the most dramatic castle ruin in the UK), and the walk from the Stonehaven: the 3 km, the coastal, the 1 hour, and the essential approach to the Dunnottar. ~£10 for the entry, and the essential: the wind, the Dunnottar is the exposed, and the coat is the essential. More UK →
• 3. The Kilchurn Castle (the Loch Awe, the most atmospheric): the ruined castle on the headland in the Loch Awe, the 15th-century, the Campbells of the Glenorchy, the 4-storey tower, the view from the A819 road (the lay-by, the free, and the most atmospheric castle view in the Scotland: the loch, the mist, the hills, and the castle that the appears to the float on the water), the walk: the 1.5 km from the lay-by, the flat, the 20 minutes, and the essential morning walk in the Argyll. The free (the exterior is the always accessible, the interior is the sometimes closed). The essential Kilchurn experience: the autumn morning, the mist on the loch, the gold of the birch, the castle in the mist, and the best castle photograph in the Scotland. The essential Scotland castle itinerary (the 3 days from the Glasgow or the Edinburgh): the day 1: the Stirling Castle (the £17, the most historically important castle in the Scotland, the 16th century, the Renaissance, and the best furnished castle) and the Doune Castle (the Monty Python, the “Holy Grail”). The day 2: the Kilchurn and the Inveraray (the Inveraray Castle, the 18th-century Gothic, the Duke of the Argyll, and the best interior in the Argyll. ~£14, and the essential: the “Downton Abbey” Christmas special). The day 3: the Eilean Donan and the journey to the Skye.