Argyll & Dunbartonshire: About 4 miles west and north of Tobermory, on north of island of Mull, on minor road west of B882 in Tobermory, at Glengorm Castle.
Private NM 439572 OS: 47 PA75 6QE
OPEN: Cafe and art gallery. Self-catering accommodation.
Tel: 01688 302321 Web: www.glengormcastle.co.uk
In a very pretty spot with excellent views, Glengorm Castle, a castellated mansion of 1860 with a flourish of towers and turrets, has no older origins.
The castle was built for John Forsyth of Quinish, who acquired the property in 1856. Thinking that the air had an unusual colour, he called the place Glengorm, meaning ‘blue glen’, but the blue was actually from the smoke from the burning houses of people cleared from the area to build the castle. One of the crofters is said to have cursed Forsyth, prophesying that Forsyth would not spend one night in his new home. Forsyth then died because of a riding accident before Glengorm was completed.
Alternatively the blue smoke was from actually the hearths of the many houses in the area, which then disappeared after the people had been
cleared.
There are also tales of a ‘Green Lady’ haunting the castle.