Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, Scotland

Here is a view of Duart Castle that many will have seen: that from the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry M.V. Isle of Mull. The castle was the seat of the Clan Maclean and controlled the strait that it overlooks. Appearances may belie the impression, but it was burnt to the ground in the seventeenth century and had to be rebuilt by the twenty-sixth clan chief, Sir Fitzroy Maclean early in the last century. Behind the castle during a moment when a shower of rain visited part of Mull is the sharper top of Sgurr Dearg with Beinn Bheag lurking in the shadows and Maol nan Uan extending in from the right. The shaft of sunshine that spotlit the castle made this photo work and that’s why it is on display here. Despite dubious initial appearances, the day brightened up until rain finally set in around 17:00 that evening, giving a delightful return to a part of Mull that I had not visited since 1999.