Culsalmond

Culsalmond stands where a 16th-century castle once overlooked the river Ury in Aberdeenshire. The site lies about fifteen kilometres south-east of Huntly, surrounded by gentle farmland. Gordon family papers suggest the castle belonged to them, though its exact age is uncertain. Records mention it by 1591, yet by 1594 it had lost its roof. No stonework remains today, only the memory of walls that once stood there. The castle’s footprint may lie beneath Newton House, a tall late-17th-century mansion built nearby. Newton House rises four storeys with an attic, its windows looking over the same rolling landscape. Archaeologists have found no trace of the older fortress, only the later house that replaced it. The change from castle to mansion shows how country homes were reorganised in the 17th century. Visitors to the spot find open fields and a quiet lane where the old castle once commanded the view. Newton House still stands, its stone walls weathered by centuries of wind and rain. The Ury flows a short walk away, its banks lined with rushes and willows. The place feels peaceful now, far from the disputes that once surrounded the Gordons’ stronghold.