Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate (National Trust for Scotland)

One of the Best Places To Visits in Crathes Frequently mentioned in reviews: Top-rated.online cuts through the clutter, highlighting only the reviews that are most helpful, earn the most likes, or come from the most active contributors. We didn't go to the but WHAT a garden! We went twice and even in the space of 10 days there were different things to see. Absolute must for enthusiasts, whether you enjoy the formal topiary or the amazing themed borders. We chatted for a long time with the volunteers, who were very informative. Will happily come back again and again. What a castle, so well kept and the staff are so full of knowledge The are fabulous and I would suggest a while day, half day at least in the if you want to read all the details and do it justice, then a good couple of hours minimum in the gardens. Also walks around the area also and. A lovely cafe. i absolutely loved this ...the painted ceilings are just amazing ...Standing against a backdrop of rolling hills and set within its own glorious gardens, Crathes provides a memorable experience with its towers, turrets and stories of its resident ghosts. King Robert the Bruce granted the lands of Leys to the Burnett family in 1323: the ancient Horn of Leys, which can be seen today in the Hall, marks his gift. Inside you’ll find a labyrinth of cultural history, from family portraits to fine antique furniture. The walled is a wonderful jungle of history, split into eight sections that encompass every green delight imaginable a sculpted topiary, soft herbaceous colours and modern exotic blooms. The massive yew hedges are thought to have been planted as early as 1702. Crathes Estate was once part of the Royal Forest of Drum. Today there are a range of waymarked and clearly signposted trails. Look out for wildlife along the way – you may see red squirrels, woodpeckers and herons. Crathes is my favourite in the Shire. There are so many woodland trails as well as the incredible walled and an atmospheric cafe. The gardens-only tickets cost £7.50 per person, plus £5 for all day parking. The aren't dog friendly, but the rest of the estate is. We are having a family holiday in Crathes. My wife and I have spent the last two days driving to here, so were pleased of a quiet day. After breakfast, we walked along the Deeside Way, a relatively flat from Aberdeen to Ballater, which was as far as the Deeside Railway went. Queen Victoria didn't want the railway to spoil the countryside around Balmoral. We soon came across Crathes signal box now a private residence and the remains if the platforms. Walking on, we came to a fork, with the Deeside Way going left over a pack horse bridge or right, under the road. Little did we realise what a difference taking the right fork would make. Continuing on our we came across the Milton of Crathes, a selection of independent shops. From here, we passed some railway carriages and still no signs directing us to the castle. Eventually, we came out beside the main road at Banchory, nearly four Mike's away. It was a very day and would get hotter as the day went on. We asked a local lad which way to the and he directed us up a road. It was not the main entrance but one used countries ago. It was a long uphill climb through the welcoming shade of huge trees of all descriptions. Eventually, we arrived at the and it looked very different to other castles we have visited. The is steeped in history, the one notable thing being it was lived in by the same family for centuries. We had a around inside, partly to cool off and partly to find out more about its history. We had a fascinating journey throughout most of the castle. The most fascinating were the painted ceilings, especially the Room of the Nine Nobles, based on heroes from the past and the Muses' Room, with paintings of nine Muses and seven Virtues. From here, we walked to the cafe to get refreshments, but could believe the scores of wasps making most families lives a misery. In all my years, I have never so many wasps in one place. We drank up and departed for the welcoming shade of a hirse chestnut tree where we ate our lunch. From here, we walked down to the where a token allows families access to the gardens. The tokens can be collected from the main desk. The is a place of wonder, as with every turn, you see something different and interesting. You can see the from different angles which is a treat. Considering the hot sommer we are experiencing, the gardeners have produced a magnificent show for everyone. It seemed every colour was on view, depending on the flowers and which beds we were at. We even passed a couple getting married in a centre piece of the garden. We were intrigued by two large bushes close together at the side nearest the castle. It was while we were sat in the gsrden entrance building that we found the answer. The trees were planted in the 1700, and clipped in what we would describe as small urns. (They obviously had some meaning!!) Today, one is an egg sitting on a eggcup and the other is waiting for an egg. We much prefer the latter version. From here, we walked down the main path, the white trail, to the main entrance , stopping to look at the Highland cattle. We came across a bridge which I guess would have been part of the old road. Underneath, water from the large pond flowed down to the river. We followed a path and lo and behold came out at the road bridge we saw earlier on. We were no walking home knowing we didn't have as long a as this morning. By now, the heat was building, so a shorter was very welcome. Crathes is an interesting place to visit, with lots of space to run around. There is a children's play area and well behaved dogs are welcomed. Crathes has a cafe catering for all tastes and a gift shop, selling a range of gifts and food. This was an absolutely lovely location to come for a day out. The place was really busy due to a family fun day event being on, but there was still so much open space that you never felt hemmed in or on top of other visitors. The lady in the gift shop, and indeed all of the staff we encountered, were very friendly and happy to help us out. The only sad thing was that, whilst the was amazing, me and my wife couldn't go in together because we brought our dog. I feel that it should be the case that as long as your dog is kept on a short lead, is well behaved, and they are picked up after (which should be the case on the whole estate anyway) then they should be allowed in the too. Overall a lovely site to visit. The sun was splitting the sky today so we decided to visit Crathes & Estate. The location was very busy as there were extra activities on in the grounds, bouncy things of several shapes and sizes, face painting, arts and crafts etc. It Is a self guided tour through the going up one set of very tight circular stairs and returning back down to ground level on a second set of stairs. You do need good mobility to manage these stairs. All the rooms were temperature and humidity controlled to try and preserve the fabrics and furnishings within each room. All the items were most interesting to see but not as old as those in Glamis castle. One advantage of this Is that you may take photographs except for one small area. After we completed the tour the heat from the sun guided us to the nearby ice cream vendor followed by a around the gardens. The are large and are the home to many exotic plants, trees and shrubs. It Is a full time job for five volunteer gardeners to keep the and grounds in such a wondrous condition. We finished off the day with a quick snack in the cafe. Soft drinks, cakes and cappuccino were enjoyed at a leisurely pace. A day out, highly recommended. Wowzer. What an amazing garden! This is a must see walled garden. It’s exceptional. The is interesting too since it features many of the older sections unlike some of the other castles. It would be nice if they’d add a recorded tour at some point, but the signage was good. All in all it was a stop. I only wished we’d left more time to some of the wooded trails. Website change monitoring Monitor any webpage for changes – get instant email alerts when prices drop, new jobs are posted, products come back in stock, or competitors update their sites. See how the number of reviews and average review scores have changed over time. Cafe