Huntly Castle

If you're ever in the area, and you want to see a decently well-preserved castle with incredible history, let me recommend Huntly:

It's a few stops down the line if you take the train out of Aberdeen, the day return is less than you'd pay for a nice bottle of wine, and if you ask me it's a pretty good way to spend a day. Some may disagree. On this particular day, a friend of mine (who just happened to be buying his ticket down to Glasgow for a Lads' Weekender at the same time we were in the que)-- let's call him Dear-- asked where we were going. The conversation ran a little like this:

Dear: "So, where are you ladies off to?"

Me: "Huntly, just for the day."

Dear: "... Why?!"

KayPea: "There's a castle there!"

And so there is. It's a comfortable walk through the very quaint town of Huntly to the Castle from the station. The approach is lovely, and as the Castle grounds butt up against the other great Scottish landmark-- a golf course-- there's lots of pretty green spaces about. Large parts of the Castle are labeled with helpful little signs, and there's clear distinction between the different ages of renovation within the grounds.

Some of the highlights include a fragment of the medieval road leading to the old gate:

The very unique frontispiece:

The remains of the stable (the differentiation in the floor shows the size of the stalls, and the very small size of the horses bred in the region at that time):

The labeling along the front of the "recent" addition:

The intricately carved mantlepieces, some of which are remarkably intact:

Here's a lovely shot of KayPea doing what she does best-- recording her stay in Scotland frame-by-frame with her lovely camera! ;)

Though, to be fair, the view from the very top of the round tower was definitely worth snapping for posterity...

For a modest fee (even more modest if you join up for a year-long membership in the Heritage Trust) you gain entry to the grounds and this lovely chunk of history. So do it!