Craigievar Castle

Craigievar Castle: The Pink Tower That Danzig Willy Built, Rising Above Aberdeenshire

William Forbes made his fortune trading with the Baltic port of Danzig — now Gdańsk in Poland — in the early years of the 17th century. So successful was his trade that he became known throughout Aberdeenshire as "Danzig Willy." In 1610, he began completing a tower house that an earlier family had started on a hillside above the Howe of Cromar in Aberdeenshire.

He finished it by 1626, and what he built has changed almost nothing since: a seven-storey tower house with harled walls of pale pink, corbelled turrets, carved heraldic plasterwork ceilings and views across the rolling Aberdeenshire countryside to the Grampian Hills.

Craigievar Castle is one of the most immediately recognisable and most photographed buildings in Scotland. It is also one of the most complete surviving examples of Scottish Baronial tower architecture — unchanged in its exterior since William Forbes completed it four centuries ago.

The Forbes family held it for 350 years; the National Trust for Scotland has held it since 1963. The interior is visited in small guided groups of no more than ten people — an intimacy unusual in heritage tourism — and the grounds are free to explore at any time of year. This guide covers everything you need to plan your visit.

Where Is Craigievar Castle?

Craigievar Castle is located 6 miles south of Alford, 15 miles north-west of Banchory, and 26 miles west of Aberdeen, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The entrance is signposted off the A980 (the Alford to Banchory road). A car park is available at the castle.

There is no direct public transport to the castle; driving is the most practical option. Buses serve Alford, Lumphanan and Aboyne, from where a taxi completes the journey. Aberdeen, 26 miles east, is the nearest city with a wide range of accommodation and easy transport connections.

A Brief History of Craigievar Castle

The site at Craigievar was first developed by the Mortimer family, who began the tower around 1576. The building was incomplete when William Forbes — "Danzig Willy" — purchased the estate and set about finishing it to his own standards, completing the work by 1626. What Forbes built is the tower that stands today: the external form of the castle, its corbelled turrets and pink harled walls, are almost entirely his work, unchanged by the centuries.

The Forbes family held Craigievar for 350 years — a continuity of ownership remarkable even by Scottish standards. The castle was sold to the National Trust for Scotland in 1963 by the 19th Lord Sempill, and the Trust has managed it since, completing the "Pink Again" restoration project that revived the traditional pink lime harl on the exterior after decades of weathering had faded it. The interior's carved plasterwork ceilings, original painted woodwork and collection of arms and armour are among the finest survivals of their period in Scotland.

The remarkable thing about Craigievar is that almost nothing was added after William Forbes completed his work in 1626. Many Scottish tower houses were expanded, rebuilt or romanticised in later centuries; Craigievar was simply occupied, maintained and, eventually, protected. The seven-storey tower that rises above the Aberdeenshire hillside today is almost exactly what a Baltic merchant's ambition produced four hundred years ago.

Architecture & Design

Craigievar is a masterpiece of the Scottish Baronial style — the architectural tradition that characterises the great tower houses of north-east Scotland, with their L-plan footprints, corbelled corner turrets, steeply pitched roofs and harled rubble walls. At seven storeys, Craigievar is among the tallest and most complete surviving examples. Its pink harled exterior — lime render mixed to produce the characteristic pale rose colour — gives the tower its immediate and unmistakeable visual identity.

Inside, the principal rooms are concentrated on the upper floors, reached by a spiral stair. The Great Hall, with its extraordinary plasterwork ceiling — one of the finest in Scotland, featuring heraldic beasts, classical figures and decorative panels in high relief — is the showpiece.

The castle also contains a collection of Raeburn portraits, arms and armour accumulated by the Forbes family over three and a half centuries. The smaller rooms and the intimate scale of the tower give Craigievar an atmosphere quite unlike the grand state rooms of a palace — it feels, at all times, like a house.

Legends & Lore

Craigievar's reputation for the uncanny rests lightly on its history — the castle is said to carry a certain atmosphere in its older rooms, and visitors and guides have over the years reported unexplained experiences in the upper floors. These stories are told as part of the tower's character rather than as documented events, appropriate to a building of this age and this much-unaltered fabric.

The most widely repeated claim about Craigievar is that it inspired the design of Disney's Cinderella Castle. The comparison is made frequently and is easy to understand — the pink tower, the turrets, the fairy-tale silhouette all resemble the Disney image. Disney has never confirmed the connection, and the claim is better understood as an eloquent popular observation about the castle's appearance than as historical fact. What is certain is that Craigievar looks like no other building in Scotland, and like nothing so much as a castle from a story.

Visiting the Castle

The interior of Craigievar Castle is accessible only on guided tours, which are limited to a maximum of ten people and run on a first-come, first-served basis. Arriving early is strongly recommended to secure a place on the first available tour of the day; tours typically last around 30 minutes. This small-group format gives the visit an intimacy and a pace that larger castle tours cannot replicate — the carved plasterwork ceilings, the portraits, the armour and the atmosphere of the rooms feel very different when seen by ten people than by fifty.

The grounds are free to visit for all visitors, regardless of whether a castle tour ticket is purchased, and are open from dawn to dusk throughout the year. A woodland trail winds through the estate, and house martins nest in the castle's towers in the warmer months. A refreshment kiosk and a gift shop are available during opening hours. Photography is permitted inside the castle; drone flights require prior permission.

National Trust for Scotland members enter free; a car park fee applies for non-members.

Check Tickets & Tour Times for Craigievar Castle →

Check the official National Trust for Scotland website for current opening dates, tour times and prices before you travel.

Where to Stay Near Craigievar Castle

Craigievar Castle does not offer visitor accommodation on site, but the surrounding Aberdeenshire countryside has self-catering cottages available close to the estate — check the National Trust for Scotland's holiday cottage listings and local options. For a wider choice of hotels and guesthouses, Alford (6 miles north), Banchory (15 miles south-east) and Aberdeen (26 miles east) are all practical bases.

Find Hotels & Stays Near Alford →

The Best Time to Visit

Summer (June to August) is the most reliable season at Craigievar — the castle is open daily, the weather is at its best, and the house martins nesting in the towers give the exterior an extra layer of life and movement. Spring (April and May) is often lovely in Aberdeenshire, with the grounds coming into colour and the castle less busy than in the school summer holidays.

Autumn (September to October) offers quieter visits and the rolling Aberdeenshire countryside in autumn colour — the views from the grounds across the Howe of Cromar and towards the Grampian Hills are at their most atmospheric. The castle closes in late October; the grounds are accessible throughout the year.

For the tour, arriving at opening time is the most reliable way to secure a place early in the day.

How to Get There

By car. From Aberdeen, take the A944 west to Alford, then the A980 south towards Banchory; the castle is signposted. Allow around 45 minutes from Aberdeen. A car park is available at the castle.

By public transport. Buses serve Alford from Aberdeen; from Alford, a taxi is needed to cover the remaining 6 miles to the castle. There is no direct bus service.

Compare Transfers & Local Transport in Aberdeenshire →

Nearby Attractions

Craigievar is part of the famous Aberdeenshire Castle Trail, one of the finest concentrations of historic tower houses and castles in Scotland.

Attraction	Why Visit	Distance
Crathes Castle (National Trust)	A magnificent 16th-century tower house with extraordinary painted ceilings and one of Scotland's finest walled gardens	~15 miles
Balmoral Castle	The Royal Family's beloved Scottish retreat — the grounds, gardens and exhibitions are open seasonally	~20 miles
Drum Castle (National Trust)	One of Scotland's three oldest tower houses, with centuries of rose garden to explore	~20 miles
Kildrummy Castle	A dramatic medieval ruin — one of Scotland's most complete castle ruins, in a fine garden setting	~10 miles
Grampian Transport Museum	A surprising and well-presented collection of vintage vehicles and transport history in Alford	~6 miles

A natural Aberdeenshire day pairs Craigievar with Crathes Castle — both National Trust for Scotland tower houses, both extraordinary, and both set in fine grounds.

Browse Aberdeenshire & Royal Deeside Tours →

Family & Accessibility

Families. Craigievar is well suited to families, particularly those with older children interested in history and architecture. The small guided group format, the extraordinary plasterwork ceiling in the Great Hall, the arms and armour collection and the woodland trail all work well for family visits. The limited tour group size (ten people) creates a natural pace that suits children.

Accessibility. The castle's spiral stairs and stone steps make interior access difficult for visitors with mobility difficulties; the shop may also be challenging. The grounds are accessible, though some trails are steep and can be slippery. Check the National Trust for Scotland's accessibility information before visiting. Dogs are welcome in the grounds on leads; check the current policy before bringing a dog inside or near the castle entrance.

Practical Tips

• Arrive early — guided tours are first-come, first-served with a maximum of 10 people. Arriving at or before opening time is the surest way to secure a place on the first tour.
• National Trust for Scotland members visit free — worthwhile if you plan to visit multiple NTS properties in Aberdeenshire or across Scotland.
• The grounds are free and accessible year-round — even if the castle is closed, a walk through the estate and around the tower is rewarding.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes with grip — the spiral stairs inside are steep, and the grounds paths can be muddy.
• Pack a waterproof walking jacket; Aberdeenshire weather is changeable.
• Bring a portable power bank for photography in the grounds and the remarkable plasterwork ceilings.
• Combine with Crathes Castle (National Trust, 15 miles south-east) for one of the finest back-to-back tower house experiences in Scotland.
• Overseas visitor? Pack a UK travel adapter for Type G plugs.

Conclusion

Craigievar Castle is the tower that Danzig Willy built and almost nothing changed for four hundred years. The pink harled walls, the corbelled turrets, the extraordinary plasterwork ceiling in the Great Hall — all of it William Forbes's work, finished in 1626, preserved by the Forbes family for 350 years and now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.

Whether or not it inspired Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle, it looks the part: a fairytale tower rising from the Aberdeenshire hillside, its colour unique among Scotland's castles, its small guided tours giving each visit an intimacy that few heritage buildings can match. On the Aberdeenshire Castle Trail, Craigievar is the one that stays in the memory.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Craigievar Castle open?

The castle interior opens seasonally from spring to autumn; check the National Trust for Scotland website for the current season's opening dates and days. The grounds are open dawn to dusk year-round and free to visit at all times.

How much does it cost to visit Craigievar Castle?

National Trust for Scotland members visit free. Standard admission fees apply for non-members; a car park fee also applies. Check the NTS website for current prices.

How do guided tours work at Craigievar Castle?

Tours are the only way to access the interior and are limited to a maximum of 10 people per group, running on a first-come, first-served basis throughout the day. Arriving early is strongly recommended as tour places can fill quickly.

Did Craigievar Castle inspire Disney's Cinderella Castle?

The comparison is widely made — the pink tower, corbelled turrets and fairy-tale silhouette do closely resemble the Disney castle. Disney has never officially confirmed the connection, so the resemblance is best understood as an eloquent popular observation rather than a documented fact.

Who built Craigievar Castle?

William Forbes — known as "Danzig Willy" for his Baltic trading wealth — completed the castle between 1610 and 1626. The Forbes family owned Craigievar for 350 years until they sold it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1963.

Is Craigievar Castle suitable for children?

Yes — the small guided tours, the carved plasterwork ceiling, the armour collection and the woodland trail make it a good family visit. The spiral stairs limit access for younger children with mobility challenges.

Is Craigievar Castle wheelchair accessible?

The castle's spiral stairs make interior access difficult for wheelchair users. The grounds are accessible, though some paths are steep. Check the NTS accessibility information before visiting.

Is there food at Craigievar Castle?

A refreshment kiosk is open during castle opening hours. Visitors are welcome to bring their own food for the grounds.

Are dogs allowed at Craigievar Castle?

Dogs are welcome in the grounds on leads. Check the current policy before bringing a dog to the castle entrance area.

Can I take photos at Craigievar Castle?

Photography is permitted inside the castle. Drone flying requires prior permission from the NTS Filming Manager.