Kindrochit Castle
You are looking at the fragmentary remains of Kindrochit castle, the construction and development of which is steeped in uncertainty. The section to your immediate right is suggested to have constructed in the 1300s during the reign of King Robert II, first of the house of Stewart. ‘Drummond Tower’ to the west of the site is more reliably connected with Sir Malcolm Drummond and constructed sometime after 1390.
The most popular account of the beginnings of Kindrochit dates back to the Middle Ages. The castle occupied an important strategic position as the meeting point of the great passes across the Mounth, crossing Glen Clova east of the Clunie water and Spital of Glensgee on the west. Records assert that during the 11th century King Malcolm III, otherwise known as Malcolm Canmore (big head or long neck), established a stronghold in this location although it was probably a much more primitive structure than can be seen today. What is critical is that during this period a bridge was constructed over the Clinie water, finally giving Kindrichit, Ceann Drichaid or bridge head, its name.
During the 14th century, under the reign of King Robert II, Kindrochit Castle was reportedly used as a Royal Residence. Evidence of this was discovered in a number of charters dating from the 1300s. The most important of these dates from 1277 granting lands to Sir William Keith the great Marischal which demonstrates the company assembled at the court. The strongest evidence available in dating the construction of the present castle comes from a licence granted by King Robert III on the 10th November 1390 to his brother-in-law Sir Malcolm Drummond “to build a tower or fortalice on the lands of Kyndrocht with their pertinents in the Earldom of Mar”, firmly setting the current ruin in the late 14th century.
The castle has lain in ruin for hundreds of years and is known to have been used as a hand quarry for local building material. But no solid evidence of its demise exists. Legend persists that the castle fell in to ruin following the onset of the plague. Once the inhabitants were struck down with the sickness, artillery was reportedly ordered to destroy the castle by cannon with the inhabitants trapped inside. The castle ruins were consolidated in 2014 by a project funded by Aberdeenshire Council in collaboration with the Cairngorms National Park.
The address for Kindrochit Castle, Balnellan Road, Braemar, Ballater AB35, UK
