Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire is an imposing baronial castle (parts of which may date back to the fifteenth century), and it was the ancestral home of the Fraser family. As you venture through the castle and up to the round tower, with its panoramic views of the gardens and estate beyond, you get a sense of life from the medieval to the Victorian period. Although the main part of the castle was completed around 1636, there were several alterations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It retains the atmosphere of a family home with portraits, furniture and mementos. Highlights include the fifteenth century Great Hall, a library filled with family books, and the grand Worked Room featuring eighteenth-century embroideries. The estate has two easily followed trails, taking you through a mixture of parkland, farmland and woodland, before opening out to give views of Bennachie.