Aberdeenshire is one of the great castle regions of Europe. No comparable area in Britain — and few in the wider world — has such a density of historic castles surviving in good condition across such a variety of types and periods. The Aberdeenshire Castle Trail is a formal tourist route that links many of them, but even the trail cannot do justice to the full extraordinary concentration of fortresses that dot the landscape from the Cairngorms to the North Sea coast. Here is a guide to the most significant Aberdeenshire castles, the clans who built them, and why this part of Scotland is one of the richest heritage destinations in the world.
Why does Aberdeenshire have so many castles?
The concentration of castles in Aberdeenshire reflects the region's particular political and social history. The north-east of Scotland was, through the medieval and early modern periods, a zone of competing clan power — Gordon, Forbes, Keith, Fraser, Burnett, Arbuthnott, and dozens of lesser families all held territory here and built accordingly. The prosperity generated by North Sea fishing, cattle farming, and the wool trade gave these families the resources to build well, and the local granite provided a durable building stone that has survived the centuries in exceptional condition. The result is a landscape studded with tower houses, courtyard castles, and Z-plan baronial mansions that tell the story of north-eastern Scotland with unusual completeness.
Dunnottar Castle — the great clifftop fortress
Dunnottar Castle, perched on a headland above the North Sea near Stonehaven, is the most dramatically situated castle in Aberdeenshire and one of the most visited in Scotland. Associated with Clan Keith — the Earls Marischal — and famous as the hiding place of the Honours of Scotland during the Cromwellian occupation, Dunnottar is a site of genuine national significance. Our Dunnottar Castle history guide covers its full story.
Craigievar Castle — the fairytale tower
Craigievar Castle near Alford is considered by many to be the most perfectly proportioned castle in Scotland — a slender pink granite tower house rising to an exuberant cap-house and turrets that looks, at first glance, like something from a fairy tale. It was completed around 1626 for William Forbes (known as "Danzig Willie" for his Baltic trade connections), and the interior plasterwork ceilings are among the finest in Scotland. Clan Forbes and the castle's history are inseparable from the broader story of north-eastern Scotland. Craigievar is managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
Kildrummy Castle — the great medieval ruin
Kildrummy Castle in Strathdon is one of the most important medieval castle ruins in Scotland — a sophisticated thirteenth-century fortress with a great gatehouse modelled on Harlech in Wales, a curtain wall, and a suite of towers that reflected the highest standards of castle planning in its era. Associated with the earls of Mar, Kildrummy was besieged by Edward I of England during the Wars of Independence, defended by the wife of Robert the Bruce's brother, and eventually captured through treachery. It was subsequently a Douglas stronghold before falling into ruin in the eighteenth century. Our Clan Mar history covers the family behind this extraordinary castle.
Crathes Castle — the Burnett seat
Crathes Castle near Banchory on Royal Deeside is a spectacular Z-plan tower house built by the Burnett family between 1553 and 1596 — one of the best examples of the Scottish baronial style in its original form. The castle contains some of the finest painted ceilings in Scotland, and the gardens — developed over three centuries — are among the most celebrated in the country. Clan Burnett's centuries of occupation of Crathes are reflected in the extraordinary quality of the building and its contents. The castle is managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
Huntly Castle — the Gordon stronghold
Huntly Castle in the town of Huntly is the seat of the Gordon earls — the most powerful family in north-eastern Scotland through the medieval and early modern periods. The castle's surviving Renaissance façade, with its elaborate heraldic carvings, reflects the wealth and ambition of the Gordon earls at the height of their power in the sixteenth century. Clan Gordon's history is inseparable from Huntly Castle, and the castle's role in the conflicts between the Catholic Gordon earls and the Protestant reformers is a central thread of north-eastern Scottish history. Our Huntly Castle history guide covers the full story.
Balvenie Castle — the Comyn ruin near Dufftown
Balvenie Castle near Dufftown is one of the oldest castle sites in Aberdeenshire, with Comyn origins in the thirteenth century and a remarkable sequence of later occupation by Douglas and Stewart families. Its position in the heart of Speyside whisky country, adjacent to the Glenfiddich Distillery, makes it one of the more unusual heritage sites in Scotland. Our Balvenie Castle history guide tells the full story of the Comyn earls of Buchan who built it.
Fraser Castle — the Clan Fraser seat
Castle Fraser near Inverurie is one of the grandest tower houses in Scotland, a Z-plan castle developed over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by the Fraser family. The quality of its stonework and the sophistication of its planning make it one of the key monuments on the Aberdeenshire Castle Trail. Clan Fraser's north-eastern heartland is centred on this remarkable building, which is managed by the National Trust for Scotland. Our Castle Fraser history guide covers the full story.
Udny Castle — the Udny clan seat
Udny Castle in the Formartine district is a sixteenth-century tower house associated with the Udny family — a lesser-known but significant north-eastern clan. Clan Udny's history at this compact but imposing tower house reflects the broader pattern of minor gentry castle-building that makes Aberdeenshire's castle landscape so rich.
The Aberdeenshire Castle Trail
The formal Aberdeenshire Castle Trail links eight major castles — Corgarff, Craigievar, Drum, Dunnottar, Fyvie, Kildrummy, Crathes, and Fraser — into a suggested itinerary for visitors. But the trail represents only a fraction of the castles available in the region. A more thorough exploration of Aberdeenshire's castle heritage could occupy weeks, and the independent traveller who leaves the marked trail will find remarkable buildings at almost every turn. For those planning a heritage journey to the north-east, our Scotland travel guide for 2026 and our roundup of legendary clan sites offer a broader framework for the visit.
If your family name connects to the north-eastern clans — Gordon, Forbes, Keith, Fraser, Burnett, Arbuthnott, Ogilvie, or any of the dozens of Aberdeenshire families we carry — find it at Celtic Ancestry Gifts. We offer mugs, woven blankets, apparel, ornaments, and garden flags for hundreds of Scottish and Irish heritage names.
