📌 Nairn, Highland
★★
Roughly halfway between the sumptuous castles of Cawdor and Brodie lies the considerably humbler Rait Castle. This roofless ruin – technically a hall-house rather than a castle – dates to the 13th century and is reputedly haunted by the handless ghost of the laird’s daughter – whose limbs were cut off as she attempted to escape from the hall following a mass slaughter in 1442. The building has a simple layout centred around an upper hall overlying a basement, with a corner tower containing the owner’s private rooms. Ancillary buildings including the kitchen would have been separate, timber structures, located in the courtyard and enclosed by an outer wall. The site appears to be cared for well, with freshly mown grass on our visit, though there is an ongoing campaign to secure its long term preservation and remove the vegetation growing out of the walls.
🌍 Location
📌 Next to track, off the B9101 3 mi south of Nairn
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NH 894525
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.549418,-3.849876
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Limited verge parking (for a couple of cars only) on minor road bend at 🧭 NH 889530 / 🛰️ 57.553391,-3.858490
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
🔗 saveraitcastle.org – website down at time of update
💬 From the parking spot it’s a 10-min walk (each way) to the castle, continuing slightly uphill on the road / track (⬤ Easy).
