Historic SiteHighlandHistoric Scotland4.6
Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.
The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.
Historic Scotland says parking is available, and its Statement of Significance describes a small parking area beside the minor road from Altnaharra to Hope, but it publishes no charge or free statement, so the status is recorded as unknown. The broch is 10 miles south of Hope off the A838; the road is long, narrow and single-track with few passing places.
Driving pin: Historic Scotland's own pin on the broch, which stands beside the road with the parking area next to it. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only.
Dun Dornaigil stands alone on a steep bank above the Strathmore River, beside the single-track road from Altnaharra to Hope, with Ben Hope rising over the valley. It is an Iron Age broch, a drystone round tower of a kind found only in Scotland, built 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. Part of its wall still stands about seven metres high, among the five tallest surviving brochs in Scotland, shored up by a sloping stone buttress added in the late 1800s. Its entrance, topped by a massive triangular lintel, is the best surviving example of its kind. The interior has never been excavated and is filled with rubble from the fallen upper walls, so it can only be seen from outside. By 1726 it was known as Dun Dornadilla, King Dornadilla's castle, after a legendary king said to have ruled Scotland about 260 BC. Reviewers say it is a long, narrow drive with few passing places, and about a quarter of an hour's stop.
Historic Scotland: 'Dun Dornaigil Broch is free to visit and is open year-round.' The interior is filled with rubble from the upper part of the broch and is inaccessible, and the entrance passage has been blocked; the exterior can be seen at any time. No closures or notices on 20 October 2026.
An unstaffed roadside site with no toilets or other facilities.
Photo: The tall surviving section and low circular wall of Dun Dornaigil Broch above the Strathmore River, with moorland hills behind. James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dun_Dornaigil_(Broch)_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5197831.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
No reviews yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience!