Castle of Mey

The Castle of Mey (formerly Barrogill Castle) is in dramatic situation in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland, about 6 miles west of John o' Groats. In fine weather there are views from the castle north to the Orkney Islands.

The Castle of Mey was built in the 16th century on the site of an earlier fortification by George Sinclair, the 4th Earl of Caithness.

The castle was in a semi-derelict state when, in 1952, it and its estate were purchased by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the widow of King George VI of the United Kingdom, who had died earlier in the year. The Queen Mother set about restoring the castle for use as a holiday home. She regularly visited it in August and October from 1955 until her death in 2002 (the last visit being in October 2001).

In July 1996 The Queen Mother made the property, the policies and the farm over to the "Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust", which has opened the castle and garden to the public regularly since her death. It is now open seven days a week from 1st May until 30th September each year with a closed period of ten days at the end of July and the beginning of August, when Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay usually stay at Mey. The Trust opened a stunning new Visitors Centre in early 2007 and the visitor numbers for that year topped 29,000, consolidating its position as one of the most important attractions in the North of Scotland.

Ghost

The castle is reputedly haunted by The Green Lady, ghost of the daughter of George, 5th Earl of Caithness, Elizabeth Sinclair. Having fallen in love with a local ploughman, the unhappy girl was imprisoned in the castle attic by her angry father and, in a fit of despair, she threw herself from a window.Fact|date=February 2007

External links

* [http://www.castleofmey.org.uk Official site: Castle and Garden of Mey]