Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Braemar Castle, a white-harled tower house with turrets and a Saltire flying, stands on a grassy rise beside tall pines below a forested hill.
Aberdeenshire

Braemar Castle

A white-harled tower house of 1628 north of Braemar, the Farquharsons' seat, run by the village since 2007 and restored in the community's Raising the Standard project.

Welcome

On a green knoll above the Dee, just outside Braemar, a tall white tower house bristles with round turrets and sits inside a star-shaped curtain wall.

It was built in 1628 by John Erskine, Earl of Mar, to guard the passes, and it has seen a hard life: in 1689 John Farquharson, the Black Colonel of Inverey, set it on fire, and after the Jacobite risings it was garrisoned by government soldiers.

For more than two centuries it has belonged to the chiefs of Clan Farquharson. In 2007, when the castle and its collection were at risk, the village of Braemar took it on, and it is now run by volunteers and staff. Inside, a turnpike stair winds up past a coral-red dining room laid for dinner, bedrooms, a drawing room of portraits and a stone kitchen hung with copper pans.

The castle opens from April to October (Wednesday to Sunday in April and October, every day from May to September), and its grounds have been remade by the community as part of the Raising the Standard project.

Before you go

Open every day from ten until five, last entry at half past four; the grounds are open every day.

Where
Just north of Braemar on the A93, AB35 5XR.
Run by
The Braemar community, since 2007.

Opening hours

Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–5pm

Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your review

Did you know

Braemar Castle, a white-harled tower house with battlemented turrets and a Saltire flying, stands above a grassy slope under heavy grey cloud.
Did you know

Set on fire in 1689.

The Black Colonel of Inverey, John Farquharson, burned the castle in 1689.

Old kitchen with a black cast-iron range, copper pots and kettles, a wooden chair and a stack of logs on a flagstone floor.
Did you know

Saved by the village.

The people of Braemar took on the castle in 2007, when it was at risk of closing for good.

Braemar Castle's white harled round towers with crenellated tops, seen from below against a blue sky with white clouds.
Did you know

Built by an earl.

John Erskine, Earl of Mar, built the castle in 1628.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Aberdeenshire

A recent restoration marks a new chapter in the castle’s absorbing 400-year-old history. The Earl of Mar built its soaring battlements way back in 1628, and since then it’s spent time as everything from a garrison to a family home.

Read more
01 / 05
Where it is

On a knoll above the Dee, half a mile north-east of Braemar.

Close byUpper Deeside.
  1. Saltire flag flies above the Fife Arms Hotel's stepped gablesBraemarThe village of the Braemar Gathering.Under a mile 2 min by road
  2. The Bothy's wood-lined café room in Braemar, a dog at the big windows over the river.The Bothy BraemarUnder a mile 3 min by road
  3. The Flying Stag, AberdeenshireThe Flying StagUnder a mile 3 min by road
  4. Bertie's Whisky Bar, red velvet chairs among walls of bottles in lamplight.Bertie's Whisky BarUnder a mile 3 min by road
  5. Wooden footbridge over a rocky river surrounded by pine forestLinn of QuoichA waterfall and the Earl of Mar's Punchbowl.11 miles 23 min by road
  6. Balmoral Castle's turreted grey towers rise above ivy-covered walls and manicured lawnsBalmoral CastleThe royal family's Highland home, down the Dee.12 miles 30 min by road
Directions
The white front of Farquharson's in the middle of Braemar.BarsFarquharson's Bar and Kitchen0.8 miles
Gordon's glass counter of cakes under its chalkboard sign in Braemar.CafeThe Gordon’s Tearoom Braemar0.9 miles
A path through the heather towards the wooded slopes of Creag Choinnich above Braemar.WalksCreag Choinnich1.0 miles
The Duke of Rothesay Highland Games Pavilion at Braemar, green timber under red roofs and a white clock tower.AttractionsBraemar Highland Games Centre1.1 miles
The deep trench of the Lairig Ghru between steep hillsides.AttractionsThe Lairig Ghru4.9 miles
Loch Callater lying in its glen between heather slopes and hills.WalksLoch Callater5.3 miles
River tumbling over rocky rapids through pine forest under grey skiesAttractionsLinn of Dee7.3 miles
Rusted metal standing stones on a hillside overlooking a wide glenAttractionsThe Watchers7.4 miles
Stone church with spire and rose window at end of tree-lined driveAttractionsCrathie Kirk8.6 miles

Recommend to a friend

The Daily for 23 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the castle, and when each is next free.

A landscape view of Faunoran House from the garden, the terrace and its white table, the house reflected in the long pond.Faunoran House
  • Sleeps 10
  • In Crathie
  • 7 miles from Braemar Castle
Free 23–25 OctA grand stone house with multiple gables and chimneys stands on a lawn at dusk, a Land Rover parked in the drive under a stormy sky.Gairnshiel Lodge
  • Sleeps 16
  • In Glengairn
  • 10 miles from Braemar Castle
Free 24–26 OctA wooden table and chairs with green cushions stand on a stone patio beside a gabled stone house, a lawn stretching in front.Laggan Cottage
  • Sleeps 8
  • In Ballater
  • 10 miles from Braemar Castle
Free 23–25 OctTwo grey linen sofas face each other across a dark wooden coffee table, checked roman blinds at the windows and a framed landscape print on the wall.Old School Cottage
  • Sleeps 7
  • In Ballater
  • 10 miles from Braemar Castle
Free 23–25 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Read on

What we have written about it and more in Aberdeenshire.

From the magazineBraemar CastleArticleAberdeenshire’s Great EscapesArticleAberdeenshire Castles
More in Aberdeenshire
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .