New Slains Castle

New Slains Castle stands on a cliff one kilometre east of Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire. It overlooks the North Sea from a high site reached by a short walk from the village. The core is a 16th-century tower built by the 9th Earl of Erroll after his family’s original castle was destroyed. In 1837 the building was transformed into a grand Scots Baronial mansion with granite facings. Today only roofless walls remain, but the shape still shows the 19th-century layout. The castle is listed by Historic Environment Scotland and appears in two novels by Bram Stoker set nearby. The castle’s history includes royal favour and Jacobite intrigue. After returning from exile the 9th Earl rebuilt on this site around 1600 and named it New Slains. Three Jacobite countesses lived here and played parts in the rising of 1689 and the planned French invasion of 1708. Samuel Johnson and James Boswell stayed overnight in 1773 and left a lively account of wind and sea keeping Boswell awake. In the 1830s the 18th Earl remodelled the castle with Aberdeen architect John Smith. Visitors walk up from Cruden Bay to see the ruined walls rising above the cliff edge. The Scots Baronial style shows in the granite facings and the remains of the 19th-century mansion. The sea roars below and the view stretches along the Aberdeenshire coast. The castle is mentioned in Stoker’s novels and linked to stories of smuggling and Jacobite plots. Though roofless, the outline remains impressive against the North Sea horizon.