Scotland’s ‘Cinderella Castle’ which inspired Walt Disney re-opened

It’s nicknamed ‘Scotland’s Cinderella Castle’ and is said to have inspired Walt Disney. But after being closed for nearly two years, Craigievar Castle has re-opened to the public.

The 17th century Craigievar is one of the best-preserved examples of a tower house castle in Scotland, and it is believed Walt Disney based his designs of fairy tale castles after seeing photographs of the Aberdeenshire castle.

It is famous for its iconic pink colour scheme, stunning 17th century plaster ceilings and original collections, but has been shut for nearly two years so extensive conservation could be carried out to protect the structure from the effects of climate change.

More than 13,000 litres of limewash has been applied to the castle walls –  enough to fill a small swimming pool and paint all the courts at Wimbledon twice over. 

‘The fairytale castle is a global icon of Scottish heritage and a pink beacon for visitors,’ said  James Henderson, operations manager for Craigievar.

‘Our charity can’t wait to continue telling the story of Craigievar and we’re extremely proud that the National Trust for Scotland’s supporters and the project team have ensured that there are many more chapters to come.’

Having erected a mammoth seven-storey scaffold and neon pink protective shroud at the start of the project, the National Trust for Scotland then made discreet changes to the buildings detailing and slate roofs to better cast away rain and snow. 

A small team of staff and volunteer guides then carefully re-instating the precious collections in preparation for welcoming visitors and supporters again.

No artificial light is used in the castle, allowing visitors on its limited number of daily tours to share the experience of eight generations of the Forbes family and view the castle interiors and collections as the family did for 300 years.

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