Undiscovered Scotland

 

Glenbuchat Castle is located on a bluff above the River Don. It was built in 1590 for John Gordon of Cairnbarrow and his wife Helen on the occasion of their wedding. This is recorded in the stone above the entrance together with the motto "nothing on earth remains bot faime", or "nothing lasts without good repute".

Glenbuchat is an excellent example of a "Z" plan castle. This means it has one main rectangular block, with two smaller rectangular blocks placed at opposing corners of the main block. Glenbuchat Castle is roofless above the first floor, but it is otherwise well preserved and you can gain a good idea of the layout and the accommodation it provided.

We last visited the castle in April 2026 and found it to be closed to allow remedial work to be done on high level stonework. Images on this page show that extensive work was in progress at the time. We have also included photographs taken on a visit made in 2002, long before the closure took place, to allow us to give a sense of the interior, and show the exterior without scaffolding. (Continues below images...)

 

You reach the castle up a narrow track from the main A97. From the car park at the head of the track you make your way through the gate and across the field to the castle. To gain access, you go round the castle and into the grassy courtyard between it and the farmstead to the south.

Glenbuchat, sometimes known as "Glenbucket" at the time, remained in the Gordon family until 1738. The Gordons were strong supporters of the Jacobite cause and the castle was visited by the 23rd Earl of Mar en route from his home at Kildrummy Castle to his muster point at Corgarff Castle at the start of the 1715 uprising.

After its sale in 1738 the castle fell into disrepair. It was purchased by James Barclay in 1901 who started to restore it, and it was placed into State care in 1946.

In 1948 The Deeside Field Club bought the parkland surrounding the castle and passed it, too, to the State, ensuring that the castle's surroundings would remain as attractive as they are today. The castle is looked after by Historic Environment Scotland.