Braemar Castle

Over het museum

Braemar Castle was built in 1628 by the 2nd Earl of Mar as a strategically placed hunting lodge. After the Jacobite risings it became a redcoat garrison, and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries it turned into a high society retreat with royal connections. Its owners, the Farquharsons of Invercauld, left their mark on the building, and over four hundred years many colourful characters lived in or visited the castle.

The ten rooms open to visitors reflect the comfortable family home created by Alwyne Farquharson, the 16th Laird of Invercauld, and his wife Frances Oldham, an American fashion editor for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. They were the first residents to open the castle to visitors, in 1961. The extensive use of pink recalls Frances’s friendship with the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli.

In 2007 the castle was at risk of closing for good and losing its collection, so the local community took it on with funding from a benefactor. It is now run by volunteers and staff as one of the few community-run castles in Scotland. A conservation and landscape project costing £1.6 million began in 2019, and the castle reopened on 2 May 2024. The grounds now include an accessible timeline trail, a 1930s kitchen garden and a thatched folly called the Fog House with views towards Invercauld.

Hoogtepunten

• Ten furnished rooms with Farquharson family history
• Former redcoat garrison from the Jacobite era
• Pink interiors linked to Elsa Schiaparelli
• Accessible timeline trail and 1930s kitchen garden
• Fog House folly with views over Invercauld

Vaste collectie

• The castle rooms – Ten rooms showing the family home of the Farquharsons of Invercauld and the castle’s history from hunting lodge to garrison and high society retreat.
• Gardens and grounds – An accessible timeline trail, a 1930s kitchen garden, the Fog House folly and a woodland trail.

Opgericht

1628

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Tickets are sold at the admission office in the castle; individual visits do not need to be pre-booked. The grounds are free to walk, but the car park charges £4.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats: geen informatie
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

An access-for-all path leads from the car park through the grounds to the castle and the Fog House, and the welcome cabin inside the curtain wall has accessible toilets. The castle itself is a tower house reached by a spiral staircase.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour

Colouring books and craft resources for children are offered, and a spiral path with a small standing stone in the grounds is a favourite with young visitors. Family ticket available.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The castle is on the A93 and also reachable on foot or by bicycle; there is a short walk from the car park to the castle doors.

Service & horeca

• Café: niet aanwezig
• Restaurant: niet aanwezig
• Museumwinkel
• Wifi

No catering on site; cafes and takeaways are in the village of Braemar. Souvenir shop and ticket office in the Welcome Cabin. Wi-Fi is listed among the visitor facilities.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

The castle is offered for weddings, events, filming and photoshoots.

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