Blair Castle stands at Blair Atholl, ten kilometres north of Pitlochry, white against the hills at the mouth of Glen Garry, and it is the ancestral seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl — the Murray family — who have held it since the thirteenth century.
The oldest part, Cumming’s Tower, dates from 1269. Everything since has been added, remodelled, castellated, de-castellated and re-castellated according to fashion, which is why the building looks both very old and rather Victorian at once.
Blair Atholl is the home of the Atholl Highlanders, the only legal private army in Europe.
The regiment was raised in 1777, disbanded, and revived as a ceremonial bodyguard. In 1844 Queen Victoria stayed at Blair, was impressed, and granted the Duke the right to bear arms — which regularised the position and has never been rescinded.
They parade at the castle each May at the Atholl Gathering, with the Highland Games the following day. It is worth timing a visit for.
Thirty rooms are open, and the scale is what visitors most often say they underestimated.
The Entrance Hall — a wall of weapons: muskets, targes, broadswords and pistols arranged in patterns, several hundred of them, which is one of the great arms displays in a British house.
The Tapestry Room, with Brussels tapestries that belonged to Charles I.
The Drawing Room, elaborately plastered by the Edinburgh plasterer Thomas Clayton in the 1750s.
The Dining Room, the ballroom, the china, the Jacobite material, and a collection of portraits including Ramsay, Zoffany and Lely.
The Ballroom — timber-lined and hung with 175 pairs of antlers.
The Jacobite connection is strong: Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed here in 1745, and Blair was the last castle in Britain to be besieged, in 1746, when the Jacobites laid siege to it while the government held it — with the besieging force commanded by the Duke’s own brother.
Hercules Garden — a nine-acre eighteenth-century walled garden, restored, with a pond, an orchard, herbaceous borders and statuary.
St Bride’s Kirk, ruined, where “Bonnie Dundee” is buried.
Diana’s Grove — a stand of very tall conifers, some of the tallest trees in Britain, including a grand fir over 60 metres.
The Deer Park, with red deer, and Highland cattle and ponies on the estate.
Woodland walks through the estate, including a route up Glen Tilt.
A caravan park, pony trekking and a children’s play area.
Visitors repeatedly report intending to spend two hours and staying all day, and that is the honest scale of it.
Time: four to six hours for castle and grounds.
Take a picnic — there are picnic benches — or use the café, which is well rated. The staff attract particular and repeated praise.
Admission charged; combined castle-and-grounds and grounds-only tickets available.
Parking: free on site.
Facilities: café, gift shop, toilets.
Access: the ground floor of the castle is accessible; the upper rooms are up stairs. The gardens have gravel paths and slopes.
Season: open roughly April to October, with limited winter opening. Check before travelling.
Getting there: Blair Atholl on the B8079 off the A9, fifteen minutes from Pitlochry. Blair Atholl station is a ten-minute walk.
The oldest part, Cumming’s Tower, dates from 1269, with additions and remodellings through to the nineteenth century.
The Duke of Atholl’s private regiment — the only legal private army in Europe, authorised by Queen Victoria in 1844. They parade each May.
Thirty, and visitors consistently say the castle is much bigger than they expected.
Four to six hours for the castle and grounds. Many people intend two hours and stay all day.
Yes, there are picnic benches, and there is also a well-regarded café.