Findlater Castle

Findlater Castle must have been an awe-inspiring sight in its day, perched on its lofty clifftop. The ruins we can see today are mostly from the late 14th and early 15th centuries although this site has been fortified since the 13th century. The castle was built by the Findlater family but, in 1366, passed by marriage to the Clan Sinclair, then from the mid-1400s, the Clan Ogilvy had possession. The Clan Gordon took possession of the castle in 1560 and in 1562, Mary, Queen of Scots, was refused entry to the castle by Sir James Gordon who was executed by beheading after his defeat at the Battle of Corrichie. The Ogilvies repossessed the castle until its abandonment in the 1630s. The ruins are beautiful but unstable and should not be entered.