Located 8 miles west of Aberdeen, it is a pleasant place to visit with extensive grounds, woodland walks and historic rose garden. Inside there is lots to see too – portraits, furniture, vaulted ceilings decorated with shields, great hall, 16th century chapel, and much more. Well worth a visit. Small shop, tearoom and children’s playground also on site.

The Castle is open from Easter – 30 June and 1 – 31 October 12.30 – 5pm (closed Tuesdays and Fridays). Castle open 1 July – 31 August daily 11am – 5pm. Grounds open daily all year. Telephone 01330 811 204.
Owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
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A visit to Drum Castle can be included on your customised itinerary with ClansandCastles.com who offer personal guided trips from Aberdeen and Inverness. You can also visit places on the Aberdeenshire Castle Trail on the same day. Just contact ClansandCastles.com with your requirements.

Celia Ffitch-Stewart is a fully insured driver-guide with Mercedes limousine for private tailor-made guided tours. Half day, full day or extended tours. Themes to suit your interests can be arranged including The Castle Trail. Meet your clan chief, trace your roots, stay in a castle. Airport collection (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness). Services can include itinerary planning and accommodation reservations. Also available for weddings. Member of HOSTGA (Highlands of Scotland Tour Guide Association).

The following article was kindly written by Dennis Ervin especially for this page:

Possibly the oldest occupied castle in Scotland, Drum Castle in Aberdeenshire, was home to the Irvine family for more than six and a half centuries, a full twenty-four generations of nearly unbroken succession. The original tower keep, standing seventy feet from base to battlement and fifty feet on a side with walls twelve feet thick at the base is thought to have been built during the reign of Alexander III in the mid-thirteenth century. While the architect of the Tower of Drum is unknown the work is generally attributed to Richard Cementarius, the first provost of Aberdeen. Several prominent interior features of the tower are identical to other structures that are known to be the work of Cementarius and so Drum Tower is credited to him as well. The rambling stone mansion and Jacobean house that now surround the original tower were built during the reign of Alexander, the 9th Laird of Drum and completed in 1619.