Fyvie Castle

Fyvie Castle stands in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The oldest parts date from the 13th century, when William the Lion may have built it. Robert the Bruce once held an open-air court here, and Charles I spent four childhood years inside its walls. Over centuries it passed through five great families, each adding a tower. The Preston Tower, built between 1390 and 1433, is the oldest surviving addition. The Seton Tower, finished in 1599, contains a fine wheel staircase commissioned soon after. The castle holds stories of battles, sieges and royal visits. In 1644 Manus O’Cahan and Montrose fought the Covenant Army outside its gates. Anne Halkett treated wounded soldiers here between 1650 and 1652 while negotiating with English officers. The grounds were landscaped in the 18th century by Colonel William Gordon. A walled garden to the east still grows Scottish fruits today. Two earlier walled gardens once stood closer to the castle. Inside, visitors find armour displays and portraits by Raeburn, Batoni and Gainsborough. A sealed medieval dungeon is linked to a curse that threatens intruders with death and blindness for their wives. The Charter Room shows one of the three ‘Weeping Stones’ said to carry Thomas the Rhymer’s curse. The Green Lady, identified with Lilias Drummond, is said to glide through the corridors. Outside, the castle grounds host summer music festivals and historical re-enactments of the 1644 battle.