It is also a castle of great beauty, whose ruined state poetically sums up its history. Once a centre of power of the medieval Lordship of the Isles, and later of the Macdonalds of Clanranald, it was burnt on the orders of the last chief of the direct line when he set off to join the doomed Jacobite rising of 1715.
The Caisteal Tioram Trust is a charity representing conservation and community interests, formed in 1997 when the castle was put up for sale. Since then the castle has been owned by a private individual, who continues to pursued his aim of developing the castle into his private dwelling, although his proposals were rejected following an exhaustive Public Local Inquiry held in Acharacle in 2001.
Although unsuccessful in its bid to buy the castle, the Trust remains in existence to promote the conservation of the castle in the public interest. It is currently particularly concerned to restore access: up to the time of sale the castle was freely open to thousands of visitors each year.