Skye castle struck by lightning made safe

Castle Moil and a double rainbow in a picture taken just hours before the lightning strike

The walls of a castle in Skye have been stabilised after the ruin was struck by lightning during stormy weather.

Castle Moil at Kyleakin was a fortification first established by the Vikings before becoming a Mackinnon clan stronghold in the 15th Century.

The lightning strike in February smashed the top off one of the two main standing parts of the ruin.

Highland Council, which owns the castle, commissioned the stabilisation work.

The work, part funded by Historic Environment Scotland, was done to make the ruin safe and protect it against further lightning strikes.

The top part of the section was blasted away in the strike

The local authority said the task of stabilising the ruin involved "painstakingly" photographing each step before it was taken to ensure that every stone that needed to be removed was put back in exactly the same place.

The inner core of the wall was capped using a lime mortar. Samples of the original mortar were analysed and new mortar was mixed to match the original.

The stabilisation work also included the installation of a lightning protection system which has been designed to protect the whole of the ruin from any future strikes and damage.

On the day of the lightning strike, before and after images of Castle Moil, also known as Caisteal Maol, were taken by the Reverend Duncan Barwise, who lives near the ruins.

The Church of Scotland minister took photographs of the castle with a double rainbow at about 17:00 on 14 February. The lightning strike occurred about two-and-a-half hours later.

The Rev Barwise saw the strike from his home.