Findlater Castle, Castle ruin on coastal cliffs in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Findlater Castle is a castle ruin standing on a rocky promontory where cliffs drop about 90 feet to the Moray Firth on three sides. The remaining stone structures show what once was a fortified stronghold built on this isolated seaside outcrop.
Sir Walter Ogilvy received royal permission in 1455 to fortify the existing structure, marking a significant moment in the site's development. The fortress remained occupied until around the mid-1600s, when it was gradually abandoned.
The castle's name comes from Gaelic words meaning white cliff or slope, showing how Scotland's landscape shaped the words people used for this place. You can see this connection when you stand on the promontory and look at the pale stone and rocky edges around you.
The paths to the ruins are narrow and require careful footing, especially during wet weather and strong coastal winds that make movement difficult. Plan your visit for calmer conditions when the ground is dry and winds are lighter.
Two deep channels carved into the rock once held drawbridges, showing the sophisticated defense design of the medieval fortress. You can still see these channels today and they reveal how people engineered protection into the very stone of the site.
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