I visited the castle and grounds on a beautifully sunny May Day with three friends. The gardens are lovely especially with the mountain backdrop. However I was terribly disappointed in the castle and self guided tour. I love history and like touring National trust places etc., but the tour here and what's on display is bizarrely reverential about the Atthol family and doesn't touch on social history for example. Who were the local "normal" people who maintained and kept the castle going? They don't get a mention. The history reported was very lopsided - nothing about how the family's acres were expanded via the Highland clearances / enclosure of lands for example. The Atthols - apart from being born into privilege - hadn't done much to excite. An exception was "Red Kitty" who married in. Nothing about stewardship of the land and what's happening now with regard to the environment. They could do a lot here with all of those but instead it's tartan / stag's head fest about a dull bunch!

Great place to visit as the castle is full of history and the gardens are beautiful, There is so much to see and to do. Loved the piper who plays on the full hour. Well organized and value for money. The restaurant was busy and food was nice but the coffee could be improved.

Nice castle and gardens with the split gardens of the tall tree park and the kept gardens in different areas. The castle itself is nice outside but unless you have an interest in the history of the family who lived here it is fairly dull. The experience seemed overpriced for 4 people and the staff on entry did not come across well. Would never go back would struggle to recommend visiting to anyone other than those with interest in history. To a place for a random visit

We were staying at Blair Athol caravan park which gave free access to gardens and a £5 entrance to castle what a treat. Both gardens and castle are lovely , we didn’t use audio guide but there was plenty of information. Less endearing was the cafe , do it yourself machine coffee was rubbish . OK it’s a modern building so can’t be a cosy cafe but try to make it welcoming. When I put my head through the door at 1600 to see if they sold icecream a member of staff shut the doors in my face a “we’re closing now” would have been polite.

This beautiful place is NOT dog friendly! Most historic houses now provide a covered area in which you can sit with your dog and eat snacks purchased from an on-site cafe. Not this place. The very large stone flagged area to the side of the café is empty bar a few chairs presumably for people to sit on to watch their poor dogs tied up outside the window. There are not even seats or picnic benches outside to sit on in the rain! What a wasted opportunity. I would say to anybody who owns a dog do not visit the castle in inclement weather, you are not welcome.

Superb castle in a stunning location . Staff were friendly and there’s a lot to see . We arrived late in the day and it was VERY busy which meant we were pushed around the tour by the pressure of people behind us . Felt like we missed the experience as a result so I’d suggest visiting at quieter times if you can find one . Our experience wasn’t great mainly down to other visitors and I think numbers should be limited which would help the enjoyment a lot

The castle is outstanding; gives a great idea on how it is/was used. The self guided tour is very easy to follow and there are guides throughout the castle to provide extra information. We felt that we could take our time and also take photos.

The castle is beautiful but there are two problems for me. 1. Cars park right in front of the castle so one cant take a really nice photo or video of the castle 2. No videos inside. This is something rediculous what I will never understand. What is a difference between a photo and video. The owner should be happy the turists come and pay.

Went here as a side trip. I would describe the place as more of a manor house than a castle. It was really an interesting place to visit. They had someone playing bagpipes while were there. The estate had lovely grounds and a great walled garden. It's the kind of place where you'd love to have a picnic on the grounds.

This is a fabulous place to visit. The castle is very good but you do need to be able to climb up and down a large number of steps. Katerina and Barrie in the castle reception were extremely helpful and personable. The gardens are beautiful and worth the short walk to them. The piper on the bag pipes is fantastic and worth watching, if you have the time I only gave a 4 star rating as the restaurant was closed when visited and we were not informed of this, otherwise I would have given a 5 star rating.