Dunaverty Castle (1)
The village in the distance is called Southend - a name usually associated with Southend-on-Sea in England.  This one however, is at the south end of Kintyre, hence, presumably, its name!  The great knob of hard conglomerate rock in the foreground, separated from the village by a golf course, is the site of Dunaverty Castle.

It's quite a hike to get here by road.  To drive here from Glasgow for example, you have to drive north up Loch Lomond, round the top of Loch Fyne to Inverary, and then more than 80 miles down through Mid-Argyll, Knapdale and Kintyre - a trip of 130 miles all up.  Its remoteness and scant remains would imply that this was a castle of little significance right?  

Wrong!

The clue to why Dunaverty was important, is that Weegies wanting to get here don't drive a circuitous 130 miles, they come across the Firth of Clyde on ferries via the Isle of Arran (assuming the ferries aren't booked out!).  When you look at Dunaverty's position in relation to the Firth of Clyde, the northern end of the Irish sea, and the many medieval kingdoms that once surrounded it (Strathclyde, Man, Dalriada, and too many in Ireland to count), you realise that back in the days when most transport in this region was by boat, Dunaverty was right in the middle of the action.  And it was!

A lifeboat station with a red roof was sited here, for probably much the same reason!
dji076465stitch3 scotland 2022 dunavertycastle southend kintyre argyll