The Stables - Gift Shop & Restaurant
The Stables is a fine building designed in 1822 and was the accommodation for the horses, coaches and attendants of Lord Macdonald and his estate.
After falling into dereliction it was restored in 1984. It now holds Armadale’s restaurant, gift shop and facilities.
In the original building the carriages were parked behind the large two doors at each end and the horses led thorugh the present front door to wooden stalls with cobbled floors. Harnesses were kept at the foot of the tower with rooms for estate staff upstairs.
The licensed Restaurant is reminiscent of a baronial hall. You can satisfy your appetite from an all-day menu that features freshly prepared traditional cooking and baking using local produce. You can also satisfy your thirst from the well stocked licensed bar. The Stables are also used to hold various events such as pibrochs, weddings and other family events throughout the year. Details can be had by contacting us or by checking the Events, Piping or Wedding pages.
In the Gift Shop you can browse at leisure amongst a comprehensive range of Scottish books, gifts and crafts. Many of the books cover history connected to Clan Donald.
Down the Years
Lord Macdonald’s stables were originally built in 1822 at a cost of £1,000. The architect, James Gillespie Graham, based the design on the same Gothic lines as he used when designing Armadale Castle.
At one end was a stable and coachhouse for Lord Macdonald’s horses and at the other the same was provided for his visitors’ horses - the so-called ‘Strangers Stables’.
When the Trust took over in 1971 all that remained inside the building were a dilapidated child’s carriage and a landau.
Despite their run-down state it was decided to make use of the Stables’ welcoming position as the main reception point for the Visitor Centre. Restoration work, designed by Galsgow architect Geoffrey Jarvis, began in 1982. The coach houses were used for the shop and main office and the stables themselves became the cloakrooms. Upstairs, the lofts once used to store hay and home to grooms and stableboys were converted into two luxury self-catering suites. The restaurant and kitchen were added, but followed the original Gothic design so closely that the building still appears as one entity. The oak panelling in the restaurant and fireplaces in the suites and main hall were rescued from a condemned Paisley mansion once home to a cotton magnate.
The renovated building was opened in 1984 at a ceremony attended by clansmen from all over the world. The Stables as we know it today was in business.
The building, winner of several national awards - on display in the restaurant - is now also used as a venue for conferences, corporate events and weddings.
How to contact us
Armadale Castle Gardens & Museum of the Isles
Armadale, Sleat, Isle of Skye IV45 8RS, Scotland.
Telephone: 01471 844305 or 01471 844227
Fax: 01471 844275
E-mail: office@clandonald.com
If telephoning from outside the UK the numbers are your international code +44 1471 844305 or 844227, or Fax +44 1471 844275.
The direct line to the Museum of the Isles is 01599 534454