Clan Gunn - Dirlot Castle (site of) - Photo Print

Dirlot Castle once stood in the open country of Caithness, in Scotland's far north-east, on ground the Gunns held in the 15th century after it passed to them from the Cheyne family. The site appears in the history of the Gunns' long feud with the Keith clan, who challenged the Gunns for territory and political influence across Caithness. In fact, a battle at Dirlot in 1464 was among the engagements that cost the clan dearly. The castle later passed to the Sutherlands and then to the Mackays as the balance of power in the far north shifted across the generations.

Photographer Aly Wight created this image of the site where it occupied a bend in the River Thurso, set against a stunning, otherworldly backdrop of moorland and mountains at sunset.

If the Gunn name is part of your heritage, Dirlot is one of the outposts where your ancestors made their stand.