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A whitewashed star-shaped fortified tower house stands alone on a grassy hillside, hills rising behind under an overcast sky.
Aberdeenshire

Corgarff Castle

A white tower house at the head of Strathdon, turned into a Redcoat barracks after Culloden and ringed with a star-shaped wall, later a base against whisky smugglers.

Welcome

At the head of Strathdon, where the glen climbs towards the bare moors of the Lecht, a tall white tower stands alone in a sweep of green pasture, ringed by a low wall drawn out into the points of a star.

There is hardly another building in sight.

Corgarff began as the tower house of a noble family, but after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in 1746 the government took it over. The Redcoats gutted the inside to make a barracks, added two small pavilions and built the star-shaped wall around it, pierced with loopholes for muskets. For nearly a century soldiers were stationed here, first to hunt down Jacobites and later to help the excisemen catch the whisky smugglers who worked the hills around.

Inside, the barrack rooms have been set out as they were around 1750, with the soldiers' beds and kit, and a room given over to the illicit stills of the smugglers they chased.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
A little further outBalmoral Arms20 min by roadSee itBalmoral Arms
Before you go

Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4.30pm, from May to September, and Friday to Sunday in April; closed for lunch from 12.30 to 1.30pm, and from October to March.

Adults £7.50 booked online.

Where
Eight miles west of Strathdon on the A939, AB36 8YP.
Telephone
01975 651460.

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Where it is

At the head of Strathdon, off the A939 eight miles west of Strathdon, below the Lecht.

Close byUpper Strathdon.
  1. Stone arched bridge over a river, sunlight filtering through bare treesPoldullie Bridge8 miles 11 min by road
  2. The steep grassy side of the Doune of Invernochty mound against the sky.Doune of Invernochty8 miles 12 min by road
  3. Road sign reading "Lost" with an arrow, surrounded by bare winter shrubsThe Famous Lost Sign8 miles 12 min by road
  4. Stone cottages line a quiet village road under a cloudy evening skyTomintoulThe highest village in the Highlands, over the Lecht.10 miles 13 min by road
  5. Kildrummy Castle's D-shaped ruin seen from the air above its ravine.Kildrummy CastleA great ruined castle of the Wars of Independence.18 miles 25 min by road
  6. Braemar CastleBraemar CastleA tower house of 1628 with a star-shaped wall of its own.22 miles 32 min by road
Directions
Two 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.BallaterOld School CottageSleeps 7 · 8.7 miles
A wooden table and chairs with green cushions stand on a stone patio beside a gabled stone house, a lawn stretching in front.BallaterLaggan CottageSleeps 8 · 8.7 miles
A 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.GlengairnGairnshiel LodgeSleeps 16 · 8.7 miles
Stone cottage with lit doorways and slate roof at dusk, forest behindRestaurantsSteading Bar9.4 miles
Inverenzie Cottage, AberdeenshireBallaterInverenzie CottageSleeps 4 · 11 miles
Stone church with spire and rose window at end of tree-lined driveAttractionsCrathie Kirk14 miles
John Brown’s Grave, BallaterAttractionsJohn Brown’s Grave14 miles
Shelves of fresh rolls, butteries and bakes at the Highlanders Bakehouse under a chalkboard.CafeThe Highlanders Bakehouse14 miles
A landscape view of Faunoran House from the garden, the terrace and its white table, the house reflected in the long pond.CrathieFaunoran HouseSleeps 10 · 14 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A 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
  • 6 miles from Corgarff
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovA 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
  • 6 miles from Corgarff
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovTwo 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
  • 6 miles from Corgarff
Free 5–7 NovInverenzie Cottage, AberdeenshireInverenzie Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Ballater
  • 7 miles from Corgarff
Free 4–6 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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