CASTLES THURSO

The Castle and Gardens of Mey stand on Scotland's north coast near Thurso, a Z-plan castle built between 1566 and 1572 by the 4th Earl of Caithness. The northernmost castle on the UK mainland, it gained international fame as the beloved residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1952 to 1996, now managed by a charitable trust with annual visits from Prince Charles. The castle overlooks the Pentland Firth and Orkney Islands from rising ground, its walled gardens sheltered by the historic Great Wall of Mey's 12-foot walls against fierce Highland gales. Visitors discover beautifully landscaped grounds, a visitor centre, animal centre, and the castle's romantic setting, popular for luxury weddings and estate events.

Brims Castle is a derelict 16th-century L-plan tower house located approximately five miles west of Thurso in Caithness, Scotland, on a minor road overlooking the sea at Port of Brims. Once a property of the Sinclair family and occupied until the 1970s, the castle features a three-storey main block with a square stair-wing, corbiestepped gables, and an open turret above the entrance, all enclosed within a walled courtyard. Local legend associates the castle with a 'White Lady' ghost, the tale of a tragic romance involving James Sinclair, though the fortress today stands derelict and unsafe for visitors in its remote northern setting.