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The ruined tower and hall of Huntly Castle rising above mown grass
Aberdeenshire

Huntly Castle

The ruined palace of the Gordons, Earls of Huntly, where the Bogie meets the Deveron, its south front remodelled in a French style about 1602, with some of the finest heraldic carving in Scotland.

Welcome

At the end of the main street of Huntly, past a gateway and down an avenue of old trees, the ruined palace of the Gordons stands on a green rise above the meeting of the Bogie and the Deveron.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Whoever held this spot held the road from Moray south into Strathdon and Deeside, and castles have stood here since about 1180.

Robert the Bruce gave the lands to Sir Adam Gordon, and the Gordons, later Earls and Marquises of Huntly, became one of the most powerful families in Scotland. Around 1602 the first Marquis gave the palace its famous south front, with a row of oriel windows along the top and his name and his wife's carved across it in great stone letters.

Inside, the grandest carving in the castle rises above the doorway to the stair tower: a stack of heraldic panels, coats of arms and figures. The fireplaces in the lodgings of the marquis and marchioness are carved just as richly.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Before you go

Open daily, 10am to 4.30pm, from April to September, and Saturday to Wednesday, 10am to 3.30pm, through the winter; last entry an hour before closing.

Adults £7.50 booked online. There are no visitor toilets at present.

Where
Castle Avenue, Huntly, at the end of the town's main street.
Toilets
None at present.

Opening hours

Monday
10am–4.30pm
Tuesday
10am–4.30pm
Wednesday
10am–4.30pm
Thursday
10am–4.30pm
Friday
10am–4.30pm
Saturday
10am–4.30pm
Sunday
10am–4.30pm

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Did you know

A worn stone spiral staircase inside Huntly Castle, lit by a small window and a wooden handrail
Did you know

Eight sieges.

Over six centuries the castles at Huntly were attacked or besieged at least eight times.

Huntly Castle's ruined walls rise beside a spreading tree, a lawn stretching in front
Did you know

A French look.

The first Marquis remodelled the south front in a French style around 1602.

A carved stone roundel at Huntly Castle depicting a top-hatted figure in relief
Did you know

The Bruce's gift.

Robert the Bruce gave the lands to Sir Adam Gordon, who brought the name Huntly north from Berwickshire.

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Where it is

On the edge of Huntly, where the River Bogie meets the Deveron, at the end of Castle Avenue.

Close byHuntly.
  1. Looking straight down on the Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre: the lodge, the white dry slope and the loop of the roller-ski track among autumn trees, the tubing lanes at the top.Huntly Nordic and Outdoor CentreA centre for cross-country skiing and roller skiing on the Hill of Haugh in Huntly, with family tubing and ski and bike hire.Under a mile 2 min by road
  2. The dining room at The Bank in Huntly, a wall of lit shelves of whisky above tables laid with linen.The Bank Café & RestaurantA café and restaurant in Huntly's former North of Scotland Bank, a granite building of 1842 by Archibald Simpson.Under a mile 2 min by road
  3. The red front of the Dean's building on Depot Road in Huntly under its name.Dean's of HuntlyThe home of Dean's shortbread, with a bright bistro and a shop beside the bakery.1 mile 4 min by road
  4. Delgatie Castle's tower rising above bare winter trees.Delgatie CastleThe Hays' tower house with painted ceilings of 1575.20 miles 32 min by road
  5. Duff HouseDuff HouseWilliam Adam's baroque mansion at Banff.22 miles 33 min by road
  6. Fyvie Castle's towered front across the lawn, framed by dark trees.Fyvie CastleAn 800-year-old Baronial castle hung with Raeburn portraits.25 miles 39 min by road
Directions
Close-up of a bald eagle's white head and hooked yellow beakAttractionsHuntly Falconry Centre4.0 miles
The great recumbent stone at Rothiemay, packing stones at its foot and three standing stones of the circle in the field behind.AttractionsRothiemay Stone Circle7.5 miles
Leith Hall, pale harled walls and turrets, above its gravel drive.AttractionsLeith Hall8.3 miles
A grey stone cottage with dormer windows and a black front door, climbing roses either side, set behind a lawn.RothiemayBailies CottageSleeps 6 · 9.7 miles
A single-storey lodge with a slated roof sits behind a stone wall and clipped hedge, mature trees shading the curving drive.RothiemayGate LodgeSleeps 2 · 9.7 miles
A triangular timber cabin stands behind a wooden gate and post-and-rail fence, bare trees framing the entrance.RothiemayMidparkSleeps 2 · 9.7 miles
A stone cottage with a slated roof and a blue front door, climbing roses in pink and white flanking the porch.RothiemayButlers CottageSleeps 4 · 9.7 miles
Tall copper pot stills in the stillhouse at the GlenDronach Distillery.AttractionsThe GlenDronach Distillery9.7 miles
The Picardy Stone standing in its field near Insch, a rough whinstone slab.AttractionsThe Picardy Stone9.8 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

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

A single-storey lodge with a slated roof sits behind a stone wall and clipped hedge, mature trees shading the curving drive.Gate Lodge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Rothiemay
  • 5 miles from Huntly Castle
Check datesA triangular timber cabin stands behind a wooden gate and post-and-rail fence, bare trees framing the entrance.Midpark
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Rothiemay
  • 5 miles from Huntly Castle
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovA stone cottage with a slated roof and a blue front door, climbing roses in pink and white flanking the porch.Butlers Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Rothiemay
  • 5 miles from Huntly Castle
Free 11–14 DecA grey stone cottage with dormer windows and a black front door, climbing roses either side, set behind a lawn.Bailies Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Rothiemay
  • 5 miles from Huntly Castle
Free 1–4 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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