Few places in Scotland stop you in your tracks quite like Craigievar Castle. Rising from the gentle folds of Aberdeenshire's countryside, this 17th-century tower house is one of the most visually arresting buildings in the country — a blush-pink silhouette of turrets, crow-stepped gables and centuries of quiet history.
It is the kind of place that feels almost invented. The colour alone — that soft, dusty rose against the greens and greys of the Scottish landscape — seems too considered to be accidental. And yet Craigievar has stood largely unchanged since it was completed in 1626, a testament to the vision of the Forbes family who built it and the generations who have preserved it since.
A Castle Built to Impress
Craigievar was commissioned by William Forbes, a prosperous Aberdeen merchant known as "Danzig Willie" for his Baltic trade connections. The castle was designed not as a fortress but as a statement of wealth and refinement — and it remains one of the finest surviving examples of Scottish Baronial architecture, a style that would go on to influence country houses and civic buildings across Scotland for centuries.
The National Trust for Scotland has cared for Craigievar since 1963, and the castle's interior retains much of its original character: ornate plasterwork ceilings, a great hall, and a sense of time held still.
Photographing Craigievar
What drew me to Craigievar was the relationship between the architecture and the landscape. The castle doesn't dominate its surroundings — it emerges from them. The soft tones of the Aberdeenshire countryside provide a natural frame, and the light here has a quality that rewards patience.
My approach, as always, was one of restraint. The intention in post-production is never to exaggerate what is already extraordinary, but to distil it — shaping tonal balance and colour harmony to preserve the atmosphere of the moment and allow the character of the place to speak clearly.
The Print
The Craigievar Castle fine art print is available in A4 and A3, printed on 240gsm satin lustre photo paper with a giclée process that renders the subtle tones of the landscape with precision and depth. It is a print that suits both contemporary and traditional interiors — a piece of Scotland that carries genuine weight.