Each story and each motivation for being part of the Save Armadale carries equal weight with our group, and yet, each of those stories, every person’s connection is the most important resource to this campaign. That is the beauty of our band of maddies, mischief makers, poets, healers, worriers, and fighters! More than one thing can be true at the same time! You don’t need to be an officer here, to make a huge difference, you only need to be yourself.

Armadale Castle does not carry the romance of Dunscaith Castle, named after a warrior queen, or the mystery of Duntulum Castle, reportedly haunted to the point of abandonment. But what Armadale means, the grounds, the castle, the archives, is something deeply personal to each person who’s life it has touched. But why is this? Why does Armadale carry the mantle of the Spiritual Home of Clan Donald, so incredibly well?

I would argue that at the very heart of it existence, Armadale is a reflection of us all. The reason it resonates with us, and so much meaning and love, is that Armadale is in fact who we are. In the very literal sense, Armadale and Sleat is the opening stanza in many of our stories. Our names, our blood, our families were born of that soil. In the spiritual sense, Armadale has been the source of memories, time spent in happiness, amongst the gardens, the castle and trees. It is the home of memorials to those who have passed, those who have loved and those who have taught us what to love and how to love.

Many will point to Armadale as a fairly new iteration of Clan Donald, being a ruined Victorian Mansion. But beyond the superficial facades that the CDLT minimizes, lies our story. Raised in the glory of Clan Donald, it saw times of joy. In that we all find inspiration. Armadale also stands as a stark reminder. It is a solitary monument that stood during times of forced removal and land clearance. Armadale appeals to us to never forget the price of absentee landlordism and greed. The price of separation, the price of taking people from their land, is sadly a lesson it is still teaching us today.

But in that tragic lesson, and in those times of joy, is us! Our lives are never a straight line. There is joy, there is loss, there is defeat and there is victory. Much like Armadale, we too can find our way back to what it means to be our true selves, and that is what the spiritual home of Clan Donald really is. War, fire, love, loss, greed, kindness, and in the end growth. It is all there and it is all worth fighting for.

Written by: Joshua Vice FSAScot