Fairytail Dunrobin Castle

Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland's large castles and has 189 rooms. Dunrobin Castle is also one of Britain's oldest continuously inhabited houses dating back to the early 1300s, home to the Earls and later, the Dukes of Sutherland.  The castle is in a magnificent setting with amazing gardens.

On your visit you will witness an amazing falconry display in the delightful castle gardens.

The Castle, which resembles a French chateâu with its towering conical spires, has seen the architectural influences of Sir Charles Barry, who designed London’s Houses of Parliament, and Scotland’s own Sir Robert Lorimer. The Castle was used as a naval hospital during the First World War and as a boys’ boarding school from 1965 to 1972.  Dunrobin Castle is on the east coast of the Northern Highlands overlooking the Moray Firth, just north of the villages of Golspie and Dornoch (famous for its cathedral and Royal Dornoch Golf Club).

Perched on a high terrace above walled gardens, Dunrobin Castle, with fairytale spires and turrets, rises above the North Sea like an illustration from a storybook. Towering over both the Castle and Golspie is the Sutherland Monument atop Ben Bhraggie. The 1st Duke of Sutherland looks forever out over his former home from the heather-covered hilltop.

For many seasoned travellers there are few places in the world to match the mountains, moors and beaches of Sutherland. The combination of colour and texture is quite magical.

There is also a museum in the formal Castle grounds provides a further fascinating distraction.

Originally built as a summer house by William, Earl of Sutherland, it was extended by the 3rd Duke. The museum displays the heads of numerous animals shot by the family on safari, ethnographic items collected from around the world (particularly Africa), and an important collection of archaeological relics.

Notable among these are the collection of Pictish symbols stones and cross-slabs, These Pictish Stones form a very important collection, giving an opportunity to study the devices carved on stones 1,500 years ago. There is also a section on geology, gold panning at Kildonan, and the coal mine at Brora.

The museum retains its Victorian-early 20th century arrangement, making it one of the most remarkable private collections in the British Isles.