Blair Castle - Fascinating History in the Beautiful Scottish Highlands

 This is Blair Castle, a stunning visitor attraction in Perthshire, Scotland.

The river runs through the Blair Castle property and it is gorgeous.

The surrounding countryside is absolutely stunning, the Highlands at its best and most glorious.

What a gorgeous day in so many ways.  The 35-minute drive from Kinloch Rannoch was pretty enough, but once you enter the grand estate of Blair Castle, one finds oneself looking more out the windows of the Castle than inside the rooms. 

It isn't because the inside of the Castle isn't beautiful enough and over the top, it is because the highlands surrounding it are so stunning.  Blair Castle is in the little village of Blair Atholl at the entrance to Cairngorms National Park.

This is the main section of the Castle which does not give you any perspective of the sheer size.  

This Duke of Atholl Family Tree goes back to 1660

This is a scaled-down version of the Castle which is quite extensive.

The history here was incredibly significant and interesting throughout the 750 years that this castle has stood.  Bonnie Dundee is buried here by his loving wife and Bonnie Prince Charles spent time at the Castle planning Culloden, which was an eventual disaster for the Highlanders.  There is a lot of Jacobite history here and family feud intrigue in the walls of this castle.

They call this the Jacobite Room with the Duke of Atholl Tartan.  One of the Dukes gave up his Dukedom because he was a Jacobite and followed Bonnie Prince Charlie and he forfeited it to his younger brother who was a Loyalist.

The Castle is extremely beautiful and it has been modified over the centuries.  I was flabbergasted at how lavish and ornate it was.  The self-guided tour takes you through 30 rooms and there is a lot to read and learn if that strikes your fancy.

The stairwells were stunning and the amount of priceless photos in this Castle is mind-boggling.

The Grand entry-way is a show stopper and it was decorated by sabers and muskets in a very creative way.  It's not my thing but it was well done.

Look how many muskets in the circular pattern in the photo to the right.

The Dining Room sat up to 24 and this Castle has entertained Kings and Queens throughout the centuries.

The gowns and clothes of the Duke and Dutchess were exquisite and made out of the finest silks and brocades.  What struck me was how small they were 250 years ago.  When I think of Scottish Highlanders and Clansmen, these tiny outfits don't really work in my brain.

The embroidery on this silk gown was incomprehensible at how many woman hours it would have taken to do this by hand.

The gown to the right is the oldest piece that the Castle owns and it is now over 250 years old.

If you like your Highlander history you can read these 4 wall panels (I did).

The Castle grounds are extensive and we took in most of them.  Even the drive up to the Castle is gorgeous with towering trees along the way to welcome you to the Castle.

The Diana's Grove forest has some of the UK's tallest trees and beautiful conifers that tower over you.  In fact, it has the 2nd largest in the country.

That is Darren's head at the bottom of the photo.  It honestly hurt my neck to look up at the height of these trees in Diana's Grove.

Diana's Grove also contains the ruins of St. Bride's Kirk and Bonnie Dundee is laid to rest under this church.

This is where Bonnie Dundee is laid to rest under this church ruin.

Diana's Grove also contains the ruins of St. Bride's Kirk.  The above photo is inside this ruin to the right.

Hercules Garden is a nine-acre walled garden to explore and even in October, there were many plants still blooming here in the highlands.

The Castle has a restaurant and gift shop with some lovely things to purchase for decent prices.  We stopped for a Scottish pie and a drink.  I had a very flaky cheese and onion pie and it was delish.

The Castle and Grounds were 17 pounds/adult and I felt it was well worth the price to spend hours immersed in history, beauty and nature.

These are the highlands that surround the Castle and would have been owned by the Duke.  The current 12th Duke of Atholl now lives in South Africa and he visits once a year for the Highland Games.

Below is a short video of the Bagpiper that plays on the hour in front of Blair Castle.  I do turn the camera to try to get the whole castle in, so I apologize in advance.

I loved this shot of the Castle in the background with the sheep grazing out front which would have been exactly the way it would have looked hundreds of years ago.

Here is a URL code to take an audio tour of the Castle and its history:  There are some photos to look at too.  I found the tech nature of this Castle to be quite high.