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Castles
in Moray.

It’s 20:57 in Moray.
Morayshire

Island keeps and clifftop ruins.

Moray's castles are wonderfully varied. There's a ruined island castle in a lonely loch on Dava Moor, a stone keep high on its mound near Elgin, and the ruins of a medieval castle clinging to a promontory above the sea near Cullen. The Brodie family have lived in their rose-coloured castle near Forres for over four centuries, and the Macpherson-Grants still live at Ballindalloch on the Avon. Check opening times before you go.

Loch an Eilein Castle→
Findlater Castle→
Lochindorb Castle→
Ballindalloch Castle and Gardens→
Duffus Castle→
Brodie Castle→
Castle of the day19 hours ago

Brodie Castle.

The rose-coloured home of the Brodies for more than four hundred years, with guided tours, a Playful Garden and a famous collection of daffodils.

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Did you know18 hours ago

Findlater Castle, between Cullen and Sandend, was rebuilt to copy Rosslyn Castle.

In the mid-1300s, in the reign of David II, the castle on its promontory above the Moray Firth was rebuilt. The rebuilding is attributed to Sir John Sinclair of Findlater, who modelled the new castle on his family's own Rosslyn Castle, in Midlothian.

See Findlater Castle · Morayshire
Lunch17 hours agoMorayshireKula Coffee Hut100 yardsMorayshireThe Drouthy Cobbler3.3 milesMorayshireOrrin Restaurant3.3 miles

Lunch near Duffus Castle.

The three good places closest to it: Kula Coffee Hut, The Drouthy Cobbler and Orrin Restaurant.

See Duffus Castle
Did you know14 hours ago

Norwegian forces captured Findlater Castle, on the Banffshire coast, in the early 1260s.

In the early 1260s King Alexander III ordered repairs at Findlater Castle, between Cullen and Sandend, expecting a Norwegian invasion. The Norwegians captured and occupied it for a time. After their defeat at the Battle of Largs in 1263, the castle returned to Scottish hands.

See Findlater Castle · Morayshire
From our guide13 hours ago

Spynie Palace.

For 500 years, this imposing building was the residence of the bishops of Moray, its colossal tower house reaching into the sky and its great hall suitably embellished. Today it’s been unoccupied for more than four centuries but remains a fascinating place to visit – and the views from the top of David’s Tower are worth the trip alone.

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From our guide11 hours ago

Lochindorb Castle.

It’s hard to imagine a more atmospheric historical sight than a ruined Scottish fortress on an island in moorland loch. Accordingly, Lochindorb Castle – which sits on the loch of the same name, some 20 minutes north of Grantown-on-Spey – is quite the spectacle, its pale, crumbling stonework offset by the metallic waters of the lake and the deep green of the hills.

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Did you know10 hours ago

Findlater Castle was strengthened against a Norwegian invasion, and the Norwegians took it anyway.

In the early 1260s Alexander III ordered the fortifications here repaired and made stronger, because Scotland was bracing for Haakon IV of Norway to come. He came. Norwegian forces captured Findlater and held it for a time, on this same promontory above the Moray Firth, joined to the mainland by a neck of land the sea has been narrowing ever since. The name is older than any of it: fionn leitir, Scots Gaelic for the white cliff.

See Findlater Castle · Morayshire
Quiz9 hours ago

When William Grant built The Balvenie distillery beside Glenfiddich in Dufftown in 1892 and 1893, what did he turn the derelict 'new' Balvenie castle into?

From the magazine8 hours ago

The star of the Playful Garden at Brodie Castle, near Forres in Moray, is Brodie the Bunny, a reclining white rabbit 6.5 metres from tip to toe.

Most playgrounds make do with swings and slides, but the Playful Garden in the grounds of Brodie Castle does things differently. Its features include unicorn sculptures, spinning zoetropes, and a table and chairs big enough for giants, and then there is the bunny, stretched out at full length. Make a day of it and see the castle too, a pink building with pointy turrets that gives it a fairy-tale feel. Its gardens are an attraction in themselves, and in spring they are famous for a collection of 400 varieties of daffodils.

Photograph: Brodie Castle Playful Garden on Google MapsSee The Playful Garden · Morayshire
Sunset 18:046 hours ago

Golden hour at Findlater Castle.

The ruins of a medieval castle clinging to a narrow promontory high above the sea between Cullen and Sandend, with a sandy cove below.

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From our guide5 hours ago

Duff House.

Technically across the border in Aberdeenshire, but also just a 20-minute drive east along the coast from Cullen, Duff House sits on the outskirts of the town of Banff. The elaborate early-Georgian mansion – think cornices, finials and soaring chimneys – is now a country house gallery, showcasing collections from the National Galleries of Scotland.

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Did you know4 hours ago

Duffus Castle, in Moray, was a fortress and home for more than 500 years.

The stone castle seen today was built in the 1300s, replacing an earlier timber stronghold. Duffus was a fortress-residence from the 1100s to the 1700s, and once one of the strongest castles in Scotland. By the time it was abandoned in 1705 it had been reduced to a decaying ruin.

See Duffus Castle · Morayshire