Craigievar Castle (National Trust for Scotland) — Attraction in Scotland

Perched like a pink fairytale above the rolling hills of Aberdeenshire, Craigievar Castle is one of Scotland’s most enchanting historic sites. Managed by the National Trust for Scotland, this striking 17th-century tower house is a masterpiece of Scottish Baronial architecture — and a must-visit for anyone exploring the northeast.

What makes Craigievar so captivating isn’t just its storybook looks (which are rumoured to have inspired Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle), but its authenticity. There’s no artificial lighting inside — so as you tour the rooms, you're seeing the castle much as it would have appeared centuries ago. The interiors are filled with original plasterwork ceilings, portraits, furniture, and artefacts from the Forbes family, who called it home for over 350 years.

The guides are excellent — knowledgeable, passionate, and full of quirky historical insights that bring the place to life. Unlike more commercialised attractions, the atmosphere here is quiet, immersive, and genuinely transporting. You get a real sense of what it would have been like to live in such a place, from the grandeur of the great hall to the cramped servant staircases.

The grounds are equally lovely, offering peaceful woodland walks and spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. It’s not a huge site, but that’s part of the charm — Craigievar feels intimate, serene, and deeply rooted in its landscape.

One tip: check opening times before you go, as access to the interior is seasonal and by guided tour only.

In short, Craigievar Castle is a jewel in the crown of Scottish heritage — romantic, atmospheric, and beautifully preserved. Whether you’re a history lover, architecture enthusiast, or simply chasing fairytale views, it’s well worth...

This building with its vertiginous architecture is one of the iconic images of Scotland, representing the pinnacle of the Scottish tower house in its final flourish. For this reason alone I was compelled to visit the building.

You may be somewhat disappointed by the internal accommodation, as this is not particularly grand or large. However, you can be assured that this an authentic building, whose deep history can be read from the structural changes over the years. Real tower houses sadly don't look like Hollywood's idea of a castle. If you want the latter, look to the Victorian romanticised and more muscular re-invention of the Baronial style in the 19th century.

The Great Hall at the bottom of the tower is the star room. This is a remarkable survival from the 17th Century in the Scottish Renaissance style. It is not huge, but you can just feel the joy of the good times (and good food!) had in the space.

The rest of the tower is rather labyrinthine and one seems to climb up and up and up during the tour, in the best satisfying Gormenghast tradition. You come to realise how little personal space people had in the old days - the accommodation in the private quarters is less per-person than a small modern house. A large number of people would have lived in Craigivar. And the maids slept four to a bed in the...

Extremely disappointing visit. We drove over an hour to get to Craigievar, paid the obligatory £3 parking to be told by a particularly unhelpful member of staff when we arrived at the house, that they were not accepting any further visitors for the day...it was shortly before 1.30 when we arrived and the castle closed at 4pm. He suggested we arrived for 10am the following day when the castle reopened in the hope we'd get in. It is not possible to book in advance and entry is on a first come, first served basis. He suggested people had been waiting for over 2 hours to gain access.

Other than the castle and grounds, there are no other facilities i.e. cafe to while away the time. Needless to say, we came away feeling annoyed.

On the whole, we felt the situation was mismanaged. Loads of people arrived after us, paid their parking and will have found out shortly after they couldn't gain access. Even if a notice had been put at the paying machine that entry to the castle was closed it would allow people to make their decision before paying mandatory parking charges. We hung around for about 20 mins letting people know they couldn't get in before paying parking while we figured out our new plan.

Come in Craigievar, get your act together. Sadly you've blotted your card with us. We...