Braemar Castle to reopen doors to the public
The final touches are being applied before Braemar Castle reopens its doors to the public after the historic site underwent £1.6 million of restoration work, which was completed last year.
Suzanna Atkinson, who previously worked at Haddo House, also in Aberdeenshire, moved to Braemar this month to take on the role as the manager at the castle – built in 1628 by John Erskine, Earl of Mar. Over the next month, she will be overseeing a clean up and new lick of paint to the interiors to ensure the castle is up and running for visitors.
The plan is to then reopen the doors to residents in the village on May 1.
The castle will then be open to the public at a later date, which is yet to be confirmed.
Speaking to The Scotsman as part of the Hay's Way series, Ms Atkinson said: "There are a lot of hidden gems here. We just need to get to them.
"It's exciting times, and I am very glad to be part of it and this lovely community."
Ms Atkinson said she wants the interiors to stay true to the castle's last occupant, Frances Farquharson, one of Deeside’s first fashionistas.
Farquharson was credited with “bringing style to the Highlands”, and her favourite colour was pink. Ms Atkinson said the team has taken flakes of paint from the interiors to make sure it's identically matched to what was.
"We want to make sure it's true to her because that keeps it unique," she said.
"It's also interesting to have a castle that not only has the interesting history, but this link to a time when fashion really took off in a different way for women who started to feel free wearing trousers for example.
"You can imagine all the parties she had in here."
Ms Atkinson said there will be a variety of ways to be guided around the castle once it reopens including an ipad option with a Bloomburg app, and tours run by volunteers brought in to help breathe life back into the building.
The goal, Ms Atkinson said, is to ultimately employ staff and make the castle a self-sustainable operation with a range of uses as well as a visitor attraction, including a wedding venue.
The reopening will be a key moment for the Braemar community who took it over under the umbrella of Braemar Community Ltd in 2007, making it the first community-run castle in Scotland.
Having initially raised the £500,000 needed to fix the roof and chimneys, they then sought funding from Historic Environment Scotland and National Lottery Heritage Fund, and were helped by private donors, to repair the structure and replace the harling.
Councillor Geva Blackett said: "The castle has really been the catalyst for bringing the community together and introducing volunteers to the benefits they can bring to community projects."
Dating back almost 400 years, the castle has survived several uprisings. It was set on fire by the infamous John Farquharson, known as the Black Colonel of Inverey, during the first rising in 1689.
In 1715, the Earl of Mar raised the standard in the village to initiate the 1715 uprising.
It's exciting times, and I am very glad to be part of it