I’ve visited a lot of castles over the years – and you could spend a lifetime exploring them around Scotland – so it takes a lot to impress me. But Craigievar Castle is impossible not to be impressed by. This glorious tower house castle on Royal Deeside in Aberdeenshire is a fortified wonder. It re-opened to the public in spring 2024 after the impressive ‘Pink Again’ makeover so it’s looking better than ever. Here are seven reasons you should forget Balmoral on Royal Deeside and head instead 20 miles away to Craigievar Castle.
1. It’s pink!
Yes it is a glorious hue of light pink. This unusual, but absolutely gorgeous colour scheme first adorned the castle as far back as 1826 when it was turned pink to match its sturdy pink granite. Over the years it has proved tricky trying to maintain both the colour and the preservation of this historic treasure. That is where ‘Pink Again’ comes in with 18 months of hard graft that has shored up the castle’s exterior, restored where it needed restored and finally bathed it in pink limewash using seven-storey scaffolding. Indeed it has been coated with multiple layers with 13,000 litres of limewash used – to give you an idea that would cover every single tennis court at Wimbledon!
2. Craigievar is the Disney castle
If those elegant turrets, dormer windows, ornate ornamental additions and graceful corbeling look familiar it’s because Craigievar is said to have inspired Disney to dream up their fairytale Cinderella castle. We’re talking the top trio of floors that were added in 1626 in a far more extravagant style. When I visited the staff told me that an image of Craigievar Castle was found in Walt Disney’s desk after his death, further strengthening Craigievar’s claim to be the original Disney castle. You’ll just have to come and decide for yourself.
3. Properly preserved
Some castles have gone through a makeover every couple of years it seems reading their history. Not so Craigievar. The proof of that lies elsewhere in Aberdeenshire at Haddo House. It is home to a series of 85 nineteenth-century paintings of Aberdeenshire’s castles by James Giles. Only Corgarff and Craigievar are the ones that lie virtually unchanged outside.
4. The timewarp interior
Delve inside and the interior is also a timewarp. In two ways. First it is deeply historic, vaulting back to the days when Covenanter intrigue was heard within these walls and on to the years when Jacobite rebellions swept across Scotland. Various artefacts recall different time periods, from furniture on to punishment helmets. The gorgeous wood panelling even predates the Forbes family’s 1610 arrival, but the ornate ceiling plasterwork is theirs, part of the 1626 revamp. The second level of preservation is the Forbes’s family’s welcome insistence that everything should be left as it was when the National Trust for Scotland acquired the property in 1963. It remains then a wonderful window into a family who lived on here until the 1960s, without such frivolities as electricity. Indeed such is the determination to keep things the same there is no lighting even today above the ground level.
5. Informative tours
The only way to explore Craigievar is on a guided tour, which is great as you get a human audio guide to accompany you, who can answer any extra questions. Make sure to come early in the day to snare a tour spot. The guide on my recent visit was the excellent Paul Cormack, who welcomed our group with a beaming smile, before announcing that, “We’re now going up a staircase into the 17th century, into not only Deeside’s most beautiful, but also Scotland’s most beautiful castle.”
A personal guided tour really peels back the layers and adds intimate detail. For example in the Great Hall I saw a salt store where they would have kept their treasured seasoning dry. When salt became cheaper it switched use to being a seriously cosy dog bed. In the Blue Room Paul sent chills down our backs with talk of a ghost apparition, a rival clansman cut down in this room and thrown out the window to his death. Today that window is still blocked up by a heavy bed. He also pointed out two small family portraits I could have missed. They were the works of one of Scotland’s greatest ever artists – Henry Raeburn – with receipts displayed to prove it and that they cost a mere £7 each.
6. Delve into the lives of an intriguing family
The Forbes family lived in Craigievar all the way from 1610 until 1963, a remarkable span of time that has taken in swathes of Scottish and British history. Their lives and characters reveal themselves throughout the castle with the portraits seeming to follow you around as you go. I was particularly beguiled by William Forbes, better known as ‘Danzig Willie’, who bought the castle in 1610, and is said to have fashioned one room to resemble a ship’s cabin, not surprising given his penchant for trading across the Baltic Sea. He certainly would have spent plenty of time at sea during his trips trading across the Baltic.
You do, of course, also learn about the Mortimers who held sway on the site until the Forbes family swept into Craigievar back in 1610. Brilliantly John Lemon, Craigievar Visitor Services Supervisor, recalls a rumour the Forbes won the castle as a stake in a card game! I do like the idea of Danzig Willie running off with the ultimate prize – the very pink castle that you can get to savour today.
7. Craigievar’s grounds
There is not a mile upon mile estate to get confused and lost in. Instead you get a trim and manageable green space to explore, arrived with myriad tress, including a vaulting Douglas Fir and a Monkey Puzzle tree. There are a couple of waymarked walks too so you can explore the grounds and take a peek into what is growing in the kitchen garden. The grounds are recovering from severe storms back in 2021. Wildlife to look out for includes signs of badgers and pine martens, as well as birds of prey, deer and woodpeckers.
* This blog is in association with the National Trust for Scotland, but all views expressed are our own.
