Slains Castle
Slains Castle Details
Slains Castle, remains of C16 tower and courtyard of the Hays within derelict C19 mansion, also of the Hays.
- Closest To: Cruden Bay, Peterhead
- Access: S.O.A.C. Public Access
- Grid Reference: NK101361
There are two different properties known as Slains Castle. For the history of the first, please refer to Old Slains Castle. This entry refers to the gothic mansion that was supposedly the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and which contains the old tower of Bowness, dating to the 16th century. The site is well known and reluctantly left open to the public, although it is a fair walk to reach it and the castles clifftop location is dangerous.
The earl of Errol saw King James VI blow up his castle at Slains for treason, and when he was eventually restored to favour, he elected to celebrate by extending his castle at Bowness and renaming it Slains. He built a courtyard style palace at the site, which was then repeatedly extended. In 1836 the whole building was redesigned and refaced with granite, changing the appearance of the old palace beyond recall. It was sold off in 1916, but the new owner just removed the roof and left it to the elements. Plans to convert it to apartments have so far not proceeded.
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