Built between 1565 and 1572 on the site of an older building, Carnasserie Castle is on a ridge above the Kilmartin valley. The car park is just off the main A816 road, heading towards Oban, so visitors have a climb up a pathway to reach the castle itself.
Carnasserie was built by John Carswell who became Bishop of Argyll and the Isles in the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. He translated John Knox's "Liturgy" into Gaelic which became the first book ever printed in Scots Gaelic. Carswell held the lands and the castle on behalf of Archibald Campbell, the 5th Earl of Argyll. A motto above a doorway reads " God be with O Duibhne" - the archaic name for the chiefs of the Campbells of Argyll. The panel also contains the Earl's coat of arms as well as the royal arms - the Earl of Argyll married a daughter of King James V. The Earl took over the castle on Carswell's death in 1572. It is now owned by Historic Scotland.
The castle was badly damaged by the MacLeans and MacLachlans when the 9th Earl of Argyll took part in the Monmouth Rising, a rebellion against King James VII in 1685. Nevertheless, there are still fine stone carvings and a magnificent fireplace to be seen.
