Glenbuchat Castle

Glenbuchat Castle stands above the River Don near Kildrummy in Aberdeenshire. Built in 1590 for John Gordon of Cairnbarrow, it is a Z-plan Scottish castle with thick walls and two towers. The castle was raised to mark his marriage to Helen Carnegie, daughter of Robert Carnegie of Kinnaird in Angus. Stone from nearby Kildrummy Castle was used in its construction. Though roofless today, the structure remains largely intact after more than four centuries. The castle has a colourful past. After the battle of Glenlivet in 1594, royal troops took and garrisoned it. The Gordon family sold the property in 1738 and it passed through private hands until the 20th century. James William Barclay bought it in 1901, and his grandson Colonel James Barclay Milne gave the castle to state care in 1946. A local club bought the surrounding parkland in 1948 and donated it to preserve the setting. Historic Environment Scotland now manages both castle and grounds as a scheduled monument. Visitors find a sturdy ruin rising above the riverbank with two round towers and a connecting block. The main rooms still show fireplaces and narrow windows where the Gordons once lived. The surrounding parkland offers grassy slopes and mature trees, kept as they were when the Barclays gave the land to the nation. From the site there are wide views across the valley toward the Mounth hills. The roofless shell lets the wind move through, giving a sense of how the castle once stood open to the sky.