Kincardine Castle - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Loch of Aboyne is a shallow, artificial formed, freshwater loch in Grampian, Scotland. It lies 1+1⁄4 miles northeast of Aboyne and 26 miles west-southwest of Aberdeen. An earthen dam was constructed around 1834 to retain the loch. It also served as a reservoir for a nearby mill. It has one of the finest submerged floras in the area with 8 species of pondweeds. There is a high diversity of leeches and pond snails and modest numbers of passage and wintering wildfowl including wigeon, goosander and

Scolty Hill is a small hill south of the Deeside town, Banchory. Its best known feature is the 20m tall tower monument, built in 1840 as a memorial to General William Burnett who fought alongside Wellington. The tower was restored in 1992 and a viewing platform added by the Rotary Club of Banchory-Ternan. It enjoys splendid views over Banchory, the Dee Valley and the Grampian Mountains, which surround the hill. This encourages thousands of visitors each year. It is popular for tourists, locals a

Craigievar Castle is a picturesque fortified tower house in Aberdeenshire, said to be the inspiration for the fairytale Disney castle. The setting is among scenic rolling foothills of the Grampian Mountains, and the contrast of its massive lower storey structure to the finely sculpted multiple turrets, gargoyles and high corbelling work to create a classic fairytale appearance. It was the seat of Clan Sempill and the Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963.

Tomnaverie is a recumbent stone circle, a kind of monument found only in north-eastern Scotland. Their characteristic feature is a large stone on its side, flanked by two upright stones, usually on the south or south-west arc of the circle. Construction started from about 2500 BC, in the Bronze Age, to produce a monument of thirteen granite stones including a massive 6.5-ton recumbent stone lying on its side along the southwest of the circle's perimeter

Crathes Castle is one of the most impressive castles in Scotland. With its classic Scottish tower house design, featuring a jumble of cone-roofed turrets, ramparts, and towers, there’s something pleasantly Disneyesque about Crathes Castle, which is magnified by its faintly pink harled exterior. This harled castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys and was held in that family for almost 400 years. The castle and grounds are owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland and are open to the

Clachnaben is one of the best known of Aberdeenshire's lower hills, celebrated together with Bennachie in an old couplet. Its fame rests on the magnificent granite tor on its summit, a superb viewpoint and a worthy objective for any outing. A popular walk starts at the car park on the Cairn O' Mounth road, 10 kilometres south of Banchory. Popularity has caused some erosion on the old steep path which climbs this hill directly; however, efforts have been made to stabilise the erosion.