Yesterday was the last time I will travel within Scotland for this semester. Alyssa and I decided to give it another go at our 4 Castles in One Day trip. A while back, we attempted this trip and were driven off course due to an unexpected snow fall. We had the trip all planned out: We got a bus from town at 7:35 and by 10:30, we were in the middle of the Cairngorms in a small town called Braemar. The nice thing about this castle trip was that our day ticket was for Zone 6 and all four castles are in Zone 6. Additionally, we only had to take the 201 Bus to each castle. There were no complicated changes or complications. We simply went to Braemar and backtracked to Aberdeen, stopping at these castles along the way. This trip was quite successful in that we saw all four castles, all the bus times worked out perfectly, and we were back in Aberdeen by 5:30. The weather was not always on our side during this trip as we were met with periods of snow, hail, rain, and ice. The weather was incredibly moody: sunny for two minutes, hail for three minutes, sunny again but with rough winds, then back to hail, etc. It is kind of sad thinking this may have been my last time exploring Scotland. I normally play on my phone during long bus rides but I decided to put my phone down and soak in the beautiful scenery one last time.
As mentioned earlier, the first castle that we visited was Braemar. This castle definitely has a unique structure but was much smaller than I expected. The bus driver was nice enough to drop us off right at the castle instead of making us walk from town. During the late Middle Ages, Braemar Castle was a stronghold for the Earls of Mar and was once a possession of the chief of Clan Farquharson. Today, the castle is leased to the local community and is open to the public.
Just 30 minutes or so down the road is Balmoral Castle. This was my favorite castle that I visited during this castle trip and the only castle that I went inside. I had to purchase a ticket to even see the castle since it is so tucked back in the woods. Balmoral Castle has been the Scottish residence of the British royal family since 1852. The castle was originally purchased by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. The castle is situated on a large estate with forests with walking trails, a conservatory, large vegetable garden, stables, garden cottage, cafe, and museum. Queen Elizabeth frequents stays at Balmoral and was actually in residence there at the time of the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The museum of Balmoral displayed the Christmas card pictures of over 60 years of Queen Elizabeth, many of these photos taken at Balmoral. We were not allowed to go in the castle, except for the ballroom. We were able to see pictures of the rooms however, and I must say that I am not a fan of the interior design. It feels very old and country rustic. I would have though that the design would have been more prestigious. On a side note, I swear that Alyssa and I were the youngest people at this castle (probably by 20-30 years). And all the tourists were Germans! I truly question how and why these Germans are literally in the middle of nowhere Scotland touring this castle. To top it off, there were several old Volkswagens parked in front of the castle. At first, I thought that these were simply on display, but the Germans all got in them and drove off. I was confused and amused with what happened.
The third castle on our list was Crathes Castle. This castle was a short 5 or so minute bus ride from Balmoral. We had a nice 15 minute walk through the woods up to the castle. This castle reminded me of Craigievar in structure. If Crathes was painted pink, they could almost be twins. Crathes Castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys and was held by the family for almost 400 years. Today, the National Trust of Scotland owns and manages Crathes Castle. The estate contains 530 acres of woods and fields, also including a beautiful walled garden and a grass croquet court. The bushes and shrubbery are trimmed in very interesting geometrical shapes, adding dimension and uniqueness to this castle.
Our last castle of the day, which was also my least favorite castle, was Drum Castle. The castle looked more like a house and did not have interesting architectural features. Drum Castle was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine and is owned and managed by the National Trust of Scotland. The castle is thought to have one of the three oldest tower houses in Scotland. The area around the castle is quite pretty: large trees, a lily pond, and a walled garden. We experienced several hail spurts during our time at Drum.
At this point in the semester, I have one more final left! I have about 6 days in total left in Aberdeen. The other days I will be travelling on my Spring Break Part 2 Trip to Spain, Morocco, Austria, and Cyprus. I have had the opportunity to visit 15 castles in Scotland. Dunrobin easily takes first place in my eyes. Each castle is so unique and the scenery around these castles is always gorgeous.