Crathes Castle in the Scottish Highlands – Charis White Interiors

Welcome to 16th century Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire. If you are curious about the heritage of Scottish tower houses, passionate about topiary and painted ceilings inspired by the Renaissance, you won’t be disappointed. My anticipation for coming across something special at Crathes was piqued further when an American tourist commented that the gardens at Crathes Castle “were way better” than the gardens he had just visited at *Balmoral.

Don’t judge a Scottish castle by its exterior

Crathes is an L-shaped, turreted castle built in the Scottish tower house tradition. These were built between the 14th and 17th centuries and designed partly for fortification but also as a home of high (pardon the pun) status. Tower houses vary in size and were occasionally built from wooden structures, with additional floors added over time.

For me, the beauty of Crathes Castle lies less with its exterior design but more within its castle walls and historic 4-acre gardens. The combination of its Scottish interior history with long gallery and 16th century painted ceilings had me gripped.

A very condensed history of Crathes Castle

The Burnett family, who lived in the castle for over 350 years, had roots in the area dating back to 1323 when Robert the Bruce, King of Scots (1306-1328) granted them nearby land. The castle we see today was built in the late 16th century. But by 1951 the family made the decision to transfer ownership of the castle to the National Trust For Scotland.

Crathes Castle interiors

I lost count of the floors, and which windy stone staircase was which. But it is in this confined space that you have a sense of the depth of the stone walls and how these narrow spiral staircases must have been the busy arteries for everyday life.

The family crest includes 3 sprigs of holly leaves and the Horn of Leys, which is said to have been given to the family by Robert The Bruce, King of Scots in the 14th century. The crest can be seen in various forms of decoration around the house.

Crathes Castle’ 16th century painted ceilings

The Room of The Nine Nobles at Crathes Castle has a Renaissance-inspired 5th wall (ceiling) and was painted across beams and ceiling in the the 16th century depicting knights, emperors and kings. The group is made up of three great military heroes from each of the pagan, Jewish and Christian classical worlds. Read about the renovation by the National Trust For Scotland.

Northern Light Palette by Jessica Buckley x Edward Bulmer Paint

By coincidence, some of the colours in the early 1600s painted ceiling at Crathes Castle are similar to those on The Northern Light Palette, a useful resource curated by Edinburgh interior designer Jessica Buckley with Edward Bulmer Paints for decorating rooms that have northern or darker light.

Gardens in bloom at Crathes Castle

I really didn’t expect the gardens in May 2025 to be as far on as they were in Aberdeenshire. So many flowers were in bloom, some of which took almost a month longer to come out in our garden over 500 miles further south in Berkshire.

Crathes Castle is a must for lovers of garden design. For those interested in 17th century planted yew topiary as well as the unique character that this Scottish walled garden has with granite walls and whimsical wrought iron fencing. Also appealing is the Highland country house style of structural log pillars as seen here at the garden folly at Crathes and under the verandah for the lodge at Balmoral castle.

*Balmoral Castle gardens

It was interesting to hear the American tourist’s comment about how he thought the gardens at Crathes were way better than the gardens at Balmoral he had just visited. It perhaps shows you how special they are at Crathes.

I am also reminded that until recently when Balmoral Castle opened to the public, it was a private home for the Royal family. I am sure that in addition to the existing formal gardens, the borrowed landscape of beautiful Royal Deeside was always an inspiration in itself.

But gardens need to regenerate and evolve. And now that Balmoral Castle is opening to the public, the expectations are perhaps greater. A friend told me she was recently bowled over by the gardens and new planting that’s been instigated by King Charles at Balmoral. It’s most definitely on my list for a visit and I will be excited to see the King bring his magic Highgrove garden touch to Balmoral.

Styling Box

Styling Box is my interior design service that offers bespoke designs and samples all wrapped in a beautiful and useful Styling Box. The perfect gift for you, for friends and family. Please get in touch if I can help you with a bespoke interior design.

This Styling Box room scheme is designed in the spirit of National Trust For Scotland’s Crathes Castle gardens. It seems appropriate to hang this scheme around the Scottish decorative painter and Designer Flora Roberts’ beautiful Camellia wallpaper design produced for her by Hamilton Weston where you can also see some of Flora’s new designs.

Thank you

Thank you so much for reading this, it is a bit of a blockbuster post! Just a reminder that you can use your English National Trust membership card to get into Scottish National Trust properties for no extra charge. Also, Crathes Castle is one of few properties that are open all year round.

The next blog post will be in August and remains in the Scottish Highlands for a visit to Craigievar Castle, the third and final castle visit in this blog series. Until then, I hope you enjoy a wonderful summer, wherever you may be.

With best wishes, Charis x