Blairfindy Castle

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Blairfindy Castle is a 16th‑century L‑shaped tower house about 6.5 miles north of Tomintoul, Scotland, and west of the River Livet. It was the hunting seat of the Earls of Huntly. Today the building is a ruin, but stabilisation work was completed in 2021. A new access path and disabled parking were added, along with an information board, so visitors can walk through the ruins.

The Blairfindy lands were once part of the Lordship of Stratha’an. Over the centuries they passed among several families, including the Grants. The present castle was built for John Gordon of Cluny, with the date 1586 shown on an armorial stone. Blairfindy sits near the battlefield of Glenlivet, where in 1594 the Protestant army of the Earl of Argyll was defeated by the combined forces of the Earl of Huntly and the Earl of Errol.

In 1606 Blairfindy came into the hands of the Earls of Huntly and became known as their hunting lodge. In 1647 the Earl of Huntly was captured at Blairfindy and later executed. By 1649 Grants were tenants again. The last Grant tenant was a Jacobite, and in 1746 Government troops burned Blairfindy after Culloden.

Blairfindy Castle is owned by the Crown Estate. The stabilisation works opened the site to the public. Architecturally, it is broadly an L‑plan with a projecting wing, a corbelled angle turret, and an arched entrance protected by a shot hole. Inside, the main floor was the great hall, with kitchens, a wine cellar, and upper rooms for bedrooms. The building is a Category B listed site.