IN A PICKLE

Invergarry Castle stood on Creagan an Fhithich – the ‘Rock of the Raven’ on the shores of Loch Oich, one of the lochs in the Great Glen. It was the seat of the MacDonells of Glengarry, a branch of Clan Donald, whose prowess as Lords of the Isles is illuminated at the Museum of the Isles at Armadale Castle on the Isle of Skye.

Starting off as a simple tower house, Invergarry Castle was expanded and fortified in 1602 after a raid by Clan Mackenzie and eventually stood six storeys high at its highest point. This made it one of the most imposing castles in the Highlands and proclaimed the wealth and power of the MacDonells.

And it was within its walls that Alastair Ruadh MacDonell, 13th Chief of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, was born on 5 January 1725, one year after his father John became the 12th chief.

Alastair’s main claim to fame was not that he was a clan chief. It was the fact that he was a spy and a double