Aberdeenshire has one of the densest concentrations of castles in Britain, and a signed tourist route that links them. Most are not medieval fortresses but Scottish tower houses of the 16th and 17th centuries — tall, thin, harled pink, with corbelled turrets that are decoration rather than defence. Craigievar, finished in 1626, is the type specimen.
What this atlas maps on the Aberdeenshire castle trail
That is every atlas landmark within 24 km of the line, spanning 11th century to 18th century. Nobody picked them — the geography did.
The best known is Dunnottar Castle, ranked 246 of the 8,133 landmarks in the atlas by Wikipedia presence and real readership. The oldest is Delgatie Castle, founded 1049.
The route runs through Scotland. The same ground, without the itinerary: Castles in Aberdeenshire.
Travelling it
A loop of A- and B-roads inland from the coast, signed as the Castle Trail; Dunnottar, on its sea stack south of Stonehaven, is the one everyone comes for and is a steep walk down and up again.
Day-trip guides for the towns and cities along it: Aberdeen.
See the route on the map →
