Findlater Castle
On the coast between Cullen and Sandend approximately 20 miles from Gardenstown are the ruins of Findlater Castle, perched precariously on an outcrop of rock.
Findlater Castle sits in a romantic position on a 50-foot (15 m)-high cliff overlooking the Moray Firth on the coast of Banff and Buchan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This once extensive fortress stood on a lofty detached rock, entirely surrounded by the sea, except where a narrow isthmus joins it to the mainland... On the mainland the approach to the castle is defended by an intrenched area, having a ditch and rampart, 240ft by 140ft. The isthmus forming the access is cut across by two ditches, which no doubt were provided with drawbridges. Beyond this the ruins of the castle indicate several towers which command the approach. The area of the rock is about 180 feet by 80 feet and has been surrounded by buildings of which only the vaulted basement on the west side now remains. This part of the structure has been built up from a lower part of the rock to the level of the courtyard, and beneath this vault there is a still deeper chamber, partly hewn out of the rock.
The name originates from the place Findlater, first recorded in the Exchequer Rolls in 1246. The name is Norse, fyn being white and leitr cliff, so called because there is quartz in the rock. King Alexander III, anticipating in the early 1260s an invasion by King Hako of Norway, ordered that the royal castles of Aberdeen, Banff and Cullen and the baronial castles of Dunnottar, Slains, Dundarg, Boyne and Findlater should be inspected and repaired. There would appear to be no remains of that thirteenth century castle, as the Vikings subsequently occupied the site for some time. Sir John Sinclair of Findlater, who died in 1411 at the battle of Harlaw, which ended the Earl of Ross’ rebellion, is probably the builder of the present structure. In 1546 Sir Alexander Ogilvie disinherited his son and signed the property over to Sir John Gordon, son of the Earl of Huntly. James Ogilvie, the disinherited son, was keen to get his lands back and used his influence as Steward to Queen Mary’s household to try and settle the matter. When, in 1562, Sir John Gordon refused to surrender the castle and grant entrance to Mary, Queen of Scots, she sent a company of troops to seize it. They were defeated by Sir John Gordon, but he in turn was defeated at the Battle of Corrichie, and taken to Aberdeen where he was beheaded. The castle was returned to the Ogilvies, but they abandoned it soon after 1600 when they moved to a new home in Cullen.
The castle is clearly modelled on Roslyn Castle, which was the principal stronghold of the Sinclair family. Thus Findlater Castle would date from the end of the fourteenth century, being built after Roslyn.
The castle is in a very dramatic and picturesque setting. The buildings on the west side of the castle area are in a very ruinous and dangerous condition, the walls still standing to an average height of c.20m from within. On the east side of the area only the outline of the stables and chapel can be traced