Tulloch Castle

Tulloch Castle is located in the town of Dingwall in the Highlands of Scotland. It probably dates to the mid 16th century. Over the years, it has served as a family home for members of the Bain family, Clan Davidson, and Vickers family. as a hospital after the evacuation of Dunkirk, and as a hostel for the local education authority. It is currently used as a hotel and conference centre. The current Baron is Dr. David Willien of Tulloch.

Tulloch Castle likely dates to the mid 16th century, when Duncan Bane (Bain, Bayne) was granted the barony of Tulloch in 1542.

In the 18th century however, ownership of the castle changed hands. Kenneth Bayne, 8th Laird of Tulloch, sold the estate to his cousin, Henry Davidson, in 1762. On Henry's death in 1781 Tulloch was inherited by his younger brother Duncan Davidson (1733–1799). He was in turn succeeded by his son Henry (1771–1827), grandson Duncan (1800-1881) and great-grandson Duncan Henry Caithness Reay Davidson (1836–1889), who was the father of the last Davidson of Tulloch, Duncan (1865–1917).

The castle passed out of Davidson ownership in 1917 when the last direct descendant of this family, Duncan Davidson, died and left the castle to his daughter and her son, Colonel Angus Vickers, of the Vickers aircraft company.

After serving as the Vickers' family home for several years, and as a hospital for casualties of Dunkirk in 1940, Tulloch Castle was purchased by the local education authority in 1957. It was used as a hostel for students from the west coast of Scotland who were studying at Dingwall Academy until 1976. It's Phyllis Vickers who in 1994 inherited the barony. The current Baron is Dr. David Willien of Tulloch.

After this, the castle fell into disrepair until it was renovated and converted into a hotel by local family, the MacAulays, in 1996. Now part of the Oxford Hotels and Inns chain, Tulloch Castle is used as a hotel and conference centre. It played host to the official Clan Davidson Gathering in October 2007.

There have been several claims that Tulloch Castle is haunted. Visitors and hotel staff have reported witnessing apparitions in the form of a young girl and a middle aged lady. These supernatural claims were explored in the Grampian Television series Beyond Explanation in 2005, although no conclusive evidence exists to validate such reports. On 28 May 2008 it was reported by the Sun News that a 14-year-old boy named Connor Bond apparently took a photograph (with a digital camera) of a "hand" holding on to the stair railing with an apparition floating behind it. As of 28 May 2008 the images he took of the ghost are currently being examined by film and paranormal experts to prove their validity.

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