Why the Queen Mother Chose a Crumbling Castle at the Edge of Scotland

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In the summer of 1952, a recently widowed woman was taking a quiet walk near the village of John o’ Groats in Caithness. She came across an old tower house in a state of near-total ruin. The roof was failing, the walls crumbling, the grounds gone to seed. A local told her it was about to be abandoned for good.

She asked how much it would cost to save it.

The woman was Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She had lost her husband, King George VI, just six months earlier. She was grieving and considering a withdrawal from public life. Instead, she bought a crumbling castle at the very top of Scotland — and spent the next fifty years bringing it back to life.

The Castle at the End of the Road

Castle of Mey sits in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland, just a few miles from John o’ Groats. It is the most northerly castle on the British mainland.

On a clear day, you can see the Orkney islands from the castle grounds. The Pentland Firth churns below — one of the most powerful tidal stretches of water in the British Isles. The wind off the Firth is relentless. The landscape is wide, treeless, and quietly extraordinary.

It is not an obvious choice for a personal retreat. That is, perhaps, precisely the point.

A Castle That Was Nearly Lost

The castle dates from the 16th century, originally built as the seat of the Earls of Caithness. It was known for most of its history as Barrogill Castle. By the early 20th century, it had passed through several owners and fallen into serious disrepair.

When the Queen Mother first saw it in 1952, it had been on the market for years with no serious buyers. The roof was in danger of collapse. The grounds were overgrown. Local people assumed it would simply be demolished.

Scotland has no shortage of castles with remarkable stories — but Castle of Mey is different. Most were saved by institutions, trusts, or wealthy industrialists. This one was saved by a person who simply loved it.

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Fifty Years of Returning

The Queen Mother undertook a careful restoration of the castle and its grounds. She renamed it back to its original name: Castle of Mey. She planted windbreaks in the walled garden to shelter the beds from the Firth’s relentless gales. She filled the rooms with paintings, china, and objects she loved.

She visited every August for fifty years, until her death in 2002. Locals became used to seeing her at the local shops, at the John o’ Groats Highland Games, walking the castle grounds in the early morning. She knew the estate staff by name. She stopped to talk to visitors in the lane.

It became, by all accounts, the place where she felt most at ease.

What the Castle Is Like Today

Castle of Mey is now open to the public between late May and early October. The Castle of Mey Trust, established before the Queen Mother’s death, manages the property and maintains it as she left it.

The rooms feel lived-in rather than museum-like. Her personal belongings are still in place — her books, her china, her garden tools in the potting shed. There is something quietly affecting about walking through a home that was loved so personally for so long.

The walled garden is particularly striking in summer, sheltered and carefully tended, full of vegetables and flowers that somehow thrive against the Caithness wind. The castle also hosts the Mey Highland and Country Games each August — a tradition she started herself. Prince Charles continues to visit each year, maintaining the pattern she set.

If you are planning a longer trip through the north, the drive from Inverness to Caithness takes you through some of Scotland’s most dramatic and undervisited countryside.

Planning Your Visit to Castle of Mey

Castle of Mey sits on the A836 between Thurso and John o’ Groats, making it a natural stop on the North Coast 500 route. Thurso is the nearest town, around 13 miles to the west. Wick, with a small airport and train station, is about 18 miles to the south.

Combine a visit with Dunnet Head — the actual most northerly point of the British mainland — or drive the dramatic coastline east toward Duncansby Head and its sea stacks. The area rewards slow travel.

Caithness is also surprisingly close to Orkney. A short ferry from Gill’s Bay or John o’ Groats connects you to the islands, making this corner of Scotland a logical start or end point for a longer northern journey. You might also consider crossing over to Eilean Donan Castle on the return south — another castle rescued from ruin, on the opposite coast.

When is Castle of Mey open to visitors?

Castle of Mey is open to the public from late May through late September, with some variation each year. The grounds and garden are often accessible on days when the main castle is closed. Check the Castle of Mey Trust website before travelling, particularly if visiting outside peak season.

How do I get to Castle of Mey from Inverness?

From Inverness, Castle of Mey is around 120 miles north, roughly a 2.5-hour drive via the A9 and A99 through Wick, or slightly longer via the scenic A836 through Tongue. There is no direct public transport — a hire car is the most practical option for exploring Caithness.

Is Castle of Mey worth visiting if I am not interested in royal history?

Yes. The castle is a genuinely beautiful historic building with a walled garden, dramatic coastal views, and a strong sense of place. The personal story behind it is compelling even for visitors with no particular interest in the Royal Family — it is, at its heart, a story about rescue, loyalty, and love for Scotland.

There are very few places in Scotland that hold their history as gently as Castle of Mey does. Most castles tell you about power, war, or dynasty. This one tells you about belonging.

Scotland has a way of pulling people back. It pulled one person to the very top of the country every summer for fifty years. Whatever she found at Castle of Mey — peace, connection, something harder to name — the castle still holds it.

If you get the chance to stand in that walled garden with the Pentland Firth behind you and the wind in your face, you may begin to understand why she never stopped coming back.

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