Our grounds and the play park are open daily. The walled garden is open Thursday–Monday. The castle, shop, toilets and tearoom (takeaway) are open Friday–Monday, 10am–4pm. *Please note pre-booking is NOT required!* Please see the Planning Your Visit section for more information.
Getting here
Drum Castle is situated ½ mile off the A93 (the Aberdeen to Banchory road).
Travelling west from Aberdeen, pass through Peterculter. After 3 miles, turn right towards Drum Castle.
Heading east from Banchory, travel 8 miles and then turn left towards Drum Castle.
Buses run every 30 minutes during the day along the A93. The bus stops are ½ mile from the castle (approximately a 20-minute walk).
Opening times
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Castle and shop
- 1 Jan–30 Apr, closed 1 May–27 May, Sat & Sun, 10.00–16.00 (last entry 15.30) Current period28 May–31 Oct, Fri–Mon, 10.00–16.00 (last entry 15.30) 1 Nov–31 Dec, closed
-
Tearoom
Mary’s Larder tearoom will operate a takeaway service from 2 April.
- 1 Jan–1 Apr, closed 2 Apr–19 Apr, Fri–Mon, 10.00–15.00 20 Apr–30 Apr, Sat & Sun, 10.00–15.00 1 May–27 May, Sat & Sun, 10.00–16.00 Current period28 May–31 Oct, Fri–Mon, 10.00–16.00 1 Nov–31 Dec, closed
-
Garden of Historic Roses
- 1 Jan–1 Apr, closed Current period2 Apr–31 Oct, Thurs–Mon, 10.00–16.00 1 Nov–31 Mar 2022, closed
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Grounds
- Current period1 Jan–31 Dec, daily, dawn–dusk
Entry prices
- Adult
- £14.50
- Family
- £33.00
- One adult family
- £27.50
- Concession
- £11.00
- Young Scot
- £1.00
- Adult
- £5.00
Planning your visit
We want you to enjoy your visit – your safety is our priority. This means we’ve had to make some changes so that we can keep everyone safe. Please read our Guide on what to expect before you set off.
This property is part of the ‘We’re Good to Go’ scheme, which means we have carried out an official COVID-19 risk assessment to check we have everything in place to reopen safely.
Please note pre-booking is not required.
Please be aware that for the health and safety of visitors, volunteers and employees in our hospitality venues, we will record the name and contact details of everyone who enters in order to support NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect. This information will be used to enable NHS Scotland to contact you should you have been in the venue around the same time as someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. We are obliged to process this data to comply with The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 11) Regulations 2020. Please see our Data Protection page for further information.
Further to this, in National Trust for Scotland non-hospitality settings, where there is either a pre-booking system in place or there is the potential for close contact (eg in some of our smaller properties), we will ask visitors to provide limited contact information. This is for the purposes of managing the number of visitors and also to support NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect. For further information, please see our Data Protection page.
Please note that the Tower is currently not accessible to visitors until further notice, due to ongoing structural repairs.
Drone flying is not permitted at this property without prior permission and approval. Commercial operators should contact the Trust’s Filming Manager at filming@nts.org.uk.
Please see our drop-down Facilities below for helpful information about planning your visit. For more information about planning your visit please see some frequently asked questions.
If you’d like to speak to us we can be contacted by email: drumcastle@nts.org.uk
Outdoor theatre this summer
Merry Wives of Windsor at Drum Castle
Sunday 18 July
The Three Inch Fools take to the road with five actors, all manner of musical instruments and an inventive take on Shakespeare’s raucous comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor.
This Shakespearean classic will be getting the full Three Inch Fools treatment: live music-making, deft physicality and vibrant story-telling. Expect fast-paced drama, plenty of musical instruments and many a quick costume change along the way!
The Further Adventures of Doctor Dolittle – Illyria at Drum Castle
Thursday 22 July
Following the phenomenal success of 2018’s tour of The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle, Illyria delve back into Hugh Lofting’s amazing stories to bring you a brand-new musical adaption of the Doctor’s further adventures with Jip the Dog, Dap Dap the Duck, Gub Gub the Pig and Polynesia the Parrot.
As before, a fully orchestrated score and amazing puppets are featured along with a plethora of songs that our audience will be singing along to for years to come.
Perfect summer fun for everyone age 5+!
Facilities & access
We have an ongoing programme of accessible content development. Detailed accessibility guides for the most visited Trust places are available on our Accessibility pages as well as links to useful resources.
We’d love you to visit the Euan’s Guide website to review the accessibility of Trust places and tell us (and others) what’s good and where we need to do better.
There’s a designated disabled parking area in the main car park and two spaces near the Garden of Historic Roses.
There’s an accessible toilet in the courtyard.
Mary’s Larder tearoom offers a takeaway service at weekends. There is limited outdoor seating available in the castle courtyard.
Dogs are welcome in the grounds but must be kept on a lead while in the car park, near the children’s play areas, in the courtyard and around the castle areas. Dogs are not allowed in the walled garden.
Large-print English information is available in the rooms in the castle.
Car parking is free for members.
Soak up the historical atmosphere whilst picnicking in the grounds.
Buy a range of gifts in the shop.
Toilet facilities are open when the tearoom is open.
The ground floor of the castle, including the shop and tearoom, is accessible for wheelchairs. There’s limited access to the main floor.