Fyvie Castle

Side of castle
NTS
There has been a castle on the site of Fyvie since around the 13th century. It was originally a square fort built around a courtyard, but with successive phases of construction it became a grand house built on part of the square outline, with major phases of construction in the early 17th century, the 18th century, and the 1890’s. The South Front preserves the original entrance and the lower part of the original South front. The last owner sold the castle and most of its contents to the National Trust for Scotland in 1984.
Internally, the castle contains a series of grand, fully furnished Victorian interiors, and, dating from the sixteenth century, a fine spiral staircase or ‘wheel-stair’.
In the grounds is a grand lake.
(visited 6 May 2014)

Fyvie lake
Lake

Criagievar Castle,

Criegievar castle view NTS
Craigevar Castle was built in the late 16th century by the Mortimers of Craigievar. Like many of the Scottish ‘castles’ it is more a defensible house than a castle. In the early 17th century a new owner ‘Danzig Willie’ removed the parts above the fourth floor and had them replaced with a highly decorated array of turrets, dormer windows and balustraded viewing platforms. Internally, the castle has moulded plaster ceilings dating from 1624. A new roof and other minor alterations were made in the 19th century.
The thick-walled ground floor has a lobby protected by a heavy door and the traditional Scottish iron grille or ‘yell’, two cellars and the kitchen. Above is the double-height Hall with a vaulted and plastered ceiling, and a small musicians’ gallery above the screens passage.
Above the Hall are two floors with bedrooms, and above that a floor with the maids’ room and the Long Room, originally a long gallery with (almost certainly) a fine plaster ceiling, but later partitioned up for servants’ rooms, and opened up again in the 1950’s.
The castle is surrounded by an extensive park with trees.

Craigievar Castle view Upper floors ext