Castle Forbes

For the racehorse, see Castle Forbes (horse).

57.261°N 2.630°W / 57.261; -2.630

Castle Forbes

Castle Forbes is a 19th-century country house in the Scots Baronial style near Alford in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The 6,000-acre (2,400-hectare) Vale of Alford estate has been home to the Lords Forbes and their ancestors for over six hundred years. An earlier house on the site was named Putachie.^[1] The present building overlooking the River Don was built in 1815 by the 17th Lord Forbes, to designs by the architect Archibald Simpson. However, after Simpson encountered structural problems and the original section of the house (from c. 1731) began to crack, Simpson was dismissed and the work was completed by the City Architect of Aberdeen, John Smith.^[2]

Today it is occupied by Malcolm Forbes, 23rd Lord Forbes and is open to residential guests. The estate offers fishing and golf. In 1996, a former dairy building was converted into a small perfumery.

The structure is a category B listed building^[3] and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.^[4]

There is a prehistoric stone circle located to the north of the castle.^[5]