Corgarff Castle

Standing behind a whitewashed, star-shaped perimeter wall in the Cairngorms National Park is this dramatically isolated medieval towerhouse. Its story is a layered one: originally a private residence, it later became an army base tasked with finding Jacobite supporters and whisky contrabandists.   

Corgarff Castle can be found in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire. This is a tower house thought to have been built by John Forbes in the early part of the 16th century. Various people fought for ownership over the following years and then after the Jacobite Rebellion around 1745 it was taken over by the state and converted into military barracks. In 1827 it was used to supress whisky smuggling. 

It’s an interesting building to visit. You can still see the barracks and there’s also a brewhouse and a bakehouse on the west pavilion and a star shaped perimeter wall with musket loops. As well as the interesting history the views from the Tower House are beautiful. Take note however that it is a bit of a walk from the car park to the Castle so not ideal for anyone with mobility problems.