Cairnbulg Castle

Grey Granite was privileged to accompany a group of children on a visit to Cairnbulg Castle which is not normally open to visitors. It was a beautiful sunny day and the children had a memorable learning experience. We were shown round the castle by the owner, The Hon. Mrs Kate Nicolson, eldest daughter of the 20th Lady Saltoun.

We approached the castle on foot, walking along the driveway from the Bridge of Philorth

Seen from above the trees in the castle grounds  are starting to turn

Looking from the battlements over the what may be the Pool of Orth from which the name Philorth is derived.The sea is just visible on the horizon but once reached almost to the castle. Philorth was one of the '9 knuckle castles' built on the coast to defend Buchan against Norse invaders.

This picture of the great keep emphasizes the position of the castle on a defensive mound. The keep is thought to be built on the site of, and possibly to incorporate the remains of, an earlier castle destroyed in the by Robert the Bruce during the Harrying of Buchan. The tower was restored around 1380.

The impressive main entrance to the castle.
The straircase tower, in which the front door and front hall are situated, was built in the 16th century.

By 1613  Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th Laird of Philorth, who had  spent vast amounts of money developing the town of Fraserburgh   became bankrupt  and was forced to sell the castle to a kinsman, Fraser of Durris . It was an agreement of the original sale that Sir Alexander Fraser, or his descendants, would have the right to but back the castle should it ever come on the market.  Despite this agreement  and a lawsuit  the attempts by his descendant, the 10th Lord Saltoun  to repurchase the castle in 1663 failed. 

The view from the top of the 90 foot keep towards Mains of Cairnbulg.
The staircase tower and round tower are seen beyond the range linking them with the keep.

The round tower is thought to have been built about 1545, like other sections of the castle, it was plundered for building stone during the ownership of the 3rd Earl of Aberdeen (1775-1801). Much of the castle was rebuilt in 1896 by  Sir John Duthie, who received building stone as tocher from his stone merchant father in law.

In 1934 the castle was purchased by the 19th Lord Saltoun who sympathetically modernised it thus returning the castle t to the ownership of the family by whom it was built.The castle is the only one of the knuckle castles still to be occupied.

It is now the family home of the Hon. Mrs Kate Nicolson, eldest daughter of the 20th Lady Saltoun. The castle is the only one of the knuckle castles still to be occupied.