Winter Wonders and Spring Delights at Blair Castle

Blair Castle is delighted to announce a fantastic line up of events to fill your winter with wonder and your spring with delight. In addition to daily tours of the castle and the extensive gardens and grounds there will be spooky Halloween tractor rides, a festive choral and carol concert, a snowdrop festival and literary performances as part of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s annual Winter Words festival. Blair Castle will also be open for the very first time over the Christmas holiday period, Tuesday 28 to Friday 31 December, 10am to 3pm.
The calendar commences in September with Scottish Food Fortnight celebrating Scotland’s larder with a specially designed five-course menu for £16.95 per person in the castle’s Tullibardine Restaurant. Then budding antique hunters can bring their own family heirlooms to be valued by the experts at the filming of the BBC Antiques Roadshow in the private gardens to the rear of Blair Castle on Thursday 9 September. The castle will then play host to the prestigious annual Glenfiddich Piping and Fiddling competitions as well as a concert from Perthshire Amber favourite Dougie MacLean and piping sensations The Fred Morrison Trio.
There will also be plenty for the younger members of the family to enjoy throughout the month of October. Activities include daily children’s tours of the castle, the great Castle Detective Challenge, a treasure hunt in the castle grounds, and dressing up as knights and princesses in the castle ballroom. There’s also Halloween fun with Tractor Spooktacular, a chilling vintage tractor and trailer ride through the creepy night-time castle grounds. Following your tractor ride, step inside the dimly-lit castle ballroom for a story to make your hair stand on end!

During November and December, the castle will be transformed as we prepare for Christmas. Marvel at the exquisitely decorated castle and experience the grandeur of the State Dining Room set for a Victorian festive banquet. Visitors are invited to explore the castle through the historic tale of the 7th Duke’s family preparing for Christmas and spot a succession of delightful elves along the way! To complete the Christmas mood, Pitlochry District Choral Society return for a second Choral and Carol concert in the magnificent setting of Blair Castle’s Ballroom. Blair Castle and gardens will also be opening for the very first time during Christmas week. Visitors are warmly invited to come along, Tuesday 28 to Friday 31 December, 10am to 3pm.

As the thaw begins the gardens will become an exquisite carpet of snowdrops providing a meandering walk through the Hercules Garden and weaving along to St Brides Kirk. The castle will be filled with spring flowers including daffodils and hyacinths, and will be offering morning teas, coffees and cakes as well as light lunches within the Ballroom, the perfect day out for Mother’s Day on 3rd April.

Throughout the season Blair Castle Woodland Lodges and Atholl Estates historic lodges offer the perfect base to enjoy the range of activities available whether it is for a weekend break or a week’s holiday. Meanwhile, the five-star Blair Castle Caravan Park provides various accommodation options and a host of amenities until the end of November (re-opening 28 February 2011).

For further information on any of the activities or events please log on to www.blair-castle.co.uk. For further information about accommodation on Atholl Estates, please visit www.atholl-estates.co.uk.


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Events Calendar
Scottish Food Fortnight – Saturday 4 to Sunday 19 September
BBC Antiques Roadshow – Thursday 9 September
Half-term Fun – Saturday 2 to Friday 29 October
Tractor Spooktacular – Friday 15 & 22 October
Glenfiddich Piping Championships – Saturday 30 October
Glenfiddich Fiddling Championships – Sunday 31 October
Dougie MacLean in concert – Monday 1 November
The Christmas Castle – Tuesday 2 November to Friday 31 December
Christmas Choral and Carol Concert – Sunday 12 December
Festive Opening – Tuesday 28 to Friday 31 December, 10am to 3pm
Snowdrop Festival – Tuesday 1 February to Tuesday 15 March
Winter Words – in February, Blair Castle will host two performances as part of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s annual literary series. Please visit www.blair-castle.co.uk/events for updates.
Refreshments in the Ballroom – Saturdays 5, 12, & 19 March
Mothering Sunday Refreshments in the Ballroom – Sunday 3 April