A conservation charity in the Highlands is urging visitors to treat Scotland’s historic sites with more care after vandals tore down part of a 500-year-old wall at Ardvreck Castle in Sutherland.

Dave McBain, chair of Historic Assynt, said a section of the castle’s original 15th-century boundary wall was deliberately dismantled earlier this year during a spell of heavy flooding. The stones were then laid out to create a makeshift stepping-stone path.

“The peninsula regularly floods,” McBain explained, “and somebody clearly decided to pull out a huge chunk of the wall to make themselves a walkway so they wouldn’t get their toes wet.” He described what was left behind as a “very deliberate” path laid straight through the castle’s gate.

The damaged wall has now been repaired, but McBain says this kind of behaviour has sadly become routine at popular spots along the NC500 route. Ardvreck Castle, he said, has seen everything from people camping and leaving rubbish to visitors climbing over the ruins.

Even donation boxes haven’t been safe. “The collection box has been stolen at least once a year since about 2015—sometimes two or three times. We eventually just had to remove them,” he said.

Although the charity tries to take a practical approach, frustration remains. “There’s always anger when vandalism happens,” McBain admitted. “For a small charity, it means that instead of focusing on proper conservation work, we end up spending our time fixing avoidable damage. If people stopped to think for two minutes, most of this nonsense wouldn’t happen.”

He added that much of the vandalism stems from thoughtless acts rather than malicious intent. “It’s often just people thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to take a stone home?’ or ‘Wouldn’t it be nice not to get my feet wet?’ But this is our history and our heritage. Once it's gone, it’s gone.”

Ardvreck Castle, perched on a rocky stretch of land in Loch Assynt, dates back to the 15th century and is considered a “honeypot” site for tourists travelling through the Highlands.

McBain expressed gratitude to Historic Environment Scotland and the local estate for helping restore the wall and supplying signage to guide visitors. Still, he hopes the repair can serve as a reminder going forward.

“My wish is simply that people respect our nation’s heritage,” he said. “It’s like a good whisky—when it’s gone, it’s gone.” Photo by Paul Hermans, Wikimedia commons.