The Castle

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In 1562 Donald McGillespic Vic O'Challum received the lands of Poltalloch from Duncan Campbell of Duntrune in return for certain services. Two hundred years later, the O'Challums (now anglicised to Malcolm) bought out the Campbells. Today their direct descendants still occupy Duntrune and farm the land. 
Situated at the narrows between deep water and a tidal loch, Duntrune was built to guard the glens of Kilmartin and Kilmichael from seafaring marauders.

Always a Campbell stronghold in those days, it was never the scene of a major conflict, and is now accepted as the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland. The vaulted rooms on the ground floor date from the 12th Century, and the remainder of the keep from the 16th. Our ghost is well-authenticated, handless piper, whose musical warning "Cholla mo Run, Seachain a Dun" saved his master Colkitto McDonald from a Campbell ambush.

Four thousand years before the first Campbell, neolithic man gave up a nomadic hunting life to settle here where the land drained easily and responded to his simple implements. The Scots of Dalriada came later, attracted not only by the fertility of the area, but also because it was central to their kingdom and all outposts were easily reached. So it is today.

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The Gardens

A fortress lashed with salt spray is no place to grow plants, so the castle garden is inland.  
Just a short walk  from the cottages & castle, along a beautiful tree lined avenue  you will find a hidden gem. 

The gardens were formalised in the 1950s  and from the mid 1970s, they were managed 
personally and lovingly by the late Susan Malcolm until her death in 2003. 
The gardens have been subject of great media interest with coverage from The Guardian, Observer, BBC,  among others.
Today, they are maintained and cared for by Cristophe Lefevre.

Open Spring to late Autumn to the public, with parking over the cattle grid by the stables. A donation box in aid of charity is located at the entrance gate.