Castles · Scottish Highlands
Aldourie Castle
Aldourie Castle — 19th-century mansion incorporating a 1626 castle, by Loch Ness, Highland, Scotland, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Aldourie Castle is a castle in the United Kingdom — fortified architecture from the medieval, Tudor, or Victorian-revival period. Records date its origin to 1626. Built in the Scottish baronial architecture style. Heritage designation: category A listed building. Wikidata describes it as: "19th-century mansion incorporating a 1626 castle, by Loch Ness, Highland, Scotland, UK". Coordinates: 57.4037°, -4.3296°.
Photo gallery
Heritage listing
Aldourie Castle is in Scotland, situated on Strath Dore, between the southern banks of Loch Ness and the Glen leading onto Drumashie Moor. The parkland of 38.9 hectares (96 acres) extends northeast and southeast of the house. Lying close to the village of Aldourie, it originally consisted of a rectangular main block, with a round tower at the south-west corner. In the 1860s, William Fraser-Tytler extended the castle in all directions, including a balustraded round tower, oriel windows, scroll-sided dormers, turrets, corbels, rope-moulded stringing and gunloops. It underwent extensive restoration work between 2002 and 2010, and again in 2017, when the original walled Victorian kitchen garden and surrounding grounds were revived, with help from students from the National Trust for Scotland.
From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Aldourie Castle is in Scotland, situated on Strath Dore, between the southern banks of Loch Ness and the Glen leading onto Drumashie Moor. The parkland of 38.9 hectares (96 acres) extends northeast and southeast of the house. Lying close to the village of Aldourie, it originally consisted of a rectangular main block, with a round tower at the south-west corner. In the 1860s, William Fraser-Tytler extended the castle in all directions, including a balustraded round tower, oriel windows, scroll-sided dormers, turrets, corbels, rope-moulded stringing and gunloops. It underwent extensive restoration work between 2002 and 2010, and again in 2017, when the original walled Victorian kitchen garden and surrounding grounds were revived, with help from students from the National Trust for Scotland. The gardens and parkland are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Aldourie Castle on Loch Ness was first recorded as a laird's house in 1625 as a property of Mackintosh of Kyllachy in Nairnside. Lying close to the small, crofting village of Aldourie, it originally consisted of a rectangular main block, with a round tower at the south-west corner, and was extended to the west in 1839 with a two-storey wing. In the 1860s, William Fraser-Tytler was responsible for transforming Aldourie into the historic castle it is today. He commissioned Mackenzie & Matthews to extend the house “in all directions, parading the full repertoire of early 17th-century baronialism, including a balustraded round tower cribbed from Castle Fraser, Grampian, oriel windows,…
Visiting
Aldourie Castle is now classed as the only inhabitable castle on Loch Ness and it is now used primarily for private use castle stays. On site activities include clay pigeon shooting, archery and chartered boat tours. Now a Category A listed building in Scotland, Aldourie Castle underwent extensive restoration work between 2002 and 2010 under the ownership of Roger Tempest, to restore specialist paintwork, murals and metalwork fixtures throughout the Castle. An extensive Estate Conservation Project started in 2017 to revive the original walled Victorian kitchen garden and surrounding grounds, involving renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart Smith with help from students from the National…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 57.4037, -4.3296
- District
- Highland
- Postcode
- IV2 6EL
- Parliamentary constituency
- Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire
- Established
- 1626
Sources
- wikidata: Q17571082 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Aldourie Castle (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Aldourie Castle - on the shore of Loch Ness Inverness Scotland.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Aldourie Castle?
- Aldourie Castle is in the Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom (postcode IV2 6EL).
- When was Aldourie Castle built?
- Built or established in 1626.
- Is Aldourie Castle a listed building?
- Aldourie Castle is officially recognised as category A listed building listed.
- Does Aldourie Castle charge admission?
- Aldourie Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.
- How do I get to Aldourie Castle?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode IV2 6EL. It sits within the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire parliamentary constituency.