Castle Feather Promontory Fort

About Castle Feather Promontory Fort

Situated nearly at the southernmost point of the Machars peninsula, Castle Feather can be reached from Burrowhead Holiday Village or else by walking the Whithorn Way from St Ninian's Cave southwards, or, in the reverse direction, from Isle of Whithorn village. The prehistoric remains comprise multiple ramparts and ditches which have been mutilated by later occupation. A central causeway is still clear, bounded either side by deep ditches, cutting off the promontory. The mediaeval remains comprise several buildings - most obviously, a thick stone-built wall, presumed to be the remains of a tower house. A deep hollow within the defences was probably the quarry used to build the castle. Like Port Castle to the north, the strongly defensive site, which plunges steeply to the sea below, has been reused in later times.
The archaeological site is situated within the boundaries of the former Burrowhead Camp; in World War II, it was home to an anti-aircraft practice battery and traces of military archaeology abound still across the holiday village. The camp brought hundreds of soldiers to the area, some of whom later married and settled here. The De Havilland "Queen Bee" was a radio-controlled target aircraft, for realistic anti-aircraft (AA) gunnery training. If it survived the target practice, patrol boats from the Isle of Whithorn would retrieve it for reuse.
Perhaps Burrowhead's most celebrated feature is the remnants of the wooden legs of the Wicker Man, created for the 1973 cult horror movie of that name in which Sergeant Howie is sacrificially burned in the culminating scene. Two Wicker Men were built by the film crew, of which only remnants of the smaller Wicker Man survive, set in a concrete base at the foot of the cliffs. The rugged coastline today is a favourite place for rock fishing.
The site is located on the final stretch of the Whithorn Way, which links Glasgow Cathedral, with the most revered shrine of the Middle Ages, at Whithorn. The revived route today follows 155 miles of route, changing from urban canal paths to remote rural roads and off-road sections created by the Whithorn Trust and sister charity, All Roads Lead to Whithorn. It ends at the Isle of Whithorn, where pilgrims would have landed when coming by sea from North East England and the Isle of Man : the reception chapel at the Isle, St Ninian's Chapel, may be visited.