Matheson Collection > Macleods of Dunvegan from the time of Leod to the end of the seventeenth century

DUN VEGAN CASTLE 187
they arrived by land, were compelled to take a boat and
row round to the sea-gate, then the only entrance to the
building. At that time a dam, which may have been
raised considerably above high-water mark, stretched
across the bay from the rock on the north-east of the
castle to a point on the Ard nan Athan, and formed a
fresh-water loch. This was filled by the water of the
burn. There is a line of stones on the shore which may
be the remains of this dam. The fact that Boswell refers
to this tradition shows that it is at least a hundred and
fifty years old.
It is clear that the situation of Dunvegan on its rock
greatly impressed both Johnson and Boswell. One day
their hostess expressed the wish to allow the old castle
to go to ruin, and to move the home of the family to Loch
Bay, where she thought a garden and other amenities
might more easily be obtained than at Dunvegan, Reply-
ing to this Johnson exclaimed, ' Madam, were they in
Asia I would not desert the rock.' Boswell expressed
his opinion even more strongly. ' The rock,' he said,
' is the Jewel of the Estate. It looks as if it had been
let down from Heaven by the four corners to be the
residence of a Chief. Were I the Laird of MacLeod I
should be unhappy if I were not on it.' ' Madam,' said
Johnson, with a strong voice and most determined
manner, ' rather than quit the rock, Boswell would live
in the pit ; he would make his bed in the dungeon.'
The West Front of the Castle
The South Wing
This wing was built by Ian Breac between 1684 and
1686. Pennant's picture shows that this wing was
originally roofed with a slated gable. The twenty-first
Chief raised the walls, put on the flat lead roof, and broke
out the large windows about the year 181 2.
The west wall of Rory Mor's wing was built by the