Blair Castle, the ancestral seat of the Earls and Dukes of Atholl, has been their family home for 750 years, so there’s no shortage of history to this magnificent white, turreted pile just off the A9 in Highland Perthshire.
Together, the sprawling castle’s interior and spectacular gardens combine to produce one of the best visitor attractions in Scotland, and with the weekend-long Atholl Highlanders Parade and Gathering taking place on 24-25 May, this is the best time of year to visit this extraordinarily rich historical site, says Richard Bath.
The Castle:
We opted for the unguided tour, which is a bit of a misnomer given that there’s always a castle employee stationed in the grand entrance hall who is happy to answer questions on an historic room whose walls are adorned by a huge number of swords, pikes, shields, arrows and assorted ancient weaponry. There’s also an audio tour available visa the Smartify App.
I’ve done the tour of the castle’s interiors several times, and it never gets old. This is partly because the curator rings the changes on a regular basis, so there’s always something new to see. That said, the tour is one which follows a set path which enables you to see everything the castle has to offer – which is 30 rooms containing a staggering amount of history. Highlights include an exhibit based around the ‘Red Duchess’, Kitty Stewart-Murray, Britain’s first woman MP, and the drawing room with its elaborate ceiling mouldings created by Thomas Clayton in the 1750s based on designs from Palmyra in Syria.
If all you want to do is walk around, you can do this tour in 20 minutes, but we took over two hours and loved every minute.
The Gardens:
We started in the dreamily serene Diana’s Grove, which is home to the Banvie Burn and to some of the tallest trees in Britain, and which was carpeted in bluebells when we visited. That walk takes 20-30 minutes, and ends with a visit to the lovely but ruined St Bride’s Kirk.
That joyous experience was followed by a trundle down from the castle to the superb and recently renovated nine-acre walled garden called Hercules Garden, which is named after a life-sized statue. A path leads you inside the walls, past the lily-flecked curling pond and pavilion, and around past the Chinese bridge, herb garden, sculpture trail and an orchard of more than 100 fruit trees. With an amazing 300-yard herbaceous border along the south-facing wall, a crannog-shaped duck house and a small museum of the garden in McGregor’s folly, this is a wonderful place to while away an hour or two.
Eating, Drinking and Accomodation:
What they call the Tullibardine Restaurant is a nice and airy café where you can get surprisingly good-value staples (pies, fish and chips, sandwiches) plus stews and quiches etc, but it’s very much lunch oriented. There’s also freshly made scones and cakes, plus decent coffee.
The gift shop is a step up in quality and has countless opportunities to spend on a wide range of high quality Scottish artisan products and knick-knacks.
The estate covers 120,000 acres and has a wide range of places to stay, ranging from the campsite in the castle grounds to shepherds huts, cabins, cottages and hunting lodges.
Atholl Highlanders Parade and Gathering (24-25 May):
The Atholl Highlanders are the last remaining (legitimate) private army in Europe, and each year their parade is the centrepiece of one of Scotland’s most famous Highland Games, which this year takes place on Saturday 24-25 May. As well as the parade of the Atholl Highlanders – who are recently returned from a tour of the USA – the weekend includes traditional pursuits such as the light hammer, shot put, caber farmer’s walk, wrestling, races, Highland dancing, piping competitions and Tug ‘O’ War.
There’s a wide range of concessions and options, but an adult ticket to all areas costs £18.75, children £12 and a family ticket from £38. The castle and grounds are open until 31 October, between 10-5 (last entry is at 3.45). A full rundown of prices and opening times can be found on the estate’s website – www.atholl-estates.co.uk
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