Castle Trail, Grampian Region

Castle Fraser, built between 1575 and 1636, lies about 16mi/25km northwest of Aberdeen on the A944. The huge stronghold was owned by the Fraser family until 1921 and has been run by the National Trust for Scotland since 1976. Like Crathes and Craigievar Castle, round towers, graceful conical roofs, oriel windows and decorative dormers create an impressive picture. The medieval belfry was extended in the late 16th C with a five-story wing, a square tower and a seven-story round tower to create a Z-shaped structure. Two further low-level annexs were added in the 17th C with stonemasons Bel and Leiper leaving behind their distinctive stamp.Some alterations made during the Victorian period have been reversed by the National Trust. Inside, the Great Hall and the "Laird's Lug", a secret chamber from which a spy could hear even whispered exchanges, are particularly interesting.

En route to the next castle from Craigievar, it is worth calling in at Alford (pop. 1,400) on the A980. The Grampian Transport Museum houses a collection of historic cars, cycles and carriages.

Kildrummy Castle (HS; 8mi/13km west of of Alford) dates from the 13th C. Only scanty ruins remain but, surrounded by a wide moat, they nevertheless create a striking impression. Botanists will be interested in the water garden and rare trees. Built for Alexander II c 1245, the castle has seen turbulent times. The English and Scots long disputed this strategic spot, besieging and destroying it more than once. On each occasion it was rebuilt but the edifice was finally dismantled in 1715 after the failed Jacobite uprising and the stonework was used elsewhere. The keep in the curtain wall, frequently a final refuge, possesses its own spring. The chapel's gable (1250) with three fine lancet windows is of particular interest.

Corgarff Castle (HS) stands on a hilltop by the Lecht pass (A939) about 16mi/26km further west. The faithfully restored tower house was built in 1537 and star-shaped ramparts were added in 1738. The old Highland ballad "Edom o'Gordon" tells the tale of the tragic death in 1581 of Margaret Campbell, the wife of the laird Alexander Forbes, who perished in flames with her children and servants while the castle was under siege by the Gordons. After the Jacobite rebellion in 1748 Hanoverian troops used the castle as their barracks. They were followed by the English redcoats who had the unpopular job of putting a stop to whisky smuggling.

Leith Hall lies at the heart of a 281 acre/114ha. park and served for generations as the estate of the Leith family before passing to the National Trust for Scotland in 1945. An exhibition entitled "For Crown and Country" documents the history of the lairds who generally followed military careers. One of the exhibits is a present given by "Bonnie Prince Charlie" on the eve of the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Z-shaped 17th C tower house and the 18th and 19th C wings enclose an inner courtyard. It is worth taking a quick look at the 18th C stables and then taking a relaxing stroll through the extensive parkland with its lakes, viewpoint, Highland cattle and rare Soay breed of sheep, only found here or on St Kilda.

The imposing ruins of Huntly Castle barely 7mi/11km further north stand on the site of the medieval Strathbogie Castle, which was until the middle of the 16th C the seat of the Gordon family, the most powerful family in the region. The first Norman castle was burnt down in 1452 by Moray, but was rebuilt by the fourth Earl Gordon of Huntly starting in 1554. Forty years later it was destroyed again. The main section of the ruin dates from the restoration of 1602 undertaken by the first Marquis of Huntly. The entrance hall is decorated with weapons and heraldic ornamentation. Above the fireplace in the palace hang two portrait medallions of the first marquis George Gordon and his wife Henriette Stewart. The 15th C tower house is the oldest part of the complex, but the bakery, east and west wings and stables were added in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Near Daviot about 8mi/12.8km to the southwest stand the prehistoric Loanhead Stone Circles and at the northwestern end of Inverurie is Brandsbutt Stone, a Pictish stone retaining symbols and inscriptions.

This mansion (10mi/16km southeast of Fyvie) was designed in 1731 for the second Earl of Aberdeen by William Adam, father of the talented Adam brothers. In 1880 Wright and Mansfield renovated the furnishings in "Adam Revival" style. The elegant stucco and delicate pastel shades are typical of Robert Adam's interiors. The valuable paintings include Batonis' portrait of Lord Haddo (on the staircase), two van Dycks (in the Saloon) and several watercolors of Aberdeenshire castles (in the Giles Room), painted by James Giles for the fourth earl as book illustrations. The Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones was responsible for the east window in the chapel.

As indicated by an inscription near the Tolquhon Castle gatehouse, William Forbes extended the 14th C medieval tower house (3mi/5km south of Haddo House) into a mansion between 1584 and 1589. Two huge round towers flank the tower house with its portal and heraldic panels. The inner courtyard and living accommodation lie ahead beyond the entrance hall.

The foundation stone for the colorful Pitmedden Garden was laid on May 2, 1675 by Sir Alexander Seton. The gardens came under the administration of the National Trust for Scotland in 1952 and are situated 14mi/22.4km northwest of Aberdeen. The floral designs, bushes and shrubs laid out around the central fountain follow a strict geometrical pattern and are a showpiece of Baroque garden landscaping. Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh was the model for three of the four flower beds. "Tempus Fugit" is the subject of the southeast parterre, centered on a sundial, while the northwest parterre displays the heraldic emblem of Sir Alexander Seton, flanked by Scotland's saltire and thistle. The history of the garden from 1675 is recounted in one of the pavilions and the Museum of Farming Life illustrates the development of agriculture in the region.