Pink Scottish castle that inspired Walt Disney restored to full glory

'Beautiful’ Craigievar Castle in Aberdeenshire stuns again following conservation job.

Its fairytale feel is said to have inspired Walt Disney in his depictions of castles in his fantastical animations.

Now Craigievar Castle in Aberdeen stuns once again following an extensive restoration that has enhanced its vivid pink colour scheme.

The 17th-century fortified country house, with its turrets and gargoyles, turned pink in the 1820s when the owner, Aberdeen merchant Sir John Forbes, changed the colour from off-white to pink to compliment the shade of granite used in the structure.

Craigievar Castle stands proudly pink following once again after it was painted in a "top secret" limewash mix. PIC: Nick Bramhall /Flickr/CC

Following extensive conservation work by the National Trust of Scotland, which has owned the property since the 1960s, multiple coats of a secret limewash mix have been added to refresh the colours scheme.

Stonemason Steven Harper told BBC Scotland: “There’s around three pigments we put in for the Craigievar pink. But I can’t go into the details because the recipe is top secret."

The colour refresh follows the 2009 replacement of harling at the castle to help treat a long-standing problem of damp in the structure.

Gille Young, NTS regional conservator, said: "It’s really important we look after this castle. If we look after the building, then the collections inside are looked after as well.

“It’s going to be really positive, particularly for the local community who look up from the main road and see this beautiful pink castle, which glows at the best of times.”

The building of Craigievar was started by the Mortimers in the late 16th century, but due to debt it was sold to the Forbes family in the early 17th century, who then completed the building in 1626.

The seven-storey tower house is elaborately decorated, with turrets, gables, a weather cock, weather spouts and grotesque masks which conceal shot holes.