Blair Castle and Gardens

Blair Castle lies at the heart of a historic landscape which was laid out in the 18th century.

Hercules Garden is a nine-acre walled garden that has been restored to its original Georgian design. Named after the life-sized statue of Hercules which overlooks the garden, it incorporates landscaped ponds, a folly, a Chinese bridge and an authentic orchard of more than 100 fruit trees. The glory of this garden in summer is the herbaceous borders that run along the 275m south-facing wall.

Visitors can enjoy following The Sculpture Trail, which includes a mixture of contemporary and 18th-century sculpture, through the castle gardens and grounds.

Diana’s Grove, a tranquil wooded area adjacent to the castle offers an opportunity to enjoy some of the country’s finest and tallest trees in a space of just two acres.

The Banvie Burn runs through Diana’s Grove and is crossed by two handsome 18th-century bridges which give access to the ruins of St Bride’s Kirk with its ancient origins in Celtic times. After the nearby Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689, the Kirk became the resting place for the remains of Viscount Dundee, (John Graham of Claverhouse, known as Bonnie Dundee).

Highland cattle graze in fields nearby and the native red squirrel can often be spotted amongst the branches of some of the garden’s trees.

Please note that the gardens are now closed and will reopen on 1st April

Please note that although dogs are allowed in the gardens on a lead, only assistance dogs are allowed in the Castle.

For more information on opening times and tickets, please visit the Blair Castle website.

Photo Credits: Atholl Estates

The earliest known part of the present castle dates from 1269 and is known as Comyn’s Tower. The original tower had an extension added to it by the 3rd Earl in 1530 to form a Great Hall over a series of vaulted chambers below.

James 2nd Duke of Atholl transformed the medieval castle into a Georgian house and commissioned Thomas Clayton to embellish the rooms with some of the finest plasterwork in Scotland. The Duke also landscaped the grounds around the Castle and laid out the Walled Garden with assistance from his gardener John Wilson. Created between 1736 – 1764, it is named after the life-sized statue of Hercules by John Cheere which overlooks the garden. The statue had been bought by the Duke for £25.00 from the statue yard of Cheere at Hyde Park Corner.

The site was originally a boggy hollow, so a series of ponds was planned, enclosed by a high wall. Mixed plantings of fruit trees, soft fruit, flowers, vegetables, herbs and ornamental shrubs were adopted with an emphasis on sweetly scented shrubs. The Duke’s eclectic taste also included a love of Chinoiserie and the gardens had Chinese fretwork railing, a gate and a bridge. Richard Pococke visited in 1760 and described the gardens as ‘the garden of gardens….[with] the most beautiful kitchen garden I believe in the world’.

In 1860s, John, 7th Duke, commissioned the Edinburgh architects David Bryce and William Burne to remodel the exterior of the castle in the Scottish Baronial style. Crenallations and turrets removed during the Georgian period were reinstated, a new entrance hall was built and a ballroom added. New gates were installed and the latest services including bathrooms, telephones and gas were introduced for the first time.

The Duke also widened the North Terrace, flanked the long path with herbaceous borders and built the folly which stands by the square pond. Once used for curling, the folly now houses a display outlining the restoration of the garden. At the other end of the ponds is the Apple House which provides information on the sculpture in the gardens.

During the Great War the castle was used as an auxiliary hospital and from 1922 the family moved into the private apartments.

As an attempt in 1950s to run the historic gardens as a market garden failed, it was decided to plant Christmas trees in the garden. However as these were never harvested, Hercules Garden soon became a forgotten wilderness.

In the 1980s, following a report which highlighted the significance of Hercules Garden, Iain 10th Duke decided to restore the garden but sadly died before it was completed. A monument to him by Richard Kindersley stands on the east peninsula as a gift from his friends.

The Duke’s project involved dredging the lake, introducing a new sluice, reforming the banks and paths and planting fruit trees directed by the original designs which had been carefully preserved in the castle archive. The Chinese bridge was rebuilt to Abraham Swann’s design, McGregor’s Folly and the old Apple House were restored and the perimeter borders were planted. The work hopes to encapsulate the essence of the original.

Blair Castle and Gardens

Blair Castle and Gardens

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