High in a mountain pass between Aberdeen and Grantown. The original castle was built around 1550 by a branch of Clan Forbes. It was typical of contemporary small houses of the gentry throughout the country. Its nucleus was the tall tower house. Above a basement for storage was the family’s main living room, the hall. Their private chambers were above. Around the tower house, within a stout stone courtyard wall, there would have been other buildings, including a stable, bakehouse and brewhouse. The latter have all gone, but the lofty tower still stands. The first reference to the castle at Corgarff spills onto the pages of history in the winter of 1571. That November, Adam Gordon came with his men to Corgarff. He was laird of Auchindoun Castle, in Glen Fiddich, over the mountains to the north, and his plan was to capture Forbes of Towie. The Forbeses and Gordons were often feuding. The laird of Corgarff was away, but Margaret, his wife, was at home and refused them entry. And so the assailants savagely set fire to the castle, burning Margaret, her family and servants to death in the process. In all, 27 people perished. The tragedy is remembered in the old ballad Edom o Gordon. The arrival of the redcoats after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 resulted in the tower house being gutted internally and transformed into soldiers’ barracks. The high stone-vaulted ceiling of the old hall was removed and an extra timber floor inserted, thereby providing accommodation for the commanding officer, three non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and up to 42 men. Outside, the courtyard buildings and surrounding wall were demolished. They were replaced with two single-storey pavilions and the star-shaped wall, equipped with musket-loops, that gives Corgarff its unrivalled appearance. Notes from the current custodians Historic Scotland.