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Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland's great houses and the largest in the Northern Highlands with 189 rooms. Dunrobin Castle is also one of Britain's oldest continuously inhabited houses dating back to the early 1300s, home to the Earls and later, the Dukes of Sutherland. The Castle is on the east coast of the Northern Highlands overlooking the Moray Firth, just north of the villages of Golspie and Dornoch (famous for its cathedral and Royal Dornoch Golf Club), Dunrobin Castle is open annually from 1st April to 15th October and includes a museum, restaurant and tea room, gift shop, gardens and falconry displays.
Dunrobin is a magnificent castle in a magnificent setting. Perched on a high terrace above walled gardens, Dunrobin Castle, with fairytale spires and turrets, rises above the North Sea like an illustration from a storybook. For many seasoned travellers there are few places in the world to match the mountains, moors and beaches of Sutherland. The combination of colour and texture is quite magical. Located a mile north of Golspie in Sutherland on the east coast of the Scottish Highlands, Dunrobin Castle is about an hours drive north of the Highland capital, Inverness.
The gardens were laid out in 1850 by the architect Sir Charles Barry, who was responsible for the Victorian extension to the Castle and who designed the Houses of Parliament. Inspiration came from the Palace of Versailles in Paris, and they have changed little in the 150 years since they were planted, although new plants are constantly being introduced. A visit to the garden is of interest to all, most particularly for the connoisseur of the formal Victorian garden. A visit to the Castle includes daily birds of prey flying demonstrations at 11.30am, and 2.00pm on the Castle lawn. Spectacular shows featuring golden eagles and peregrine falcons, both resident birds in the Scottish Highlands.
