It is a remarkably well preserved broch – on the east side parts of the old wall still reach to 9 metres tall.

[1] It probably got its current name from the Norse Karlavagr ("Karl's bay"), a relic of its time as part of the Kingdom of the Isles.

Through the centuries Dun Carloway remained in use until the floor level was too high due to build-up of the occupation layers.

One of them, Donald Cam MacAuley, climbed the outer wall using two daggers and managed to smoke out the inhabitants by throwing heather into the broch and then setting fire to it.

By the middle of the 19th century a large portion of the top of the wall had disappeared, the stones being re-used in other buildings.

[6] To prevent further decay Dun Carloway was in 1882 made one of the first officially protected monuments in Scotland.

[2] Dun Carloway is built on a rock on a steep south slope at the height of 50 metres.

The opening on the eastern side, opposite the entrance, leads to the stairs located between the walls of the broch.

In this room were also a lot of pottery remains, as well as a fragment of a quern-stone and a collection of snail shells.

The visitor centre is operated by Urras nan Tursachan (The Standing Stones Trust).