VISITORS to Craigievar Castle, in Aberdeenshire, can now see the building as it appeared in the past.

The conservation charity, the National Trust for Scotland, has just completed a two-year project to replace a concrete-based harling applied during the castle’s last facelift in the Seventies with a traditional lime-based alternative.

And the replacement harl, which is made with lime mortar from natural earth pigments, has now returned the 17th Century castle to what experts think would have been its original colour of shocking pink.

“It would be fair to say that visitors to the castle will notice a change,” said project manager Ian Davidson. “While the previous harl gave the building a reddish-orange appearance, the new lime coat means the castle is now noticeably pinker than before. We believe this is a close copy of the colour used on the castle in the past.

“Another benefit of the new lime mortar, as well as protecting the castle for many years to come, is that it will enable the castle to breathe. We now know that covering the building with a cementbased coating trapped water inside the walls and increased dampness and humidity inside.”

The £500,000 project to reharl Craigievar began in November, 2007. The building has been closed to the public and completely encased in scaffolding since that time.

The work confirmed an intriguing fact – that Craigievar, built in the 17th Century, was constructed over the top of a 16th Century castle.

Originally built by the Catholic Mortimer family, Craigievar took on its modern shape when bought by staunch Calvinist William Forbes in 1610.

Forbes carried out radical changes to the building, demolishing the chapel and building an extra storey with water spouts, decorative cannons and sculpted heads.

Craigievar Castle will reopen to the public in spring. The garden and grounds continue to remain open throughout the winter.