Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate
Things to do
GUIDED TOURS
Free garden tours with our garden guides are available from April to October, every Wednesday at 2pm. Please contact us for more details.
Guided tours of the castle take place every half hour from 10.30am. The last tour is at 4pm.
Group visits
We’re delighted that we’ve been awarded the Coach Friendly status by CPT.
We offer the following for group bookings:
- Preferential rate for groups of 10+ (currently £9pp)
- A warm welcome from our Visitor Services Supervisor upon arrival
- Designated coach bays for easy parking, with free parking for pre-booked coaches
- A new ‘Grab & Go’ facility in the courtyard café – no need to queue for lunch
- Indoor and outdoor dining areas
- A refreshment voucher for all drivers, redeemable at the courtyard café
For further information or to make a booking, please contact our Travel Trade team on +44 (0) 131 458 0204 or email traveltrade@nts.org.uk
SCHOOL VISITS
We welcome school visits at Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate. For more information, please see our Learning pages.
Play Area
Wild Wood Adventure Play has something for everyone – explore, play and let your imagination run wild! Surrounded by towering trees on this wildlife-rich estate, you can conquer the heights of the Green Lady’s Tower, scramble up the rock face challenge and zoom between the trees on the zip wire.
Opening times:
- November–March: Saturday and Sunday, 10.30am–3.30pm
- April–October, daily, 10.30am–5pm
FREE admission for National Trust for Scotland members; £3 per child for non-members.
The play area has been designed for children aged 4 years and over.
We reserve the right to close the play area due to unforeseen circumstances.
Please note: the play area behind the courtyard café is open in line with the café opening times.
NATURE SPOTTING
Take a walk along the Coy Burn - keep an eye out here for buzzards, herons and kingfishers. They’ve probably been at home on the estate for at least as long as the castle walls.
Don’t miss our new wildlife trails and wildlife viewing hide.
OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES
Explore the north-east’s only Go Ape tree-top adventure.
HIRE A VENUE
The enchanting castle, beautiful walled garden, expansive grounds and a dedicated event space (the Horsemill) make a versatile venue for weddings, meetings, team-building events and corporate entertaining. Please see our venue hire pages for more information.
Walks here
East trail
- Difficulty
- Moderate – a fairly flat, unsurfaced woodland walk (some steps)
- Time
- 1–1¼ hours
- Distance
- 1½ miles (2.5km)
- Facilities
- Shop; toilets; café; car park; picnic areas
The Coy Burn trail
- Difficulty
- Moderate – a fairly flat, unsurfaced woodland walk
- Time
- 1–1¾ hours
- Distance
- 1¾ miles (3km)
- Facilities
- Shop; toilets; café; car park; picnic areas
The North trail
- Difficulty
- Moderate – a fairly flat, unsurfaced woodland walk
- Time
- 45–60 mins
- Distance
- 1¼ miles (2km)
- Facilities
- Shop; toilets; café; car park; picnic areas
The Ley way
- Difficulty
- Moderate – a fairly flat, unsurfaced woodland walk (some steps)
- Time
- 2–3 hours
- Distance
- 4 miles (6.5km)
- Facilities
- Shop; toilets; café; car park; picnic areas
The West trail
- Difficulty
- Moderate – a fairly flat, unsurfaced woodland walk but with a steep section
- Time
- 30–45 mins
- Distance
- ¾ mile (1km)
- Facilities
- Shop; toilets; café; car park; picnic areas
Viewpoint trail
- Difficulty
- Easy – a flat, surfaced woodland walk
- Time
- 15–30 mins
- Distance
- ¼ mile (400m)
- Facilities
- Shop; toilets; café; car park; picnic areas
To find walks at National Trust for Scotland places, download the Trust Trails app.
