Blair Castle

Blair Castle stands near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire, set in the broad valley of Glen Garry. The building began as a 13th-century tower and grew into a large mansion through later centuries. It sits beside the main road through the central Highlands, where it once controlled movement and trade. The castle is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray and remains linked to the Duke of Atholl, though the present duke lives in South Africa. The grounds include designed landscapes recognised across Scotland. The castle has played a part in major events from the Wars of the Three Kingdoms to the Jacobite risings. Oliver Cromwell’s army took it in 1650, and Jacobite forces twice held it during the 1745 rising. Queen Victoria stayed in 1844 and allowed the creation of the Atholl Highlanders, the only legal private army in Europe. A fire in 2011 damaged the clock tower, which was rebuilt within a year. The castle’s collections reflect centuries of Murray family life and include weapons, paintings and clan treasures. Visitors walk through rooms arranged over six centuries of building. The oldest tower shows 13th-century stonework beneath later work. The south apartments, added in the 18th century, contain fine interiors by architects John Douglas and James Winter. Outside, Diana’s Grove shelters a Grand Fir measured at 62.7 metres, one of Britain’s tallest trees. The family burial ground lies beside the ruined church of St Bride, once the village church of Old Blair. The castle grounds also serve as the garrison for the Atholl Highlanders.