Celtic Recipes

Huntly Castle

Huntly Castle, detail of front inscriptions. Image by Karora and courtesy of wikimedia commons.

Huntly Castle is a ruined castle and ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon. It is located to the northeast of the market town of Huntley (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Bhalgaidh or Hunndaidh) off the A96 road in Aberdeenshire. The L-plan castle has a five storey tower and attached great hall and is built on the site of an earlier motte fortress, the mound of which can still be seen. The surviving remains on the site enable the story of the development of the castle to be traced, from the motte and bailey of the 1100s, through to the tower house of the later Middle Ages, then on to the stately stone palace of the Jacobean era. The site is open to the public and managed by Historic EnvironmentScotland - Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba. 

Fyvie Castle

Fyvie Castle © Copyright Ikiwaner and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence

Fyvie Castle is in the village of Fyvie (Scottish Gaelic: Fia Chein). This is near to the town of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Torraibh, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). The earliest parts of this castle date from the thirteenth century with the Preston Tower added in the late fourteenth/early fifteenth century, the Seton tower from the late sixteenth century and the Gordon and Leith towers from the eighteenth and late nineteenth centuries respectively. Charles I lived at the castle as a child.

Castle Fraser

Castle Fraser image by Topbanana and courtesy of wikimedia commons

Castle Fraser is near to the village of  Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Gaelic: Ceann a' Mhuigh, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba).This Scottish baronial tower house dates back to 1575 and modernised in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The castle is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. It is within large landscaped grounds and open to the public. It is located about sixteen miles from Aberdeen off the A944 about four miles north from Dunecht.

Drum Castle

Drum Castle in 1829 by John Preston Neale

Drum Castle is located near Drumoak, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Druim M'Aodhaig, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). It is about ten miles west from Aberdeen off the A93 west from Peterculter in Aberdeenshire. The castle has a thirteenth century tower house with seventeenth century and Victorian additions. The castle and its grounds were granted to William de Irwyn in 1325 by Robert the Bruce, and remained in the possession of Clan Irvine until 1975. It is in eighteenth century gardens and now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and open to the public from April to October. 

Crathes Castle

Crathes Castle from garden © Copyright Oyoyoy and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

Crathes Castle is a 16th-century castle with eighteenth century added wing and located off the A93 west from the town of Banchory, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Scottish Gaelic: Beannchar, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). This harled castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys family on land that was given to them by King Robert the Bruce in 1323. It was held in that family for almost 400 years and served as the ancestral seat of the Burnetts of Leys. In 1951 Sir James Burnett, 13th Baronet, gave it to the National Trust for Scotland who own and manage the castle and grounds. The castle is noted for it's painted ceilings, portrait collection and extensive walled gardens.

Craigievar Castle

Craigievar Castle in Autumn © Copyright MichaelMaggs and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

Craigievar Castle is located off the A980 road about 6 miles south of the village of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Athfort, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). This early seventeenth century harled castle and grounds is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The seven storey castle is a fine example of Scottish Baronial architecture and is known for it's plasterwork ceilings. The grounds are open to the public throughout the year and the castle open for tours during the summer months. 

Kildrummy Castle

Kildrummy Castle © Copyright Van de Beek and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

Kildrummy Castle is a ruined castle located off the A97 southwest from the village of Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Cionn Droma, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). This thirteenth century castle was the stronghold of the Earls of Marr and has been the site of several sieges. The ruins comprise of the remains of a hall and chapel with a curtain wall and four round towers. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland - Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba and is open to the public daily from the 1st April to 30th September.

Glenbuchat Castle

Glenbucket Castle drawn by Robert William Billings (1814-1874)

Glenbuchat Castle is located above the River Don (Scottish Gaelic: Deathan)  and is near to the village of Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Cionn Droma, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). Built in 1590 for John Gordon of Glenbuchat and his wife Helen Carnegie, it is a Z plan Scottish castle with round and square corbelled turrets. Although roofless it remains in relatively good condition and the building and grounds are open to the public and under the care of  Historic Environment Scotland - Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba. 

Kindrochit Castle - Caisteal Ceann na Drochaid

Kindrochit Castle - Caisteal Ceann na Drochaid as it was

The remains of Kindrochit Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Ceann na Drochaid) are in the centre of the village of Braemar (Bràigh Mhàrr). A Castle was built here in the second half of the 11th century by King Malcolm III of Scotland (Malcolm Canmore). Malcolm (Gaelic: Máel Coluim; c. 1031 – 13 November 1093) was King of Scots from 1058 to 1093. The castle's Gaelic name Ceann-drochit can be translated into English as Bridge Head and a bridge was built here across the River Clunie.

Corgarff Castle

Corgarff Castle

Corgarff Castle is just west of the village of Corgarff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. (Scottish Gaelic: Corr Garaidh, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain, Alba). This is located about 9 miles west of Strathdon (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Dheathain) on the A939. It was built in the sixteenth century by a branch of the Clan Forbes and is surrounded by an eighteenth century perimeter wall. It served as a family home to the Forbes and was the site of an attack by the Gordons in 1571 which resulted in them setting fire to the castle and killing the Laird of Corgarff's wife, her family and servants. After the Battle of Culloden 1746 the British Army used the castle as a barracks to hunt down Jacobite sympathisers. The castle is now open to the public for 1st April to 30th September.

Pages