Thick frost on the garden bridge at Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland

From Wikipedia:

Inveraray Castle (pronounced /ˌɪnvəˈrɛərə/ IN-vər-AIR-ə or /ˌɪnvəˈrɛəri/ IN-vər-AIR-ee; Scottish Gaelic Caisteal Inbhir Aora [ˈkʰaʃtʲəl̪ˠ iɲɪɾʲˈɯːɾə]) is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, Scotland’s longest sea loch. It is one of the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architecture.

It has been the seat of the Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, since the 18th century.

James V stayed at the old castle of Inveraray in September 1533. A new lute was bought for him in Glasgow and carried to Inveraray by his servant Troilus.

The present castle was built in the Gothic Revival style. Improvements on the estate began in 1743 by Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay, soon to become 3rd Duke of Argyll. The foundation stone of the new castle was laid in October 1746, and it replaced an earlier 15th-century castle.

It is one of the earliest Gothic Revival buildings, together with Strawberry Hill House. It was built of ashlar lapis ollaris. Originally, all the roofs were flat and crenellated. Later, a third floor with pitched roof and dormer windows was added on all four wings, and steep conical roofs were added to the four round towers. In the 1770s, the village of Inveraray was demolished and rebuilt a short distance away, to give the castle a more secluded setting.

Designers who worked on the new castle include William Adam and Roger Morris. The interior has a number of neoclassical rooms created later in the 18th century for the 5th Duke by Robert Mylne. These are among the rooms open to the public. James Lees-Milne was not impressed by the house when he visited it in 1943, noting the “ugly” grey stone and calling it “grim and forbidding”.

In 1975, a devastating fire struck Inveraray and for some time the 12th Duke and his family lived in the castle’s basement, while restorations were carried out, funded by a worldwide fundraising drive.

Image Details
Date: 29 December 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/167s
ISO: 25
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International