Aldourie Castle

Aldourie Castle stands beside Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, on a level terrace above the water with its main lawn facing north-west. The 38.9-hectare parkland spreads north-east and south-east, enclosed by woodland and framed by Drumashie Moor. Originally a rectangular laird’s house with a round tower, it was enlarged in the 1860s by William Fraser-Tytler into a grand baronial mansion. His work added balustraded towers, oriel windows, scroll-sided dormers and rope-moulded stringcourses. Later, Sir Robert Lorimer added a south-east wing in the early 20th century.

The castle’s history includes its founding role in 1893 when Lord Lovat and Edward Fraser-Tytler established the Lovat Scouts there. In 2015 Anders Holch Povlsen bought the estate as part of his portfolio of twelve Scottish properties. Extensive restorations between 2002 and 2010 revived original paintwork and metalwork, while a 2017 project led by Tom Stuart Smith and students from the National Trust for Scotland renewed the Victorian kitchen garden. Ptolemy Dean Architects meanwhile repaired the Steadings building and added a new boathouse.

Visitors find a Category A listed castle used mainly for private stays, with clay pigeon shooting, archery and chartered boat tours available. The Victorian walled kitchen garden and surrounding grounds have been brought back to life. The main lawn looks directly over Loch Ness toward Creag Dherag. Shelterbelts screen nearby Aldourie Farm, and the unchanged parkland layout dates from the mid-19th century.