The National Trust for Scotland is calling on people to take up the chance to visit the Scottish castle that is said to have inspired Walt Disney for the last time this summer – before it shuts for an 18-month-long conservation project.
The striking pink-walled castle, Craigievar Castle, in Alford, is said to be where Walt Disney took the idea for his now-famous Cinderella Castle. It is now set to shut so the charity can look to reinvigorate the pink tones of Craigievar’s harling (the protective finishing on its walls) with multiple coats of a ‘special recipe’ of limewash.
Posting on Facebook, the National Trust wrote: "Don't miss your chance to explore the castle before the scaffolding goes up and our collections are carefully ‘put to bed’. With impressive collections of art, armour and weaponry in a unique setting, Craigievar makes a wonderful day out."
The castle will close at the end of summer with the target date for completing these critical repairs and re-opening the castle is spring 2024.
According to the Trust, a man called William Forbes purchased Craigievar in 1610 and extensively remodelled it in the Renaissance style. In 1824, Sir John Forbes was instructed by architect John Smith that a change from the existing off-white harling to a pale pink would match the colour of the Aberdeenshire granite mouldings.
Harling is the traditional Scottish protective layer applied to buildings. It is made up from a mix of lime, aggregate and water, and is applied by hand.
Trust Chartered Surveyor, Annie Robertson said: “The shape of Craigievar, being an L-Plan tower house, means that getting safe access to the roof-top areas is challenging.
"The free-standing scaffold [it will not be fixed to the building, thus preventing damage to the stonework] will take 3 months to erect but it will allow expert teams to maintain the harling and carry out discreet adaptions to details, to better protect the vulnerable edges of the harling. This will help to future-proof the building against the effects of climate change."
The charity added that they will regularly update on the progress of the project as well as offer behind-the-scenes insights into the painstaking conservation work, adding that special hard hat tours during the works could also be on offer too.
Last year, the castle was named in a list of the top ten lesser-known destinations in the UK to visit by top travel guide, Lonely Planet.
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