Cawdor Castle

Cawdor Castle in Nairn, in the Scottish Highlands, is one of the most romantically evocative historic buildings in Scotland — a medieval fortress of the fourteenth century that has been the family home of the Earls of Cawdor for over six centuries, and that carries the legend, enshrined by Shakespeare, of being the castle of the Thane of Cawdor in the tragedy of Macbeth. Whether or not the historical Macbeth (died 1057) had any connection with this particular castle, the Shakespearean association gives Cawdor an imaginative resonance that few historic buildings in Scotland can match.

The oldest part of the castle is the central tower, built around 1370 by the Thane of Cawdor to protect a stretch of the Nairn valley and the highland routes beyond. Legend has it that the Thane, seeking a site for his castle, loaded his gold onto a donkey and followed it until it lay down under a holly tree: this spot was chosen as the foundation. Excavations have revealed a holly tree beneath the original tower, lent — whatever one makes of the story — a curious physical support for the legend.

Over subsequent centuries the castle was extensively developed, with ranges of buildings added around the original tower in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The result is a complex of considerable variety, with the medieval tower at its heart surrounded by later domestic additions in the Scottish vernacular tradition, enclosed within a broad walled garden. The castle remains the private home of the Cawdor family (the Campbells of Cawdor), and it is this living quality — the books, pictures, furniture, and personal possessions accumulated over centuries — that gives Cawdor a distinctive warmth and personality not found in houses preserved as pure museums.

Cawdor Castle is open seasonally from May to October, and the visit includes the castle interior, three beautiful gardens, and the surrounding woodland nature trail.