Kildrummy Castle – A Great Ruin and Lunch at the Inn
A few hours.
The route
Kildrummy Castle is a great ruined fortress of the 1200s on a hillside above the upper Don, with round towers at its corners and its back wall on the edge of a wooded ravine.
Lunch is at the Kildrummy Inn just up the road.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a table at the Kildrummy Inn online or on 019755 71227 for about 12.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday, from April to September: lunch is served noon to 3.30pm, and the Sunday menu noon to 7pm.
The day
Kildrummy
A wander round the ruin above the Don before it shuts for lunch, and a long lunch at the inn just up the road.
About three hours
Kildrummy Castle
An attraction
Park free by the visitor reception, 250 metres from the castle up a gently sloping gravel path. It opens from April to September, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4.30pm, but shuts for lunch from 12.30 to 1.30pm, so arrive by 11am. Historic Environment Scotland sets each year's dates over the winter: check its page before going. At the time of writing a ticket is £7.50 for adults online, or £8.50 at the door. The Earls of Mar built the castle around 1250, and King Edward of England, the Hammer of the Scots, stayed here twice. Its back wall drops into the wooded ravine of the Black Den, so keep children close. Inside, the gravel is deep. Dogs are welcome outdoors.
The Kildrummy Inn
Lunch
Lunch is a minute's drive up the A97 at the Kildrummy Inn, a family-run inn known for its cooking, with free parking. It serves lunch Wednesday to Saturday from noon to 3.30pm, and the Sunday menu from noon to 7pm; it's shut on Mondays and Tuesdays. Book a table online or on 019755 71227. Dogs can't come inside, but may sit with you on the terrace in fine weather. If it's full, the Tarland Tearooms, on the road south, does lunch Thursday to Monday; ring 01339 880132 to check the day's hours.
If it rains
The castle is a roofless ruin, so in steady rain go straight to the inn and save the castle for a dry day; a shower passes quickly on the open hillside.