Kinnairdy Castle

Kinnairdy Castle stands two miles south of Aberchirder in Aberdeenshire. It is a five-storey tower house with a garret, built on land once held by the Innes family from the late 14th century. An earlier wooden motte and bailey stood here before a stone tower appeared about 1420. The Innes family sold the castle in 1629 to Sir James Crichton of Frendraught. Later it passed to the Reverend John Gregory in 1647, whose brother David used a home-made barometer to predict the weather and faced witchcraft accusations. The castle’s L-shaped plan includes a stair tower added later and a first-floor entrance reached by a wooden bridge. A vaulted basement lies below, while a two-storey hall from the late 16th century was altered in 1857. Inside the hall an oak-panelled aumbry shows carved heads of Sir Alexander Innes and his wife with the date 1493. Sir Alexander’s love of Flemish panelling brought financial trouble. After the Second World War Thomas Innes of Learney, Lord Lyon King of Arms, added heraldic decoration. Visitors find a courtyard formed by outbuildings and curtain walls on the south and east sides. Steep banks rise on the north and west. The castle is a category A listed building, recognised for its historic importance. Its restored interiors and surrounding grounds offer a quiet insight into centuries of change. The landscape around Aberchirder adds to the sense of a place shaped by generations.