Castle Country
Like Munro bagging – the competitive activity of climbing peaks above 3,000 feet – castle bagging comes into its own in Scotland. Less strenuous than the former, but far more scholastic, clan rivalries add a further layer of intrigue to many of the country’s already fascinating heritage buildings and landmarks. In particular, its centuries-old cornucopia of castles are tapestries of time, which when unpicked, unravel the secrets and stories of kings and queens, war and peace, and reconciliation and revenge. Be warned: castle bagging can be addictive, especially in Aberdeenshire in the northeast. Here, there are more than 260 castles, stately homes and ruins – more per acre than anywhere else in the UK – earning the area the moniker “Scotland’s Castle Country”.
VisitScotland has now established Scotland’s Castle Trail with its very own online guidebook. This epic journey is the only one of its castellated kind, stopping off at 19 of the county’s most atmospheric clifftop towers, romantic windswept ruins and fortified mansion homes. We begin our own tour of this castle-pocked landscape in Aberdeen itself – a practical starting point, but a spectacular one too.
Scotland’s Castle Trail stops
