Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drum Castle
Near Drumoak, ten miles west of Aberbeen off the A93 • April-June & Sept Mon & Thurs-Sun 11am-4pm; July & Aug daily 11am-4pm;
Garden of Historic Roses April-Oct daily 11am-4.15pm • £6, grounds only £2; NTS
Ten miles west of Aberdeen,
Drum Castle
stands in a clearing in the ancient woods of
Drum, made up of the splendid pines and oaks that covered this whole area before the
shipbuilding industry precipitated mass forest clearance. he castle itself combines a
1619 Jacobean mansion with Victorian extensions and the original, huge thirteenth-
century keep, which has been restored and reopened. Given by Robert the Bruce to his
armour-bearer, William de Irvine, in 1323 for services rendered at Bannockburn, the
castle remained in Irvine hands for 24 generations until the NTS took over in 1976.
he main part of the house is Victorian in character, with grand, antique-filled rooms
and lots of family portraits. he finest room is the
library
, within the ancient tower;
you'll get an even better sense of the medieval atmosphere of the place by climbing up
to the upper levels of the tower, where the battlements offer views out over the forest.
10
Crathes Castle and around
Crathes, just east of Banchory • Jan-March Sat & Sun 10.30am-3.45pm; April-Oct daily 10.30am-4.45pm; Nov-Dec Sat & Sun
10.30am-3.45pm; last admission 45min before closing • £12, including access to the gardens; NTS
Four miles west of Drum Castle and around two miles east of Banchory,
Crathes Castle
is a splendid sixteenth-century granite tower house adorned with flourishes such as
overhanging turrets, gargoyles and conical roofs. Its thick walls, narrow windows and
tiny rooms loaded with heavy old furniture make Crathes rather claustrophobic, but it
is still worth visiting for some wonderful painted ceilings; the earliest dates from 1602.
INFORMATION
CRATHES CASTLE AND AROUND
Tourist o
ce
The nearest tourist o
ce is within the
museum in nearby Banchory, a small town that acts
essentially as a gateway into rural Deeside (April-Oct
Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; also Sun 1-5pm July & Aug;
T
01330 822000) Staff can provide information on walking
and fishing in the area.
ACCOMMODATION
Tourists looking for somewhere after a day at
Crathes Castle
are understandably tempted to push on into the attractive
Deeside countryside, which has a wide choice of accommodation. But there are a couple of reliably good places to stay in
and around
Banchory
, a small but fast-growing town just two miles to the west.
Raemoir House
Two and a half miles north of
Banchory
T
01330 824884,
W
raemoir.com.
Glamorous
country-house hotel set in spacious parkland, complete
with a decad
ent d
rawing room. The best rooms have four-
poster beds.
£180
Tor-Na-Coille Hotel
Inchmarlo Road, Banchory
T
01330 822242,
W
tornacoille.com.
Once a retreat for
Charlie Chaplin and his family,
Tor-Na-Coille
has a scenic
location on the town's southern edge. Some of the
smart
rooms overlook Banchory Golf Club's rolling fairways.
£125
EATING AND DRINKING
The Milton
Near the entrance to Crathes Castle
T
01330 844566,
W
miltonbrasserie.com.
Smart
restaurant just across from Crathes Castle, serving
moderately priced à la carte meals such as a red pepper and
star anise risotto (£12).
Mon & Tues noon-3pm, Wed &
Thurs noon-3pm & 6-9pm, Fri & Sat noon-3pm &
6-9.30pm, Sun noon-5pm.
Ballater
he neat and ordered town of
BALLATER
is attractively hemmed in by the River Dee
and fir-covered mountains. he town was dragged from obscurity in the nineteenth
century when it was discovered that waters from the local Pannanich Wells might be
useful in curing scrofula. Deeside water is now back in fashion, though these days it's
bottled and sold far and wide as a natural mineral water.
