The staff were great - really friendly and knowledgeable. The castle itself is beautiful and it was great to get a glimpse of how the other half live! Grounds very nice too. Special mention for the cafe which was lovely. We were there on a sunny day and enjoyed coffee and very good cake on the lawn. Highly recommend the castle and gardens to all.

The gardens, grounds and castle are beautiful. The cafe coffee and cakes were delicious. You could spend a day here walking about, picnicking and soaking in the beautiful countryside where Ballindalloch resides. The staff were very kind and made us feel so welcome. We enjoyed the few hours we spent there. Kids would have a blast in their well thought out play area.

While staying in Inverness, we had a day where we really didn’t have plans. We knew we wanted to go to Speyside region of Scotland about an hour from Inverness. Known for many great distilleries including Glen Levit. That was in Ballindalloch. We saw that there was the Ballidaloch castle 10 minutes away from the distillery. So we felt that that would make for a well rounded and not only whisky focused trip. That Castle and garden were so much more than we expected. We had tea and lunch in the Castle courtyard cafe. Walked the grounds in the gardens, which were amazing. But walking through the self guided tour of the castle itself felt all of Downton Abbey. This was an amazingly well kept family home where the current Lord and lady still live with their three daughters. During the tour, we walked thru easily 50% of the rooms and got to see lots of family photos and from the introductory video we got to recognize quite a few family members. There was a family portrait of the Lord and his family and a picture of him at age 14 as a royal attendant at Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding ! We noted several photographs that were personalized and autographed by the queen mother. Which we found interesting. After leaving the castle, we decided to go to the Ballindaloch distillery about 2 miles away. And who was leading the tours but the former lady of the castle and mother of the current lord. Lady Clare Russell and her husband. They were an amazing, engaging couple, who, for her part, Claire had lived in the castle since age 4. we received so much history of both the distillery and the castle from the people who live there. She literally took 15 minutes after the tour visiting with us When asked about all the pictures, we found out the Queen mother and Lady Clare were great friends and Lady Clare was on the queens mother’s staff for many years. As an event planner and a floral designer. If you can get on one of the tours with them leading it, it is a chance of a lifetime. The staff at the distillery and the castle were wonderfully welcoming. We took what was going to be a one hour stop and turned it into three hour adventure between the castle and the distillery Cannot recommend it any higher If you can get on one of the tours with them on it .

Beautiful castle and grounds. Lovely to see inside the Castle especially as the family still live there. Like the fact that you can wander round at your own pace and the information sheets in each room were full of information. The garden to the side was ablaze with colour. The walled garden was so neat and tidy and come the summer with all the roses out will be worth seeing. . . Beautiful walks too. The cafe was lovely too, friendly staff and served promptly. . . along with good food.

This was the first day we arrived in Speyside and after being picked up from the Aviemore station, on our way to the Craigellachie Hotel, we went past this beautiful castle. As we still have most of the afternoon free, we decided to visit after check in. First surprise for us at the gateway where we purchased our entrance tickets was that the staff there has lived in Hong Kong previously and we had a brief chat about the places when he was there... small world indeed. The castle exhibited rooms and collections of the owners who still live in the castle. No photos were allowed inside to respect the privacy of the family but the tour was absolutely pleasant and it is interesting to see those rooms with different themes where some still remained in its original layout from the past. We also had a good meal at the Courtyard cafe which serves simple yet delicious sandwiches. There is also a souvenir section where you can get some small items to remember this place. Definitely recommend if you are within this area.

Lovely unplanned visit during a stay at Carr bridge. We were supposed to be going to Cawdor and came across Ballindalloch. It was great surprise to find a real fairy tale castle in such a beautiful setting. The gardens are interesting and well maintained every where has a personal touch making such a difference from other stately homes we have been to. Blessed with good weather we did the river walk, again well maintained and most enjoyable. Very nice tearoom with friendly staff the audio film worth watching giving a good overview in about ten minutes. This lovely place is well worth a visit it has such a comfortable homely feeling about it. Sorry we never saw the interior but as we are rather elderly we ran out of steam. Many thanks for our four hour visit.

Expectations were not that high but decided to stop on-route elsewhere. Congratulations to the current owner on providing visitors to not only an insight to their “modernised” castle/home full of history but the wider estate including lovely grounds/gardens and a new distillery. Make sure you watch the informative AudioVideo presentation before exploring the house and grounds.

My third time visiting the area but first time at Ballindalloch Castle. I can't believe l haven't been before now. What a fabulous place. The grounds are just immaculate, the gardens stunning and the castle so historical. The castle tour is done in your own time and the information sheets in every room tell you everything you need to know. The rooms were just stunning. It's so nice that this is a lived in property with the owners in their own quarters. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. The river walk was on the flat and really easy to just saunter along and take in the views. The cafe provided a very enjoyable coffee and delicious cakes to end our visit. The toilets were amazing! Well done to everyone involved.

From the tree lined drive in, the rose covered estate cottages, and the fragrant and peaceful walled garden the grounds of Ballindalloch Castle are a joy. The Walled Garden tho clearly designed and planned, feels relaxed and in this month incredibly fragrant. A beautiful array of roses for you to swoon over and maybe think I could do some of this at home in my garden! We didn't realise there was a plan available for the garden until we visited the shop & cafe later - would have been helpful to have it on arrival at the gate or be directed to the shop first. Cafe was excellent- delicious panini and a coffee and reasonably priced too. Will definitely visit again and go in the Castle next time.

We walked the lovely dog walk first then left her in the car under the big tree and visited the house. It was beautiful, not too big, furnishing and furniture just right and lots of rooms to see, all equally charming. History was aplenty too, including medals, in fact interest for both of us and free to enjoy and wander both house and outstanding gardens - highlight of our Scottish trip!