Cawdor Castle and Gardens - Nairn

Claire L.

Excellent visitor attraction and a great day out. The castle is well preserved and still occupied by the descendants of the original Thane of Cawdor. Rich in history and interesting to explore. The gardens and grounds are beautiful. Highly recommend this castle if you are visiting the area. Cafe and gift shop on site.

Ezri N.

Really enjoy our visit to this castle. The gardens were absolute gorgeous, full of beautiful blooming flowers. Children will definitely enjoy the little play park, a short walk from the gardens

Castle was full of interesting information and plenty to see and do. Slight wait to get on but we arrived on a very busy day
We enjoyed some delicious soup and bread from the cafe.
Lovely place and will definitely be back😁

Kobe A. D.

Went to the cawdor castle and the place is very colorful with a very large garden with almost every flower you can think of. The building is kept up very well and as you walk through the castle they give you a small hand device to help you with each room. There is one area that has a maze from shrubs and it is very large. But you are not allowed to go in it. On the way outside of the castle there was a bag pipper playing which was cool. Like everything.

Rucksack F.

A lovely glimpse into the history & life cycle of a castle that is still lived in. Interesting Self guided audio tour and informational panels very well done, extremely friendly docents spaced throughout. Go early as it does get very busy. Beautiful grounds to explore as well.

Nathan G. H.

Absolutely exquisite visit. There are plenty of castle ruins in the Scottish Highlands and we craved to see one that was still standing. This was everything we asked for.

Beautifully kept, amazing gardens and the most friendly staff. We loved that the outdoors was just as nice as the intriguing indoors along with the history of the Cawdor family.

Shout out to Tony, who was a staff member we met along the self guided tour and gave us an over and above history lesson. We could've kept listening to him for hours! Photo of him and us.

This capped our memorable visit to the Scotland in the best possible way.

Thanks so much!

Brie B.

While Cawdor Castle is most known for its link to Macbeth... The simple truth is this Castle did not exist then. That does not mean that this Castle doesn't hold its own history for your Discovery. As you exit the actual Castle, there is a long timeline that is very interesting to read. Unfortunately, they give it to you at the end so you don't really know the history when you're going into it. If you're going in blind unless you do your reading beforehand. The staff is quite nice and lovely to talk to. They will give you history as you walk through. There is a long roaming gallery of modern-day art and historical artwork. Don't miss the dungeon where an ancient Thorn tree, also known as a holly tree which is rumored to be the foundation of the castle . There is an archaeological dig site in the dungeon, which is interesting but hard to see. There is a small store for you to go through that shows some of the examples of the ancient t rock work found locally. Overall very nice castle, grounds and gardens.

Heather W.

A property still in private ownership, free for members of the Historic Houses Association. The castle is beautiful, from the outside and inside. The grounds are a masterpiece, all maintained by a team of four full-time gardeners. What a joy this place is. Staff were lovely. Cafe, shop, clean toilets, large carpark within easy walk. All perfect.

Heidi S.

Amazing gardens, family owned castle. In the family for 6 generations. Interesting self guided tour. Cute little gift shop just outside of the cadtle. Allow time to view the gardens on both sides of the castle. If choosing one, the flower garden is the most spectacular. Modern art inside and out.
Should not have to say it, but be aware there are stairs in the castle.... some complaints were made about them....