Caisteal Eoghainn a’ Chinn Bhig

Caisteal Eoghainn a’ Chinn Bhig Crannog

This small island is situated about 500 m south of Ishriff farmstead at the northern end of Loch Sguabain, which is the northernmost of a chain of small lochs in Glen More.  It is unclear whether this is a natural or an artificial island.

A massive, 3.3 m thick, dry-stone wall surrounds an area measuring 22 m by 10 m.  The shape is an irregular oval.  The wall is best preserved on the south side where its outer face rises to a height of 1.2 m above the loch.  Here, the interior wall face stands to a height of 0.9 m above the interior ground level, which is 1.7 m above water level.  The entrance may have been on the south west, where the wall is fragmented.  A scattering of stones indicates a possible causeway to the north east, but there is no evidence of an entrance here.

The interior, which is very overgrown, is featureless, except for a recently-constructed, small, circular shelter at the north end.  It is assumed that one or more domestic structures originally occupied the interior.

Traditionally associated with Ewan ‘of the little head’, a son of John MacLean, 5th of Lochbuie, who was active in the 16th century, the remains are described as medieval.

                          Grid Reference MN631 307