A Literary Weekend (pt. 3)

Castle Fraser

When we decided to dedicate this week’s posts to our favourite holiday hotspots my mind instantly went to Castle Fraser in Scotland. I am typically quite fickle when I have to decide on anything which constitutes as a ‘favourite’ for me, but choosing this specific place was easy. This is mainly because Castle Fraser is extremely personal to me and is where my family and I spent many festive seasons celebrating Christmas whilst I was growing up. What was once a place where your could rent out part of its quarters as a holiday home, Castle Fraser is now a much loved National Trust Property where you can spend day trips taking in its extravagant surroundings.

As the weather outside turned colder and December rolled around, each year my family and I would venture up to the serene views of the countryside just outside of Aberdeen. The long car journey would always consist of my parents having at least three arguments on the art of map reading, mainly because my father was stubborn enough not to buy a SAT NAV; insisting that his map reading skills were as meticulous of those of Bear Grylls. Meanwhile, us children were bundled in the back of the car huddled in our coats, hats and scarves, taking it in turns to wind our parents up by asking if we were ‘nearly there yet’. Being the two youngest, Georgia and I were always placed next to each other in the car despite our intense love- hate relationship, and at this age (6/7 years old) I genuinely believed my youngest sister was the spawn of Satan himself. This was decided when she deleted my Nintenedo Dogs because my dogs were (obviously) better than hers. For the rest of the car journey I never forgave her (and still don’t to this day...). So, as you can imagine that 10 hour trip was probably the most hectic experience for my parents but was definitely worth it on arrival.

Before this castle became a National Trust property my father somehow managed to book this holiday each year so we could spend Christmas in the snowy hilltops of Scotland. On first encounter with it, my sisters and I squealed with joy as we drove up the lane towards what would be our home for the week. As a little girl I still believed in Princesses and Fairy Godmothers, and I honestly felt like I was a princess in a fairytale castle.

MTV welcome to my crib.

Many hours were spent running around playing with the trap doors and secret stairways, whilst our parents sat down and had a most well deserved glass of red wine. On our first Christmas there my sisters and I woke each other up at a disgustingly early time of 4am, to which our very tired and disgruntled parents sent us back to bed until 8am, which was considered a ‘reasonable hour’ to open presents. We would rip open our stockings in front of the fireplace, whilst our parents sipped their coffee to wake themselves up for what would be a long day of kids running around hyped up on chocolate coins and sweets. Some winters our grandparents would come up on Christmas Eve to help my parents prepare Christmas dinner and act as temporary babysitters for my exhausted parents. My granddad, riddled with a thick Cockney accent, would often act as an entertainer playing various Disney characters and villains, and mess around with us for hours until we were tired enough to sleep through to Boxing Day.

Surrounded by large open grounds and beautiful forest views, we often spent lots of time foraging and looking at all sorts of wildlife. Although I only spent winters here, looking back on photos I still believe this would be a tranquil spot to relax and enjoy the Scottish countryside during summer or spring. Home of the Fraser family for over 400 years, the exterior of this property exudes its magnificence in architectural design with looming towers and an extensive medieval courthouse. Unlike many older properties, Castle Fraser retained a family atmosphere within its interior being filled with magnificent family portraits (some of which I was too young to appreciate), family mementos and ornaments.

The vast gardens on the estate are now open to the public, with entry prices for adults starting at £14.50. This fee enables you to visit the whole castle and wonder the grounds nature spotting and soaking in the idyllic woodland areas. Spotted throughout are many picnic benches ready to be put into extensive use in the summer! Nearby there are also other equally as stunning National Trust properties such as Craigievar Castle, Crathes Castle and Midmar Castle, which are also believed to have been designed by the Bell family of master masons. Here you have access to both the Alton Brae and Miss Bristow Trails where you can spend an afternoon walking in the Scottish countryside. The Alton Brae trail gives you access to the flight pond where you can also try out your fishing skills. These properties are also located near the quaint village of Kemnay, where you can go for a spot of afternoon tea or even hit up some of the rowdy and atmospheric local Scottish pubs.

The spawn of Satan (Georgia) and my father on the Alton Brae Trail.

I have to admit I am a big fan of National Trust properties and always will want to support them where possible and so I would thoroughly recommend if you’re ever up near Aberdeenshire to take a trip to this national trust property. The following link directs you to the National Trust website for Castle Fraser, but also enables you to discover multiple beautiful sites across the UK, please have a look!

https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/castle-fraser

Just a legend fishing.

Izzy xx

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