Craigiievar Castle

Craigievar Castle looks like it should be in a Fairy Tale.

Craigievar Castle is pink.  Yes, that's the color it has been most of it's life.  They used crushed pink granite from the estate in the rendering to give it the color.  I like it much better than the grey on most of the buildings we have visited.

Under a huge Monkey Puzzle tree.

The castle is only visited by guided tour, since there is no electricity on the upper floors.  The guide carries a torch (flashlight in American English) to highlight the objects in the various rooms.  It was raining the day we visited, so was a bit dark on the tour, even with the torch.  We've driven by several more times, as it is on one of our regular routes to travel, but the sun hasn't been shining, so we haven't stopped.

The bark is very interesting, with my hand for scale.

Built in the early 1600's, the castle was renovated in the 1820's, with a new roof and rendering.  It was the seat of Clan Sempill and the Forbes family lived here for 350 years, until 1963.  The furnishings are original, too.  The Forbes tartan was used everywhere; the carpets, the cushions and bed coverings.

Taken from the highway across the field.

The ceilings throughout are beautifully designed in plaster.  Again, no pictures, courtesy of the NTS.  It is 7 stories with all but the attic having these wonderful ceilings.

The fields are very symmetrical; must be Georgian style.

Our guide was a lovely young woman, with the beautiful pale skin and red/blond hair we have seen so much. She was having a very busy day and told us that most of her tours had been to Americans.  We had Scots and Germans on our tour.