Best Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland - Map and Reviews

Delgatie Castle is situated near Turriff, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The castle is made up of a keep, adjoining house and two later wings. It has a wide turnpike stair and painted ceilings dating from the 16th century in some rooms. Delgatie Castle is owned by the Delgatie Castle Trust, and the castle and gardens is open to the public all year round. The castle provides meals and has self catering accommodation in the castle and the coachhouse. Weddings and conferences are catered for. The earliest castle on the site of Delgatie Castle dates back to 1030 AD. The castle was forcibly taken from Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and given to Clan Hay. Delgatie was rebuilt in the 16th century. Mary, Queen of Scots was a guest at the castle in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie. In 1570, greater fortifications were added including 8-14 feet thick walls. The main tower dates from about 1100. It was extended and a battlement walk added in 1579. Both wings were added in 1743 along with the chapel and dovecote on the west and the kitchen and servants' quarters on the east. Some of the rooms still have original 16-century painted ceilings - some of the finest in Scotland. Legends The castle is said to be haunted by a ghostly red-haired figure who was seen by soldiers posted there during the Second World War.

Kinnairdy Castle is situated in the Deveron Valley at Bridge of Marnoch, between Turriff and Keith, Aberdeenshire. It is tower house dating back to the 14th century, originally built by the Innes family. The castle is owned again by the Innes family. The castle consists of a stone tower which dates to around the 14th century . Kinnairdy is available as self catering accommodation for up to eight people. Kinnairdy Castle is owned by Colin Innes, Baron of Aberchirder, and is looked after by a resident caretaker. The present castle replaced a wooden motte and bailey structure in the 14th century. During the latter part of the 14 century Kinnairdy came into the ownership of the Innes family. In 1627 Sir Robert Innes, the 20th chief, sold Kinnairdy to Sir James Crichton of Frendraught. In the 17th century it was taken over by the Gregory family, although the change of hands involved a legal dispute and murder of one of the Gregory sons. Kinnairdy Castle was the 17th century home of the Gregory family, an academic family that produced 12 professors including David Gregory, the inventor of the barometer. In 1704 the Gregory family sold the Castle to Thomas Donaldson, a merchant in Elgin, who transformed Kinnairdy from a mediaeval fortress to a 17th century style country house. Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, (Lord Lyon King of Arms 1945 - 69) bought it in 1923.

Licklyhead Castle is a historic tower house situated in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located near the village of Auchleven in the Garioch district. It is a relatively little-known example of Scottish baronial architecture, a modest but evocative fortified dwelling that speaks to the proud, turbulent history of the northeast Scottish lowlands. Unlike the grand showpiece castles that draw large tourist crowds, Licklyhead offers something quieter and more intimate — a genuine connection to the rural aristocratic life of medieval and early modern Scotland. The castle is a private property and not generally open to the public, which has helped preserve both its atmosphere and its structural fabric over the centuries. The castle dates from the sixteenth century, constructed in a period when the tower house was the dominant form of fortified domestic architecture across Scotland. The Aberdeenshire landscape is dotted with such structures, and Licklyhead fits neatly into that tradition of local lairds asserting their status and security through stone. The castle is historically associated with the Leslie family, one of the notable noble families of the region, though ownership passed through various hands over the centuries as estates were bought, sold, and inherited. Like many such properties, it experienced periods of occupation, neglect, and partial restoration, and its survival into the present day is something of a minor miracle of Scottish architectural heritage. Physically, Licklyhead Castle is a compact L-plan or Z-plan tower structure, typical of the Scots baronial style that flourished in this part of Scotland. The masonry is of local granite, the same uncompromising grey stone that defines so much of Aberdeenshire's built environment, and it gives the building a severe, enduring quality entirely in keeping with the climate and culture of the northeast. The tower rises to several storeys, with the characteristic crow-stepped gables and narrow windows of the period. Seen from a distance across the surrounding farmland, it presents a silhouette that has changed little in hundreds of years, which is part of what makes encountering it feel unexpectedly moving. The surrounding landscape is quintessential Aberdeenshire — rolling agricultural land in the Garioch valley, a region sometimes called the granary of the north for its productive farmland. The River Urie flows through the broader valley, and the countryside is a patchwork of arable fields, shelter belts of beech and sycamore, and scattered farmsteads. The hills of the Bennachie range are visible to the south and west, with the distinctive summit of Mither Tap providing a dramatic backdrop that has dominated this landscape since long before the castle was built. Bennachie itself is a place of significant historical and spiritual importance to the people of Aberdeenshire, and its presence gives the whole area a grounded, storied quality. The nearest settlement of any size is Insch, a small market town a few miles to the northwest, while Inverurie lies to the southeast and serves as the main service centre for the Garioch district. Inverurie has good rail connections to Aberdeen, and the city of Aberdeen itself is roughly thirty kilometres to the southeast, making the area reasonably accessible despite its rural character. The roads in this part of Aberdeenshire are narrow and winding in places, and visitors exploring the area by car should be prepared for single-track lanes with passing places. The castle itself, being private, is best appreciated from nearby public roads or footpaths rather than approached directly. Because Licklyhead is a private residence and not a managed heritage attraction, there are no formal visiting facilities, no entry fees, and no set opening times. Visitors who have a particular interest in Scottish tower houses or Aberdeenshire history can appreciate the exterior from a respectful distance without causing any disruption. The surrounding area rewards exploration in its own right, with walking routes on Bennachie offering some of the finest hill walking in the northeast, and the broader Garioch being rich in Pictish stones, prehistoric sites, and other historic castles. The best times to visit the general area are late spring through early autumn, when the days are long and the countryside is at its most accessible, though the stark winter landscape has its own austere beauty entirely appropriate to a medieval tower house of this character.

Pitsligo Castle near Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire is a ruined sixteenth-century castle associated with the Forbes family, Lords Pitsligo, a family notable for their committed Jacobite sympathies during the 1715 and 1745 risings. The fourth Lord Pitsligo, Alexander Forbes, was one of the most elderly and physically infirm of the Jacobite officers at Culloden in 1745, his refusal to submit to Hanoverian authority despite his advanced age becoming legendary in northeast Scotland. The castle ruins stand in the agricultural landscape of northeast Buchan, and the surrounding area of Fraserburgh and the Buchan coast is one of the most historically interesting and scenically distinctive parts of Aberdeenshire, with the dramatic clifftop ruins of Fraserburgh Castle, now the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, among the principal attractions.

Craigston Castle is a remarkable tower house and country estate located in Aberdeenshire, in the heart of rural Scotland. Sitting near the village of Turriff, it is one of the most distinctive and least-altered early seventeenth-century castles in Scotland, a country that is by no means short of such structures. What sets Craigston apart is precisely its integrity — unlike many Scottish castles that have been heavily restored, remodelled, or ruined beyond recognition, Craigston survives in a state of considerable authenticity, preserving architectural details and interiors that offer a genuinely vivid window into the life of a Scottish lairdly family across four centuries. It remains a private residence and has been in the continuous ownership of the Urquhart family and their descendants since it was built, making it one of the longest continuously family-owned properties of its kind in Scotland. The castle was built between 1604 and 1607 by John Urquhart, known as the "Tutor of Cromarty," who was a man of considerable wealth and ambition in the northeast of Scotland. The design is attributed to a Scottish master mason, and it follows the Z-plan tower house tradition popular in Aberdeenshire during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, though Craigston has its own idiosyncratic character that distinguishes it from more formulaic examples of the type. The most extraordinary feature of the exterior is the magnificent carved freestone panel above the entrance archway, which depicts two knights in armour flanking a central figure and is considered one of the finest examples of Renaissance sculptural decoration on any Scottish castle of the period. This carved panel has survived intact and is deeply unusual in its quality and ambition for a relatively remote Aberdeenshire lairdship. The Urquhart family produced a number of notable individuals, among them the extraordinary Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty in the seventeenth century, the polymath, eccentric, and celebrated translator of Rabelais into English — a man so singular that legend holds he died laughing upon hearing of the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Standing in front of Craigston Castle in person, one is immediately struck by its compactness and the confident upward thrust of its massing. It is not a sprawling palace but rather a tightly composed vertical structure of pale grey granite rubble walls rising to corbelled turrets and a central linking arch between the main tower and the flanking wing. The carved entrance panel commands attention even from a distance, its figures weathered but still legible and full of expressive energy. The stonework has accumulated centuries of patina and lichen, giving the walls a textured, organic quality that photographs struggle to capture. The atmosphere around the castle is one of quiet and deeply felt antiquity; there are no crowds, no audio guides, no cafés. On a still day the surrounding fields and woodlands produce a profound hush, broken only by birdsong and the occasional sound of wind moving through the trees on the estate. It is the kind of place that rewards slow attention. The surrounding landscape is quintessentially Aberdeenshire — rolling agricultural land, broad skies, and a patchwork of fields separated by shelter belts of beech and ash. The estate itself includes parkland and mature trees that provide a handsome setting for the castle without overwhelming it. The nearby town of Turriff is a modest but pleasant market town a few miles to the south, and the wider region is rich with other historic sites including Delgatie Castle, Fyvie Castle (a magnificent National Trust for Scotland property a short drive away), and the grounds and gardens of Duff House in Banff. The River Deveron flows through the broader valley and is noted for its salmon fishing. This part of Aberdeenshire, sometimes called Formartine or the Howe of Turriff, is off the main tourist trail and retains a genuine rural character, which makes visiting it feel like a discovery rather than a scheduled attraction. Visiting Craigston Castle requires some planning, as it is a private home and is only open to the public on a limited basis, typically through guided tours offered on certain days during the summer months. Prospective visitors are strongly advised to check the current access arrangements in advance, as opening times can vary from year to year. The castle is accessible by car via the A947 road between Aberdeen and Banff, turning off near Turriff, and the approach is through quiet country lanes that require careful navigation. There is no public transport directly serving the castle. The best time to visit is during the summer open days when the interior, with its remarkable collection of family portraits, period furniture, and original interiors, can be experienced alongside the exterior. The landscape is also at its most welcoming between late spring and early autumn, though the castle in winter or a stormy grey September has its own austere drama. Among the hidden pleasures of Craigston is the persistence of its human story across an unbroken family line. While most Scottish castles of comparable age have passed through multiple ownerships, been institutionalised, or fallen into ruin, Craigston retains the feeling of a place that has been cared for by people who belong to it. The interiors reportedly preserve furnishings and fittings accumulated by successive generations of the same family, giving the house a layered, personal quality quite unlike that of a museum. The carved panel above the door, which has inspired scholarly debate about its exact iconographic meaning and the identity of its maker, remains one of the great small mysteries of Scottish Renaissance art. For those interested in Scottish history, vernacular architecture, or simply in places that have managed to remain quietly themselves through the upheavals of centuries, Craigston Castle is a destination of exceptional and underappreciated quality.

Crathes Castle is located on the A93 from Aberdeen, heading towards Banchory. Crathes Castle is a 16th century tower house castle with beautiful formal gardens, located near Banchory in Aberdeenshire. The castle and grounds are presently owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland and are open to the public. The castle estate cover 530 acres of woodlands and fields, including nearly four acres of walled garden. Ancient topiary hedges of Irish yew dating from 1702 separate the gardens into eight themed areas. The castle contains a significant collection of portraits, and still has original Jacobean painted ceilings in several rooms. Crathes is built on land given as a gift to the Burnett of Leys family by King Robert the Bruce in 1323. (Along with the land, Robert the Bruce also gave them the jeweled ivory Horn of Leys, which is now on display in the Great Hall of the castle.) The castle construction started in 1553 and was completed in 1596. The East-west wing was added in the 18th Century. Crathes Castle was the ancestral seat of the Burnetts of Leys family until gifted to the National Trust for Scotland in 1951. A fire damaged portions of the castle (in particular the Queen Anne wing) in 1966. Legends The Green Lady's Room is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a lady carrying a baby. The ghost of the woman and baby has been seen crossing the room before vanishing near the fireplace. Sightings first appeared in the 18th Century when workmen renovating the room uncovered skeletons under the hearthstone. The Green Lady of Crathes Castle is not often seen these days - it is said that when she is seen a member of the Burnett family will die.

Drumtochty Castle is a striking Victorian Gothic Revival castle nestled in the Howe of the Mearns, a fertile valley in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Situated near the village of Auchenblae in the Kincardineshire countryside, it is one of the more handsome private castle estates in northeast Scotland, combining romantic architectural ambition with a deeply wooded and secluded setting. Though not as internationally famous as some of Scotland's more visited castles, it holds genuine architectural interest and sits within a landscape of considerable natural beauty, making it a notable landmark for those exploring the quieter corners of the northeast. The castle and its surrounding estate have long functioned as a private residence and working estate rather than a tourist attraction in the conventional sense, which contributes to its air of mystery and exclusivity. The castle was built in the mid-nineteenth century, with the principal construction generally attributed to the 1810s through to the Victorian era, though significant remodelling gave the building its current Gothic Revival character. The estate itself has much older roots in the landscape of Kincardineshire, a county whose fertile farmlands and ancient hill passes have been inhabited and contested since medieval times. The Drumtochty Glen, which runs beside and behind the estate, was a place of spiritual significance, containing the ruins of an old chapel and associated with early Christian heritage in the Mearns. The area surrounding the castle is steeped in the quiet history of agricultural lowland Scotland, with place names and field patterns that speak to centuries of farming and clan tenure across the region. The name Drumtochty gained a form of literary immortality through the pen of John Watson, a Scottish writer who published under the pseudonym Ian Maclaren in the 1890s. His enormously popular collection of sentimental tales, "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," conjured a fictional Scottish parish called Drumtochty that captured the heart of the Victorian reading public on both sides of the Atlantic. The real landscape around the castle and glen clearly inspired his fictional setting, lending the place a gentle layer of literary pilgrimage interest for those familiar with the Kailyard school of Scottish fiction. Though Watson's Drumtochty was idealised and somewhat romanticised, the landscape he drew from — the wooded glens, the stone farmhouses, the mist-wrapped hills — remains recognisably present in the actual countryside today. Physically, the castle is a turreted and battlemented baronial-style structure built in pale granite, which gleams and glitters in low northern light in the way characteristic of Aberdeenshire's stone. Its towers and crow-stepped gables give it the appearance of something between a fairy-tale fortress and a serious ancestral seat, neither overwhelmingly large nor modest by Scottish standards. The building is surrounded by mature woodland and formal grounds that create a sense of arrival and grandeur when approached along the estate's private avenue. The air in this part of Kincardineshire tends to carry the scent of pine and damp earth, and in autumn the surrounding mixed woodland turns to spectacular shades of copper and gold that frame the castle in a particularly dramatic fashion. The wider landscape of the Howe of the Mearns is one of the most underappreciated stretches of countryside in northeast Scotland. The Mearns — immortalised in a very different literary tradition by Lewis Grassic Gibbon in his Scots Quair trilogy — is a landscape of rolling farmland, ancient hill forts, and quiet river valleys set between the Grampian foothills and the North Sea coast. Drumtochty Glen itself, running behind the castle, is a designated Local Nature Reserve and contains beautiful ancient oak and mixed woodland threaded by the Water of Bervie in its upper reaches, making it excellent walking country. The nearby Strathfinella Hill and the high ground of the Grampian foothills provide a dramatic backdrop and are accessible via quiet country roads and hill tracks. Access to the castle itself is restricted as it remains in private hands, and visitors should not expect to walk the castle grounds or enter the building without specific invitation or organised access. The glen and woodland paths, however, are accessible to walkers, and the area rewards those who come on foot with considerable peace and natural beauty. The nearest settlements are Auchenblae, a small village a short distance to the south, and Laurencekirk, the main town of the Mearns, which lies to the east and provides practical amenities. The B966 road passes through this part of Kincardineshire and offers a scenic driving route connecting the area to Stonehaven on the coast and to Brechin in Angus. The best times to visit the surrounding area are late spring and autumn, when the woodland is at its most beautiful and the often-changeable northeast weather is at its most accommodating.

Ravenscraig Castle is situated on the bank of the River Ugie just north-west of Inverugie. It was the seat of the barony of Torthorston, held by the Cheynes family, and passed to the Keiths in the mid 14th century. The existing castle was built in 1491. It is in a corner of a triangular moated enclosure which has traces of an enclosing wall which may be part of an earlier castle. The castle was originally called Craig of Inverugie, although has been known as Ravenscraig since the 16th century. The castle has a large tower house with walls 10 feet thick at the base, and a wing projecting to the south. The entrance leads into a once-vaulted passage between two cellars through to the north wall where there are remains of a wide straight stairway up to a round lobby at the north-east end of the hall. James VI visited the castle in 1589 to attend the marriage of the laird's daughter.

Huntly Castle is situated in the town of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly, and served as a baronial residence for five centuries. Many impressive features include a fine heraldic sculpture and inscribed stone friezes. Huntly Castle remained under the ownership of the Clan Gordon until 1923. The ruins of the castle are now cared for by Historic Scotland. The castle is has a well-preserved five-story tower with adjoining great hall and supporting buildings. Parts of the original facade and interior stonework remain. The first castle on the site was a wooden castle built in the 12th century - a mound in the grounds of the existing castle is all that remains of the original. The castle was originally called Strathbogie Castle. King Robert the Bruce was a guest of the castle in 1307. The castle was granted to Sir Adam Gordon of Huntly in the 14th century. In 1452 the castle was burned down by the Earl of Moray, and subsequently extensively rebuilt by the first Earl of Huntly. Wings were added to the castle in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1640 it was occupied by the Sottish Covenantor army under Major-General Robert Monro. In 1650 Charles II visited briefly on his way to the Battle of Worcester, defeat and exile. By the early eighteenth century it was falling into disrepair, and stones were pilfered by local house builders in the town. In 1746, during the Jacobite Risings, it was occupied by British Government troops.

Eden Castle is a historic tower house and country house located near the village of Marnoch in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Situated in the fertile lowlands of the Deveron valley, the castle is a significant example of Scottish baronial architecture and represents centuries of noble occupation in this corner of northeast Scotland. The estate sits within the AB45 postcode district, placing it in the broad rural hinterland between the towns of Huntly and Banff. While not among Scotland's most heavily promoted heritage attractions, it holds genuine historical interest for those exploring the quieter byways of Aberdeenshire, a county exceptionally rich in castles and fortified houses. The origins of a fortified structure at this site trace back to medieval times, with the land historically associated with prominent northeast Scottish families. The name Eden itself is thought to derive from older Scots or Gaelic place-name roots relating to the landscape rather than any biblical association. The estate passed through several notable families over the centuries, as was common with Aberdeenshire properties, and the present structure incorporates elements from different periods of building and renovation. Tower houses of this type typically began as simple defensive keeps and were expanded over generations as families prospered and security concerns shifted, resulting in the layered architectural character that gives such buildings their visual complexity and historical depth. Physically, Eden Castle presents the characteristic appearance of a Scottish laird's house that has grown organically over time, combining the vertical drama of a medieval tower with later additions that reflect more comfortable domestic ambitions. The stonework, typical of Aberdeenshire construction, is drawn from local granite and sandstone, giving the structure a solid, rooted quality that seems to grow naturally from the surrounding farmland. Like many buildings of its type in the region, it would have a harled or rough-cast exterior in places, weathered by the Atlantic-influenced climate of the northeast, where winters are raw and even summer days can arrive shrouded in haar, the cold coastal mist that drifts inland from the North Sea. The surrounding landscape is quintessentially Aberdeenshire: gently rolling agricultural land divided by hedgerows, drystone dykes, and shelter belts of conifers, with the River Deveron flowing through the broader valley below. The Deveron is one of Scotland's finest salmon rivers, and the area around Marnoch and the wider Strathdeveron has long been associated with country pursuits. The small village of Marnoch itself contains an old parish church with a notable history, and the market town of Huntly lies roughly ten miles to the southwest, offering the impressive ruins of Huntly Castle managed by Historic Environment Scotland. The coastal town of Banff and the fishing village of Macduff are accessible to the north, making this area a pleasant base for exploring a stretch of Scotland that receives far fewer visitors than the Highlands yet rewards curiosity amply. I should be candid that Eden Castle at these coordinates is a private historic property rather than a regularly open visitor attraction, and public access is therefore limited. As with many smaller Scottish castles and tower houses in private ownership, the building is not staffed or managed as a heritage site in the conventional sense. Visitors interested in seeing it would most likely view it from public roads or footpaths in the vicinity rather than accessing the grounds directly. The nearest useful bases for accommodation and services are Huntly and Turriff, both within comfortable driving distance. The area is best visited in late spring or summer when the agricultural landscape is at its most lush and daylight hours are long, though autumn brings its own richness to the Deveron valley. Access to the region is primarily by car, with the A97 being a key road linking Huntly northward through this part of Aberdeenshire. One of the more quietly compelling aspects of this part of Scotland is how densely the landscape is layered with history that goes largely unannounced. Aberdeenshire has more castles per square mile than almost anywhere else in Europe, and properties like Eden Castle represent the middle tier of that heritage — not the grand showpiece fortresses, but the working lairds' houses where local power, agriculture, and family ambition were woven together across generations. The Deveron valley in particular has a contemplative, unhurried quality that suits its distance from major tourist circuits. For travellers willing to navigate its back roads with an OS map and genuine curiosity, it offers the rare pleasure of encountering history on its own quiet terms.

Kildrummy Castle is located near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Mar and was built in the 12th century and is one of the most extensive castle from this period to survive in eastern Scotland. Kildrummy Castle is shield-shaped in plan with a number of towers. The flat side of the castle overlooks a steep ravine. On the opposite side of the castle the walls come to a point, which was once defended by a massive twin-towered gatehouse. The castle also had a seven storey tall keep, called the Snow Tower which contained the main living quarters. There was also a Great Hall at the rear of the castle, and a chapel on the east side. Extensive earthworks protected the castle, including a dry moat and the ravine. Most of the castle foundations are now visible, along with most of its lower-storey walls. Archaeological excavations in 1925 uncovered decorative stone flooring and evidence of battles. Today, the castle property is owned by Historic Scotland. A hotel (the Kildrummy Castle Hotel) has been built on the old estate, overlooking the ruins. Kildrummy Castle underwent siege numerous times in its history, first in defence of the family of Robert the Bruce in 1306, and again in 1335 by David of Strathbogie. In 1435 it was taken over by James I, becoming a royal castle until being granted to Lord Elphinstone in 1507. The castle passed from the Clan Elphinstone to the Clan Erskine before being abandoned in 1716 after the failed Jacobite rebellion.

Fasque Castle near Fettercairn in Aberdeenshire is a Scottish Baronial country house of the 1820s that became the family home of William Ewart Gladstone, four times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, whose father Sir John Gladstone purchased the estate in 1829. The interior preserves its Victorian character with unusual completeness, the rooms and their contents essentially unchanged since the Gladstone family occupied them, creating an exceptional time-capsule record of Victorian upper-class domestic life with personal objects associated with one of the most remarkable Victorian statesmen. The nearby town of Fettercairn is home to one of Scotland's oldest distilleries, and the broader landscape of the Howe of the Mearns and the Grampian foothills is the setting for Lewis Grassic Gibbon's northeast Scotland novels.

Drum Castle is one of Scotland's oldest and most evocative tower houses, standing in Aberdeenshire roughly fourteen miles west of Aberdeen city centre. It occupies a place of rare distinction in Scottish architectural history, combining a massive medieval keep — one of the three oldest intact tower houses in Scotland — with a gracious Jacobean mansion house that was added in the early seventeenth century, and later Victorian extensions that give the whole complex a satisfying layering of centuries. The castle and its surrounding estate are now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, which has made it accessible to the public as both a heritage attraction and a working estate garden. The combination of ancient stonework, rambling walled gardens, and deep surrounding woodland makes Drum one of the most atmospheric and genuinely rewarding castle visits in the northeast of Scotland. The history of Drum stretches back to the late thirteenth century. The great tower, rising approximately 70 feet, was built around 1296 and was granted by Robert the Bruce to his loyal armour-bearer and secretary, William de Irvine, in 1323. This single act of royal generosity began one of the most remarkable dynasties in Scottish noble history: the Irvine family held Drum Castle for no fewer than twenty-four successive generations, spanning more than six hundred years, until the National Trust for Scotland received the property in 1976. Few Scottish families can match such an unbroken connection to a single property, and this continuity saturates the atmosphere of the place. The Irvines fought alongside Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, suffered and recovered during the religious and political upheavals of the seventeenth century, and navigated the agricultural transformations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, all while Drum remained their seat and symbol. The medieval tower at the heart of Drum is stark and formidable in a way that few words entirely do justice to. Its walls are roughly twelve feet thick at the base, built from locally quarried granite that has weathered to shades of silvery grey and pale gold. The interior of the tower retains much of its original character, with a great vaulted basement, a hall on the upper floors, and tiny mural chambers hollowed into the impossibly deep walls. Climbing through the tower communicates something visceral about the nature of medieval life and medieval power: the low doorways, the narrow spiral stairs, the arrow slits that frame slivers of the Aberdeenshire landscape outside. The seventeenth-century house adjoining the tower is a markedly different experience, with its more generous proportions, oak-panelled rooms, family portraits, and furniture accumulated over centuries of occupation, giving it the comfortable lived-in quality of a house rather than a fortress. The grounds and gardens of Drum are a considerable attraction in their own right. The walled Garden of Historic Roses, maintained by the National Trust for Scotland, is planted exclusively with rose varieties that would have been known in different periods of the castle's history, creating a chronological garden of remarkable fragrance and colour during the summer months. Beyond the formal gardens, the estate encompasses ancient woodland that forms part of the Old Wood of Drum, one of the last surviving fragments of the great Caledonian forest that once covered much of Scotland. These are genuine ancient trees — oak, birch, and rowan — with the gnarled, moss-covered character that old-growth woodland takes on over centuries, and walking beneath them carries a distinct sense of having stepped outside ordinary time. The landscape around Drum is characteristic of the rolling Deeside countryside, a gently undulating agricultural terrain of fields and managed woodland, with the River Dee flowing a short distance to the south. The village of Banchory lies a few miles to the west, offering accommodation, restaurants, and shops for visitors making a longer stay in the area. Crathes Castle, another National Trust for Scotland property with its own remarkable painted ceilings and walled garden, is only a few miles away, making a natural pairing for a day's exploration of this part of Royal Deeside. The A93 Aberdeen to Banchory road runs close to the castle, placing Drum within easy reach of Aberdeen by car, while the wider Deeside area offers cycling routes, river walks, and a string of historic sites stretching westward toward Balmoral. For practical visiting purposes, Drum Castle is typically open to the public from spring through to autumn, with the castle interior and gardens accessible during those months and the grounds and woodland walks open year-round. Car parking is available on site, and the approach road from the A93 is clearly signed. The castle is not particularly challenging in terms of access to the main reception rooms and gardens, though the medieval tower with its steep internal stairs is less suitable for visitors with significant mobility difficulties. The rose garden is at its finest during June and July, when the historic varieties are in full bloom and the air around the walled enclosure is heavy with scent. Autumn is equally rewarding in its own way, when the ancient woodland turns and the low Aberdeenshire light falls across the granite tower with particular warmth. Among the more unusual details of Drum's story is the fate of Alexander Irvine, the tenth laird, who caused a considerable scandal in the seventeenth century by marrying a woman described by outraged contemporaries as a "common woman," one Margaret Coutts, apparently for love rather than dynastic calculation. The Irvine family were so offended that they attempted to have the marriage set aside, and the broader community's disapproval was expressed in a ceremony of public humiliation. The couple endured it and remained together, and the story has lingered as a small but characterful footnote in the long chronicle of a family whose centuries of connection to this one granite tower represents something close to unique in Scottish history.

Muchalls Castle is located in the Kincardine and Mearns area of Aberdeenshire, where it is set overlooking the North Sea. The original structure is a well preserved 14th century tower house, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. In the 17th century Alexander Burnett of Leys started expanding the castle, and the work was completed in 1627 by his son, Sir Thomas Burnett. A second floor was built over the intact Middle Ages ground level structure. The castle features corbelled turrets, massive ranges of chimneys, curtain-walled entrance courtyard with two sets of triple gunloops on either side of the entrance arch, and underground crypt, 17th century stone walled terraced gardens. There are original arrow slits through exterior walls that are over a meter thick. Crow-stepped gables with large chimneys are prominent at building endpoints. The castle is an A listed historical building, and other listed structures on the castle grounds, include a stone stables and a 17th century dovecote. The second level has a number of drawing rooms with ornate plasterwork ceilings dating back to 1624. These are amongst the finest examples of plasterwork ceilings in Scotland, showing family heraldry and bible figures. The third level consists of a number of bedrooms. The original plasterwork overmantle of the Great Hall fireplace features the arms of King James VI flanked by Egyptian style figures. Several generations of the Burnett of Leys family lived in Muchalls Castle. Ownership of Muchalls Castle passed from the Burnett of Leys family about 1882. Later residents included James Robertson, Baron Robertson, President of the Scottish Court of Session, and Geraldine Simpson, heiress to the Pringle knitting fortune. In 1638 Muchalls Castle was the setting for an important meeting in the Covenanters opposition to the Episcopal liturgical system being imposed by the King. At Muchalls Castle, the Covenanters drafted a response to the Bishops of Aberdeen outlining why the bishops should sign the covenant. This was one of a number of events that led to King Charles I unexpectedly making concessions to the Covenanters .

Esslemont Castle is a ruined tower house situated in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, lying a few miles to the west of Ellon in the Formartine district. The castle occupies a low-lying position amid agricultural land in the valley of the Ythan river system, and while it is not one of the more celebrated castles of the northeast, it holds a quiet and melancholy dignity that rewards those who seek it out. The remains are modest — a fragment of masonry from what was once a more substantial fortified residence — but the site carries genuine historical weight and connects visitors to centuries of local noble and clan history in one of Scotland's most castle-rich regions. The origins of Esslemont Castle lie in the medieval period, with the structure most likely dating in its surviving form to the fifteenth or sixteenth century, though the site may have been occupied or fortified earlier. The castle was long associated with the Cheyne family, a prominent Aberdeenshire family of Norman descent who held lands in the area during the medieval period. Ownership later passed through various hands, as was common with Scottish tower houses whose fortunes rose and fell with those of their proprietors. The castle appears to have fallen into ruin by the seventeenth or eighteenth century, after which the stone was likely quarried for other uses in the area, a fate that befell many such structures across rural Scotland. Physically, what survives of Esslemont today is relatively fragmentary — partial walls of rubble masonry standing to varying heights, the original scale of the building discernible more from the footprint and remaining stonework than from any intact structure. The stonework is of the local grey granite and sandstone characteristic of Aberdeenshire buildings, and like many ruins of this age it has become partly clothed in vegetation, with grasses and mosses softening the broken edges of the masonry. Standing among the remains, visitors are struck by the quietness of the surroundings and the sense of deep agricultural continuity in the landscape around them. The broader landscape around Esslemont is typical of the Formartine district of Aberdeenshire — gently rolling farmland, large arable fields, belts of sheltering woodland, and the wide skies of the northeast lowlands. The River Ythan, one of the principal rivers of Aberdeenshire and notable for its pearl mussels and sea trout, flows through the wider area and contributes to the ecological richness of the region. Ellon, the nearest town of any size, lies only a short distance to the east and provides all practical amenities. The region is well known for its density of castles and historic sites, and Esslemont fits naturally into a broader itinerary that might include Haddo House, Pitmedden Garden, and the many other heritage sites managed by the National Trust for Scotland in this part of the county. Visiting Esslemont Castle requires some care in terms of access, as the ruins sit within or adjacent to private agricultural land and there is no formal heritage infrastructure — no car park, no visitor centre, no interpretation boards. Access is on foot, and visitors should be respectful of any farming operations in the vicinity. The castle is not under any formal protective management in the same way as a staffed historic attraction, and the ruins themselves should be treated with appropriate care given their fragile state. The surrounding area can be muddy in wet weather, so appropriate footwear is advisable. The best time to visit is during the drier months of late spring through early autumn, when the light in Aberdeenshire is at its most generous and the landscape is at its most hospitable, though the northeast of Scotland is unpredictable in all seasons. One of the more intriguing aspects of Esslemont's story is how comprehensively it has receded from public consciousness compared to the grander castles of the region, even while those more celebrated sites were often no more strategically or historically significant in their own time. The Cheyne family who held it were once among the more powerful landowners in Aberdeenshire, with connections reaching into the highest levels of Scottish medieval society, yet their principal seat is now little more than a field monument. This quiet anonymity is, in its own way, part of what makes Esslemont worth a visit for those interested in the texture of Scottish history away from the well-worn tourist trail, offering a more contemplative and unmediated encounter with the past than the more polished attractions of the region can provide.