Visitors urged to 'respect Scotland's heritage' after 500-year-old castle wall in Highlands ripped down

The chair of a local conservation charity in the Highlands has urged visitors to respect Scotland’s heritage after a 500-year-old castle wall was ripped down by vandals to make a stepping-stone footpath.

Dave McBain, who chairs the charity Historic Assynt, said a section of the boundary wall at Ardvreck Castle had been deliberately destroyed during a period of flooding at the start of the year.

Mr McBain said a “very deliberate walkway” had been placed through the gate entrance using the stones from the wall | Historic Assynt

The castle is situated on a sliver of land jutting out into Loch Assynt - about 40 miles north of Ullapool.

Mr McBain said: “The peninsula regularly floods, and somebody decided they'd remove a huge chunk of the wall and lay stones down as stepping stones to allow them easier access to the castle without getting their toes wet.”

The wall, which is an original feature of the 15th-century castle, was finally repaired this week. But Mr McBain said this kind of alleged vandalism had become part of “normal life” in the Highlands.

He said the site had been plagued by problems in recent years, with people camping, leaving mess and climbing on the castle.

Ardvreck Castle is thought to have been built around 1500 when Assynt was controlled by the MacLeod clan.

The building would become the site where James Graham, the Marquess of Montrose, was imprisoned in 1650 after a battle. The castle would fall into the possession of the MacKenzies and was later abandoned around 1726 and left to fall into ruins.

Describing Ardvreck Castle as a “honey-pot” site, Mr McBain said access rangers patrolling the North Coast 500 route were regularly there removing campers and litter.

“The collection box has been stolen at least once a year every year since about 2015, sometimes two or three times a year, to the point we’ve had to remove them,” he said.

“We have to be practical and pragmatic and accept these things happen. It’s the world we live in.”

Mr McBain said he was "very pleased" the charity was able to repair the wall with the support of Historic Environment Scotland | Historic Assynt

Mr McBain said there was “always anger” when vandalism took place.

“The challenge for the small charity like ours looking after these monuments is that instead of the work that you want to do for conservation, you're spending all your time and resources on negative nonsense that if people thought for just two minutes would never even happen,” he said.

“Vandalism is often stupid things. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could take one of these stones home, or wouldn't it be nice if I didn’t have to get my feet wet?”

“But it’s our history and our heritage. The usual message is leave only footprints take only photographs. But every time you vandalise a monument, it’s not there for future generations.”

Ardvreck Castle is a ruinous castle standing on a rocky promontory in Loch Assynt, Sutherland, which dates back to the 15th century | Elena Sgarabotto from Getty Images

Mr McBain said he was extremely grateful to Historic Environment Scotland (HES), which funded the repairs and provided signage, as well as the support the charity received from the local estate.

While he wants to focus on the positive the wall was able to be repaired, Mr McBain said he wished visitors could be more thoughtful when visiting historic sites going forward.

He said: “A hope and wish is that people would respect our nation’s heritage. It’s like a good whisky - when it’s gone, it’s gone.”

HES has been contacted for comment.