Visit Slains Castle
Located on the coast of Cruden Bay this is one of Scotland’s most famous castle ruins, and was used by Bram Stoker as the inspiration for the castle in his fiction tale, “Dracula.” In the years since Erroll’s castle was built in 1597, it has been rebuilt many times. William Hay (the 18th Earl of Errol) married the daughter of King William IV, who allowed the Hay family to prosper for many years in Cruden Bay. With time, the Hay family fell upon hard times, and in 1919 the castle and contents were sold to Sir John Ellerman. For tax-evasion purposes, the roof of the castle was removed in 1925.
