AN INVERARAY Castle has been standing on the shores of Loch Fyne since the 1400s, although the impressive castle we see today was inspired by a sketch by Vanbrugh, the architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard in the 1700s. Vanbrugh died soon afterwards, but the idea became the base of the house which the 2nd Duke was eventually to build. The foundation stone was laid in 1746 and a truly modern, baroque, Palladian and Gothic style castle, architecturally before its time followed, designed by the architects Roger Morris and William Adam. The castle that stands today was the result of a fire in 1877, which resulted in the addition of the third floor and conical roofs on the corner towers.