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Castle Fraser accessibility guide
One of Scotland’s tallest tower houses with an impressive collection of portraits, Castle Fraser sits in the grounds of a 120ha estate which includes two waymarked trails, a play area and a walled garden.
Welcome
Contact for accessibility enquiries: Alice Matthews, Visitor Services Manager
Email: castlefraser@nts.org.uk
Tel: 01330 833463
The walled garden has relatively level paths and can be accessed without steps from the gate closest to the main car park. The castle entrance is on the ground floor but the majority of the rooms are split across 6 floors only accessed by a steep spiral staircase. The castle shop, tearoom and toilets are on the ground floor of the castle and are accessed from the gravel courtyard.
At a glance
There is level access to:
- The castle entrance
- The shop
- The tearoom
- The walled garden
Getting here
Castle Fraser
Sauchen
Inverurie
Aberdeenshire
AB51 7LD
Castle Fraser is 4 miles north of Dunecht and 16 miles west of Aberdeen.
By car
From Aberdeen, take the A96 towards Inverness. After approximately 11 miles, follow the signs for the B994 to Kemnay. After passing through Kemnay, turn right towards the village of Craigearn. After passing through Craigearn, follow the brown signs for Castle Fraser.
Sat-navs will often direct cars through Dunecht and will instruct to turn right down a driveway which is signposted as No Through Road. Do not turn down this road but continue towards Craigearn and Kemnay, where you will see the brown Castle Fraser signs directing you to the main driveway.
The main driveway down to the castle is smooth tarmac, with one speed bump close to the main car park.
By public transport
The nearest bus stop to Castle Fraser is located on the B993 approximately 2.5 miles from Castle Fraser. The 220 from Aberdeen and the 421 from Inverurie stop here.
Check the 220 service timetable
Check the 421 service timetable
Accessible blue badge parking
Castle
There is a dedicated blue badge car park 18m from the front door of the castle. This can be found by driving past the main car park on the drive and following it downhill towards the castle.
The road then bends sharply around to the right and a left turn appears shortly after the castle. Follow this driveway around to the front of the castle and the blue badge parking is signposted on the left.
Toilets, shop and tearoom (in the Castle Courtyard)
The closest blue badge parking for these facilities is the main car park, which has 3 dedicated bays. It is a 223m walk from the main car park to these facilities. Alternatively, there is a car dropping off point just at the entrance to the courtyard, but cars cannot be parked in this location.
Busy periods
If the blue badge bays are occupied we will always try to find somewhere suitable for you to park. Unfortunately, we are not able to reserve parking spaces ahead of time. If you require assistance from a staff member to find suitable parking space, please call 01330 833463.
Dogs
Assistance dogs are welcome throughout the estate and inside the castle. On the wider estate, dogs are welcome but must be kept on leads and under close control. Areas of the estate have grazing sheep and cattle as well as nesting birds.
Mobile signal
There is generally good mobile reception at our main car park and on the wider estate. In an emergency between 9am–5pm, please ring 01330 833463. If you receive no answer or the emergency occurs outside of these times, please call 999.
Signal is very limited inside the castle but there are staff and volunteers positioned at key points who have the use of radios, which can be used to raise the alarm in the event of an emergency.
Facilities
Toilets
The castle courtyard has two disabled access toilets (one with baby-changing facilities).
- Door width is 83cm and there is a small, low incline ramp downwards into the toilets.
- Room size is 142cm width, 204cm length.
Babies
We have a room available for breastfeeding on the first floor of the castle – please ask a member of staff for details.
Shop
The shop is accessed from the castle courtyard and is 230m from the main car park. The driveway down from the car park is smooth tarmac, and there is a section of gravel in the castle courtyard.
- One door has two steps and the other has ramp access. The door width is 83cm.
- The till point does not have an induction loop
- There is circulation space of over 2.5m.
- The counter height is 87cm.
Staff are available to assist with any objects too high or heavy to reach and can provide price information for items.
Tearoom
The tearoom is accessed from the castle courtyard and is 248m from the main car park. The driveway down from the car park is smooth tarmac, and there is a section of gravel in the castle courtyard.
- The main entrance to the tearoom has 3 steps.
- Alternative access to the tearoom is available on request from the front door of the castle to avoid the steps. This entrance is 18m from the blue badge parking area at the front of the castle.
- The counter height is 71cm.
- The till point does not have an induction loop.
- The door width is 95cm from the courtyard, or 85cm from the front of the castle.
- There is circulation space of at least 1 metre.
Staff are available to assist with any price enquiries and the carrying of items.
Getting around the castle
- The ticket desk is accessed from the front door of the castle.
- The front door is 18m from the blue badge parking area: 10m of smooth tarmac and 8m of gravel.
- The castle is 400m from the main car park: 392m of smooth tarmac and 8m of gravel.
- The front door has a width of 191cm and has no steps.
- The ticket desk counter height is 72cm.
- The till point does not have an induction loop.
- Staff are available to help with price enquiries.
- There is no wheelchair access beyond the entrance hall due to spiral staircases.
- The main staircases have fixed handrails. Please note that the first 10 steps from the entrance to the Great Hall have a rope handrail.
- Rooms in Castle Fraser are split across 6 floors with steep but level spiral staircases. Red chairs are positioned across the floors for visitors to sit/rest.
- Many of the rooms have sound playing from speakers. This can be switched off on request – please just speak to a member of staff on the day or call 01330 833463 to arrange ahead of your visit.
- Lighting can be low in certain rooms due to controlled light levels for the collection.
Getting around the walled garden
- The main gate to the garden is free from steps.
- The main gate width is 89cm.
- An alternative gate to the garden can be opened on request, which also has no steps but is wider, at 111cm.
- The bottom garden gate (nearest the castle) has 2 steps.
- The outer circuit of the walled garden is a relatively level path with a very slight gradient.
- The main path in the walled garden has a width of 150cm.
Getting around the estate
Castle Fraser is surrounded by a 120ha estate of managed parkland.
- The main driveway can be used to access both the walled garden and the castle.
- The path to the play area has a width of 169cm and can be slightly rough in places.
- There are two waymarked walks on the estate: Miss Bristow’s (yellow marker, 1¼ miles) and Alton Brae (red marker, 1½ miles).
- Both waymarked walks have muddy sections with tree roots. The red trail has steep sections and several steps.
- Detailed route information for both waymarked trails can be found on the Castle Fraser web page as well as in the map leaflets available on site.
Guide last updated: March 2022