D V ' N R 0 B I N C J S T L E. 
H I S,’ the ancient feat of the Earls of Sutherland, had been ftrong and 
defenfible ; it is fituated on a rifing ground on the banks of the Firth of 
Dornoch, which gave it confiderable command as a fortrefs : at the fame time it 
Has fuch beauty of fituation, as might have been the cnoice Oi fade, on account or 
the extenfive profpecls and variety of ground; as well as the confultation of fafety, 
°n account of the declivities of the hill, rendered inacceftible by ditches and ram- 
parts, and the wide view of the furrounding country thus gained by the height of the 
tower placed on its lummit. 
The extenfive plantations of the demefne, enrich the profpect of the mount on 
"which the Caftle Hands, and give the place a confiderable variety of pictureique 
heauty. The prefent Countejs of Sutherland, ere Lady Gower, had oideied the 
Caftle to be fitted up with a degree of elegance and fplendor fuited to the rendence 
of a Noble Family; and the .walks amid die adjacent plantations and fniubberies, 
now fpreading their flowery luxuriance and fofter beauties down to the edge of the 
fta, are laid out with a veiy great degree of tafte, for which the variety of ground, 
and of charming profpeCts, afford an ample fcope. The weftem hills beyond are 
lofty, and form a noble boundary to the cultivated fields which fpread along the 
coaft. On the oppofite fide of the Firth, the rich lands of Ross-shire, ftretching 
out to Tarbet Ness, and far into the main, prefent a pleafing diftance, and finely 
Vary the too uniform line of the horizon, which the profpect of the 'ocean unconfined 
• Would elfe have formed. 
A large part of the Caftle is as old as the reign of Alexander I. Cir. anno 1 100, 
an Earl of that early period fortified the place, built fome of the towers, and con- 
futed Dunrobin the family refidence. Alane Thane of Sutherland, who flourifhed 
in the former century, is the firft on record in the volumes of heraldry, and in tne 
earlieft annals of Caledonian ftory. His fame was eftablifhed by a memorable 
defeat of the Danes, accomplifhed by forces under his command. A body of thofe 
Scandinavian adventurers, who had made frequent fettlements on the coafts of 
Caithness, and at the Burgh Head of Moray, landed anno 1031, with a view 
°f occupying the banks of the Firth of Dornoch : but the Thane, after fome time 
fpent in collecting and difciplining his men, came down on the invaders, and, after 
an obftinate fight, drove them in confufion into the fea, and to their vciiels. during 
His life-time, no other attempt of the kind was made on thefe coafts. oome ftones, 
with very ancient fculptures on them, that Hand at Drumelca, and not far ficm 
Creigh, are ibid to have been erefted on the field, and in memory of the above 
v i£tory, and of the warriors who fell in fighting for their counti y thei e. 
Although the above be the firft Thane of Sutherland mentioned in Scotch 
annals, o/books of heraldry*, yet the. warlike atchievements and memorable events 
^ the lives of feveral, who lived long previous to that sera, are mentioned by 
* Douglafs’sPeerage. 
A a 
A 
Torpheus j 
