It is, as Albert said, fairy-like and what you would only imagine as a thing to dream of.
– Queen Victoria writing about Balmoral in her private journal
In a previous castle post, we learned the history of three fortresses on the Scottish coast that are now little more than ruins. Along the River Dee in the Scottish Highlands are three other stone fortresses worth visiting.
Drum Castle
Located outside an ancient oak woodland and royal hunting ground sits the Tower of Drum. Dating from 1280, it’s one of the oldest surviving tower houses in Scotland.
The tower, built as a part of a defensive, medieval fortress and the surrounding forest was granted by Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, to his personal armor-bearer and secretary, William de Irwyn (later Irvine). The newly minted Baron was the constant companion to the King during the Wars of Scottish Independence sticking by him through crushing defeats until the final victory at the Battle of Bannockburn.
For centuries the Irvine clan thrived at Drum transforming the former cold, tall stronghold into a beautiful estate with a grand mansion attached to the original tower. During the Scottish Civil Wars, the family found themselves surrounded. In a district controlled by Presbyterian Covenanters, the Episcopalian Irvines remained staunch supporters of the king and were besieged and attacked twice. Their castle was repeatedly looted and ransacked. For a hundred years the family and estate were left in financial ruin.
Selling off a portion of land, the Irvine’s clawed their way out of crushing debt only to back the wrong side during the Jacobite Uprisings. Following the disastrous Battle of Culloden, Alexander Irvine, 17th Laird of Drum became a fugitive. With the aid of his sister, he hid inside a tiny, secret priest hole in the thick walls of the tower and remained hidden for three years before fleeing to France in exile.
During frequent raids by British soldiers searching for Alexander, the family buried what remained of their money on estate grounds hoping to protect it. When government troops spotted the freshly turned earth, they dug up the cache and confiscated the clan’s family fortune. Though charged, the bills of treason were twice thrown out against Alexander, and he was allowed to return to Scotland and reclaim his estate. Stripped of their wealth, the clan were financially crippled for generations.
In 1965, the 24th Laird of Drum, Henry Quentin Forbes Irvine, secretly approached the National Trust for Scotland. Facing staggering inheritance taxes and overwhelmed by the financial burden of maintaining a medieval tower and sprawling estate, he knew the family money was exhausted. Acting solely on his own, the Laird bequeathed the castle, its contents and over 300 acres of the estate to the Trust upon his death.
Ten years later following Henry’s death his brother and heir Charles learned of the secret deal that evicted the family from their ancestral home. The suddenly landless lord retained his title and barony but had to rebuild his life in the shadow of his family’s former home.
After Charles passed, his son David became Baron of Drum. Determined to heal the wounds of the past and re-establish the clan’s identity, he and his wife moved back to Royal Deeside, settling just eight miles from Drum Castle.
Though the deal was bitterly disputed, the secret pact entrusting Drum Castle to the nation ultimately saved it. As other estates across Scotland got broken up, sold to private developers or left to fall into ruin, Drum remained intact. Today, the Irvine family collaborates with the Trust to help preserve this treasure.
Crathes Castle
Robert the Bruce’s generosity didn’t end with giving land to his personal armor-bearer. After defeating the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, he also granted nearby Leys to Alexander de Burnard (of Clan Burnett), appointing him Royal Forester. Along with the land, Bruce gave him the Horn of Leys, a magnificent, ivory-and-jewel hunting horn that served as the Baronet’s badge of office. It remains on display at the castle, one of Scotland’s oldest clan heirlooms.
For the first 200 years, the Burnetts lived on a crannog, a manmade fortress island in the middle of a loch. After several advantageous marriages, they had the money to begin constructing a stone castle as the seat of the clan.
Known for its intricate, labyrinthine upper floors adorned with turrets and conical roofs, Crathes is also famous for a series of original 16th-century painted timber ceilings. In the Room of Nine Nobles figures representing pagan, Jewish and Christian heroes are depicted as medieval knights in armor. They’re accompanied by verses, moral inscriptions, noble deeds and virtues. They include Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar; Joshua, King David and Judas Maccabeus as well as King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon.
Designed to showcase the status, wealth and taste of the Burnett family, this rare Scottish Renaissance ceiling was hidden under plaster for generations. After the Nine Nobles were rediscovered in 1876, the nearby Chamber of the Muses was uncovered in 1913 while the Stair Chamber ceiling wasn’t found until 1960.
Unlike their neighbors the Irvines at Drum, Sir Thomas Burnett carefully chose not to fight in the Scottish Civil War, a political maneuver that allowed Crathes Castle to avoid destruction. Later his grandson famously added a large, three-story wing to accommodate his 21 children.
Like their neighbors, following World War II the Burnett family faced the harsh realities that plagued many landowners. With rising labor costs, inflation and a scarcity of staff to maintain the estate and grounds, Sir James and his wife handed the property to the National Trust of Scotland.
Passionate horticulturists, the couple had spent decades transforming the Crathes Walled Garden into a masterpiece with rare shrubs and intricate color-themed layouts. In handing the property to the Trust, they ensured their life’s work would not be neglected or sold off to developers. They also took advantage of a tax and conservation initiative. By gifting the castle and a portion of the estate to the nation, the family avoided crippling inheritance taxes while securing a legal clause that allowed them to continue residing on the property.
Under the agreement, the Burnetts lived inside a wing of the main castle. After a major fire damaged the residence, they moved out of the castle and relocated to a modern home built on the broader estate.
Balmoral Castle
Unlike official residences like Windsor and Buckingham Palace, Balmoral is the personal property of the British monarch. Sitting on a massive 50,000-acre estate in the Scottish Highlands, the Royal Family visit the retreat each year for summer holidays.
Around the grounds are beautiful gardens and nature trails like the Queen Mary Garden & Fountain, Thistle Maze and kitchen garden. Elsewhere on the estate are a cricket pitch, squirrel trail through the woods and small herd of hairy coos. Next to the castle is a sunken garden and lawn maze.
After Prince Albert purchased the land for Queen Victoria, the couple erected a Scottish Baronial castle on the banks of the River Dee. It was a place Victoria referred to as her “dear paradise in the Highlands.” Queen Elizabeth II also adored the estate and spent every summer there. She passed away at Balmoral in September 2022.
For generations the castle was closed to visitors. In July 2024, King Charles III opened the grounds and ballroom to the public as well as other parts of the castle through specially guided tours.
