Peel Castle

Ruined and windswept, ravaged by time and weather, Peel Castle stands on St Patrick's Isle, venerable guardian of the small fishing town of Peel.

It's fair to say it's seen better days, but there's probably nothing a trip to B&Q for a bag of rawlplugs and some MDF couldn't sort out. The present castle was built in the 11th century, although there is evidence of earlier habitation - notably the grave of "The Pagan Lady", who was buried on the isle in the 10th century. As with so many local sites (we do love our oogly-boogly surprises on the Island), the castle is - of course - said to be haunted. This time by a black dog - the Moddey Dhoo - who was described like this in 1731 "...the Mauthe Doog, in the shape of a large black spaniel with curled shaggy hair, was used to haunt Peel Castle; and has been frequently seen in every room, but particularly in the guard-chamber, where, as soon as candles were lighted, it came and lay down before the fire in presence of all the soldiers...". We're not sure that a sleepy spectral spaniel seems all that scary. But we may be wrong.

Despite its ruined state, Peel Castle still makes an impression and is well worth visiting. The site is huge and the views are stunning. There is a small souvenir shop and, if you're very lucky, you may be able to catch a play or musical performance on the site. There's something undeniably special about seeing Shakespeare performed in a real castle.

Photo by By Gregory J Kingsley - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7581117

Access

There is no wheelchair access to any part of Peel Castle. There are toilets on site.

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