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This is a picture of Corgarff Castle which stands in a particularly wild and lonely location at the head of Strathdon. Reputed to be haunted (aren't all of Scotlands Castles) it lies in the shadow of the high northern slopes of the Cairngorm plateau.

Through much of its history Corgarff has been of strategic importance, guarding the quickest route from Deeside to Speyside, a route later followed by the military road from Blairgowrie to Fort George. The castle is thought to have been built in about 1550 by John Forbes of Towie and would initially have comprised a tower house set within a walled enclosure. The tower house itself would have been similar to the structure in the above picture. However, the surrounding wall would have been very much simpler and probably rectangular in plan. Converted for use as a barracks for Hanoverian troops after Culloden, its last military use was as a base to control the smuggling of illicit whisky in the early 19th century.