The MacLeods arrived from the islands, inherited a mainland kingdom and carried a name that literally means ‘Son of Ugly’. Discover how a family forged from Norse and Gaelic cultures came to rule one of the most remarkable landscapes on the North Coast 500.
The MacLeods ruled Assynt from a castle that looks barely large enough to hold a family, let alone protect a clan. With the Mackays on one side and the Mackenzies on the other, how did they survive for centuries?
They called him a traitor: how the MacLeods lost Assynt
Neil MacLeod handed Montrose to his enemies and was branded a traitor. The accusation outlived the condemned man and became another weapon in the struggle for Assynt.
The Sinclairs arrived in the far north with a royal title, but a piece of parchment could not make the people of Caithness obey them. That required marriage, influence, armed followers and a fortress rising from the cliffs above the North Sea.
