Aldourie Castle is in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, situated on Strath Dore, between the southern banks of

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claim ...

and the Glen leading onto Drumashie Moor. The parkland of extends northeast and southeast of the house. Lying close to the village of

Aldourie Aldourie ( gd, Allt Dobharaidh meaning ''dark water'' or ''stream water'') is a small crofting village on the east shore of Loch Ness. It lies about southwest of Inverness and is within the council of Highland, Scotland. Aldourie Castle, seat ...

, it originally consisted of a rectangular main block, with a round tower at the south-west corner. In the 1860s, William Fraser-Tytler extended the castle in all directions, including a balustraded round tower, oriel windows, scroll-sided dormers, turrets, corbels, rope-moulded stringing and gunloops. It underwent extensive restoration work between 2002 and 2010, and again in 2017, when the original walled Victorian kitchen garden and surrounding grounds were revived, with help from students from the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

. The gardens and parkland are included in the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...

History

Aldourie Castle, Loch Ness-side, Scotland (7191155494)

Aldourie Castle on

was first recorded as a laird’s house in 1625 as a property of Mackintosh of Kyllachy in Nairnside. Lying close to the small, crofting village of

, it originally consisted of a rectangular main block, with a round tower at the south-west corner, and was extended to the west in 1839 with a two-storey wing. In the 1860s, William Fraser-Tytler was responsible for transforming Aldourie into the historic castle it is today. He commissioned Mackenzie & Matthews to extend the house “in all directions, parading the full repertoire of early 17th-century baronialism, including a balustraded round tower cribbed from Castle Fraser, Grampian, oriel windows, scroll-sided steeply pedimented dormers, candle-snuffered turrets, corbelling, rope-moulded stringcourses and gunloops”. Further additions in 1902-4 by

Sir Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...

included a wing at the south-east. Aldourie Castle - geograph

In 1893, the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

army unit were reputedly founded at Aldourie by

Lord Lovat Lord Lovat ( gd, Mac Shimidh) is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred ...

and Edward Fraser-Tytler. In 2015 Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen bought the castle for £15 million as part of his portfolio of 12 Scottish estates making him the largest landowner in Scotland. The castle is available to rent.

Geography

Aldourie Castle is situated on Strath Dores, between the southern banks of Loch Ness and the Glen leading onto Drumashie Moor. Aldourie Castle is set on a level terrace above the loch, with its main lawn facing north-west out onto the loch and the slopes of Creag Dherag. The parkland of extends to the north-east and south-east of the house and is enclosed by woodland. South of the parkland, a series of agricultural fields are enclosed by a regular pattern of shelterbelts, screening Aldourie Farm. The extent of the parkland remains unchanged since the mid 19th century.

Present day

Aldourie Castle is now classed as the only inhabitable castle on Loch Ness and it is now used primarily for private use castle stays. On site activities include clay pigeon shooting, archery and chartered boat tours. Now a Category A listed building in Scotland, Aldourie Castle underwent extensive restoration work between 2002 and 2010 to restore specialist paintwork, murals and metalwork fixtures throughout the Castle. An Estate Conservation Project started in 2017 to revive the original walled Victorian kitchen garden and surrounding grounds with help from students from the

. The gardens and parkland are included in the

.{{Historic Environment Scotland, num=GDL00011, desc=ALDOURIE CASTLE , access-date=28 February 2019, fewer-links=yes

References

Castles in Highland (council area) Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Loch Ness