Tour North East Scotland: Land of Castles and Whisky Distilleries
Nowhere else in Europe, except in North East Scotland, is there such a concentration of Castles in addition to such an extensive list of Whisky Distilleries on the doorstep.
Stately castles abound, many of them outstanding, with Balmoral Castle, the summer residence of the Royal Family, being top of the heap. On their doorstep is Speyside, a very special valley that takes very seriously the art, the science and the magical touches needed to create the world’s most favourite drink, Whisky.
The North East covers the former counties of Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire, Banffshire, and Morayshire with its focal point the city of Aberdeen. It benefits from high mountains, rolling moorland, wooded glens, rich open farmland, beaches, and towering cliffs on the coast with panoramic skies over the North Sea.
The North East has everything a tourist could wish for!
Yet, it is relatively unknown to tourists except for Royal Deeside, parts of the Speyside Whisky Trail, and Scotland's third largest city, Aberdeen, Europe's oil capital. Oil has brought riches to Aberdeen and with it a cosmopolitan lifestyle of smart restaurants, boutiques, nightclubs, and trendy pubs. The beaches are quiet and uncrowded, the country roads are a joy to meander along and there is history and heritage beyond measure. The North East will reward you well by getting off the beaten track to savour its best attractions.
On your visit to Balmoral you do have restricted access to the ballroom and grounds only when no member of the Royal Family is in residence!
There are streams of fast flowing pure water of just the right quality for the whisky distilleries, some of which have been around for centuries and the bad old days of illicit stills. Famous brands like Fettercairn, Macallan, Glen Grant, Glenfarclas, and Glenfiddich should keep the whisky aficionados more than happy for a while with a visit to admire their favourite malt being hand crafted to golden hue perfection.
The country villages are quiet and peaceful while the market towns such as Inverurie, Huntly and Forres exude their own individual history and charm.
The coastline can be as dramatic as anywhere else in the United Kingdom; the North Sea can have a ferocious temper.
But the coastline is home to pretty seaside towns that once earned their keep from the North Sea before fishing, trading and oil changed the economic environment. The coastline of the North East is considered the best place in Scotland to spot dolphins, who like to gambol in the waters and harbours.
The vast Cairngorms National Park, with its peaks, deep glens, waterfalls, and other natural wonders, is the perfect habitat for red deer, golden eagles and those illusive but adorable wee creatures, red squirrels. This is paradise for the fishing fraternity where huge salmon and trout are regularly caught on sparkling rivers, like the three D's, the Dee, the Don, and the Deveron.
Stately Castles of the North East
Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate (NTS)
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Crathes Castle is at the heart of Royal Deeside providing an ideal family day out with a memorable castle experience of intriguing round towers and over hanging turrets. This late 16th century castle was built on land that was given to the Burnett family by King Robert the Bruce. Inside there are family portraits, fine antique furniture, and painted ceilings.
The famous gardens feature great yew hedges and colourful herbaceous borders. In the estates 240 hectares there are a number of trails to explore and enjoy. The walled garden is split into eight sections that encompass every green delight imaginable, a sculpted topiary, soft herbaceous colours, and modern exotic blooms. Nature spotters will love the waymarked trails along the Coy Burn where you can keep an eye out here for buzzards, herons, and colourful kingfishers.
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Craigievar Castle (NTS)
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Craigievar Castle is considered the best example of Scottish Baronial architecture. It is spellbinding for children, while its collection of art and armours keeps the interest of the historian in you, and the gardens enthral with their bewitching charm of scurrying red squirrels and pine martens. The grounds provide trails which offer spectacular views of the castle.
In 1626, William Forbes completed this fairy-tale castle of iconic towers and turrets, a fine example of Scottish Baronial architecture. The pink elegant towers of Craigievar Castle have a unique charm of their own. The castle will not only enchant you and your children, but it is reputed to have inspired Walt Disney. The castle is home to several collections, the original furniture, family paintings by Raeburn and the 20th century ceramics collected by Lady Sempill.
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Drum Castle, Garden & Estate (NTS)
Drum Castle is one of Scotland's oldest tower houses. In 1323 King Robert the Bruce gave the Irvine family the Royal Forest and Tower of Drum. Over the centuries, a Jacobean mansion has been added and during the Victorian era the lower hall was converted to a library; while recently there was a major renovation completed, adding to the striking elegance of the castle.
Should you be a garden enthusiast with an interest in roses with exquisite scents then the beautiful Garden of Historic Roses is for you. The garden shows how roses have been cultivated from the 17th to the 20th century. An ancient oak forest adjoins the castle and is home to red kites, roe deer, red squirrels, and badgers.
Fyvie Castle, Garden & Estate (NTS)
There is a delightful charm to Fyvie Castle which spans the centuries with its opulent Edwardian interiors, its superb arms and armour collection and the fine art collection by Raeburn and Gainsborough. You will enjoy a stroll around the picturesque loch or a visit to the restored 1903 racquets court and bowling alley.
Castle Fraser, Garden & Estate (NTS)
Castle Fraser is one of the largest tower houses in Scotland and has been home to the Fraser family for more than 400 years. You can soak up the atmosphere of the castle with its fascinating treasures and portraits as well as the Laird's Lug, a novel means by which the distrustful laird could listen into your chat. Lug is old Scots for ear.
The North East's Historic Castles
Having seen a few sumptuous castles, there are still more castles to be seen. There are many castles recorded in the annals of history in the region, sadly many no longer exist other than in the record books while some remain as ruins to be seen in passing. There are lucky people who live in lovely castles as their residence but privately. Then we have castles which have been exceptionally well preserved, one even becoming a superb lighthouse and museum, Kinnaird Head Castle Lighthouse & Museum. And then the North East has some exceptional castles worth a visit.
Dunnottar Castle
Perched upon its spectacular rock, Dunnottar Castle has become one of Scotland's most sought-after tourist destinations. The rugged approach is enhanced by the restless North Sea as its background which can add to its dramatic appeal, more so when the weather plays its part. All these factors appealed to Microsoft when it was decided to use an image of the castle in Windows a few years ago. As with Edinburgh Castle, Dunnottar has a large connection with the "Honours of Scotland", Scotland's Crown Jewels. You can find out more on your visit and hear how Oliver Cromwell was hoodwinked.
Corgarff Castle
Corgarff Castle looks quite ordinary from a distance, but a closer look reveals its unusual star-shaped perimeter wall, built when it was an army barracks. During the mid-1500s the tower was initially built but was abandoned in the 1600s. In this, the castle’s heyday, it was the impressive fortified home of the Forbes family of Corgarff.
In the mid-1700s, the tower became a barracks until 1831, when the army abandoned it. For 95 years, the Redcoats in the old tower patrolled Strathdon, hunting down Jacobite sympathisers. Latterly they helped the excisemen (tax collectors) to stamp out the illegal production and smuggling of whisky.
Spynie Castle
Spynie Palace was the residence of the all-powerful medieval bishops of Moray for five centuries
until 1686. It was a place where the top echelons of the church could relax and entertain royal visitors such as Mary Queen of Scots. On entering the palace you will be over awed at the once splendid interior of this mighty fortress and realise why it was more a palace than a castle. The corbels of the great hall, gun holes, and intricate stone carvings which depict the armorial shields of the three bishops responsible for this impressive structure, are potent reminders of its former prestige and grandeur.
Climb to the top of David's Tower and enjoy the impressive views of Spynie Loch and the pastoral landscape beyond. It even had its own bowling green and, according to one account, a tennis court.
The Grand Houses and Estates of the North East
Haddo House (NTS)
Haddo House is one of the grandest stately homes in the North East, creating a huge impression from the moment you set eyes on it. William Adam designed Haddo for the 2nd Earl of Aberdeen in the early 173os and opulently restored in the 188os. It has the clean elegance and swooping lines of an elegant mansion house featuring sumptuous Victorian interiors beneath a confident Georgian exterior. It is noted for its fine furniture and family portraits tracing generations of Gordons, who played a huge part in Scottish history. George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen was Lord Chancellor of Scotland; the 4th Earl served as Prime Minister.
Haddo also has a delightful terraced garden with rose beds and fountain, leading to a country park with lakes, walks and monuments.
Leith Hall, Garden & Estate (NTS)
Leith Hall is a country house, built in 1650. It was the Leith-Hay family home for nearly four centuries. The house itself is quirky and curious, a reflection on the worldwide collections on show with lush furnishings, eccentric curios, and beautiful grounds.
Set in a 286 acres estate it is now noted for its scenic gardens, laid out in stages with each sheltered by a wall or hedge and each with its own special character. Take a walk on the way-marked trails to see a brilliant variety of wildlife. From the top of the garden there are spectacular views of Aberdeenshire and the surrounding hills.
Pitmedden Garden (NTS)
Admire the amazing geometric precision of Pitmedden Garden. There are over 30,000 annual bedding plants that make up the colourful designs of the flowerbeds, described as parterres. Of the four parterres three of them were inspired by designs of the Palace of Holyrood of the day. The fourth was based upon the coat of arms of Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Baronet of Pitmedden in 1675.
Visit the Museum of Farming Life, which brings the agricultural past of the region to life. Explore the woodlands around the garden on the waymarked trail and finally rest up in the Tearoom and wander the shop for mementoes of your visit.
Mar Lodge Estate (NTS)
Astonishing natural beauty describes the Mar Lodge Estate. Surrounded by the wild splendour of the Cairngorms where 15 Munros entice the Munro Baggers amidst a wildlife wonderland. Scotland's second highest mountain, Ben Macdui looks over the estate with 3 smaller siblings. Nature conservation predominates the 29,000 hectares of heather-covered moors, Caledonian pine forest, home to red squirrels, pine martens and birds such as the crossbill and black grouse.
Duff House (Historic Scotland)
Duff House is a Georgian estate house as well as a gallery in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland. Important works of art are exhibited, including masterpieces by El Greco, Gainsborough, Raeburn, Ramsay, and Etty as well as other paintings, furniture, china, and book collection from the Erskine family of Fife, once owners of Duff House.
Duff House has had an extraordinary history with the original owner never sleeping in it and at one time was a prisoner of war camp. You might think lucky prisoners, but it was not the case for some. Find out all about it on your visit to this marvellous 18th century creation by the renowned architect William Adam.
Speyside's Malt Whisky Trail
Have you ever wondered at our ancestor's ingenuity and creative spirit? (I did choose the right word there!) How did they manage to create a procedure to produce a fermented, low alcohol brew? Whether by inspired genius or perhaps drunken folly they did manage to create something that developed into a light, pure, flavourful highly alcoholic concoction which over 1,500 years spawned the multibillion pound Scotch Whisky industry. Scotch Whisky is savoured all round the world with huge markets in the USA and Far East. Yet it is the French, renowned for their "bon gout" who say it all by committing their refined palates to the enjoyment of the greatest quantity of Scotch Whisky per head of population.
Speyside, a region that borders much of the length of the River Spey in the North East has played more than its fair share in this amazing growth as it is renowned for its serious concentration of Whisky Distilleries, which cater for the novice to the expert nose and palate. The malts of the region are renowned for their complex and elegant nature. You will be told that this is the result of water flowing over granite mountains and through moors of peat which impart a refined smokiness to many of the malt whiskies. The slightly more sheltered nature of the terrain imparts a specific gentleness and delicacy to their character.
Should you be unable to make the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, which takes place in May, then you must put a note in your diary for the 2 day extension, named Spirit of Speyside: Distilled and takes place early September. Their ever-popular programme of almost 500 inspired events comprises exclusive distillery tours, tutored tastings, talks, whisky auctions and fairs, outdoor adventures by foot, canoe or argocat,, (an amphibious, all-terrain vehicle), traditional ceilidhs, fine dining, live music and crafts - and lots in between! The exclusive distillery tours are a pilgrimage for whisky novices, enthusiasts and connoisseurs as distilleries like Glenallachie, Glen Keith, Inchgower, Malloch, Roseisle, Tandhu and Speyside Distilleries might especially open their doors for Manager’s tours, tastings and more. Each year different distilleries take part in the exclusive tours. This is whisky heaven in overdrive!
