CASTLES KEITH

Drummuir Castle is a Victorian Gothic mansion built in 1847 by Thomas Mackenzie for Admiral Archibald Duff in Keith, Scotland. The romantic Strawberry Hill-style architecture features a striking 60-foot central lantern tower with Gothic tracery, elaborate battlements, turrets, and decorative chimney stacks. Set within extensive gardens, the castle exemplifies Scottish Victorian building design at its finest. Originally built by the Gordon-Duff family, it remains a significant landmark in Moray. Today, Drummuir Castle serves as Diageo's home of Scotch whisky in Speyside and hosts private events and functions on its historic estate.

Auchindoun Castle is a 15th-century L-plan tower ruin situated near Keith in Moray, Scotland, commanding a spectacular landscape mostly devoid of settlements. Originally possibly built by Thomas Cochrane, a favourite of King James III, it features sophisticated defensive stone vaults. The castle was sold to Sir Adam Gordon in 1567 and burned by William Mackintosh in 1580 during feuds; it had lain derelict by 1725. Accessible via an easy 1.3-mile hike through scenic moorland, the ruins stand alone in a romantic setting that epitomizes the stark beauty of the Moray Highlands.

Balvenie Castle is a ruined fortress located one kilometre north of Dufftown in Moray, Scotland, and among the oldest stone castles in Scotland. Built in the 13th century by Alexander 'Black' Comyn, Earl of Buchan, the castle remained strategically important through centuries of Scottish history. It was captured by Robert the Bruce in 1308 and later held by the Black Douglases before becoming an estate of the Earls of Atholl around 1455. By 1550, the Earls constructed a stately Renaissance mansion within the castle walls. Mary, Queen of Scots visited in September 1562. Today, managed by Historic Environment Scotland, the castle is open to visitors seasonally with exhibition displays and visitor facilities.