Castle of Mey

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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother first saw what was then Barrogill Castle in 1952, while mourning the death of her husband, King George VI.

Falling for its isolated charm and hearing it was to be abandoned, she decided to save it.

Having acquired the most northerly inhabited castle on the British mainland, The Queen Mother renovated and restored it and created the beautiful gardens you see today. For almost half a century she spent many happy summers here and shorter visits at other times of the year.

The Castle and Gardens of Mey have held Visit Scotland's highest award of a 5 Star quality assurance grading every year since their first unannounced visit in 2007. Their annual assessments include all aspects of the castle, gardens, animal centre, gift shop and tearoom. This is a great accolade for the castle and visitor centre, and well-earned recognition for all the hard work and enthusiasm of the staff.

Open
The Castle and Visitor Centre will open for Easter on 22/25 April 2011, inclusive.

Normal opening times for The Castle and Gardens of Mey will be from 1 May to 30 September 2011 inclusive but will be closed from 28 July to 8 August inclusive.

The castle is open every day from 9.20 am until last admission at 4.00 pm.

The visitor centre, tearoom, shop, grounds and animal centre are open every day during the normal season.

Private garden tours starting at 4.00 pm with the Head Gardener are available on 6 and 14 July, 17 and 25 August and 7 September 2011 at £8.50 per person. These tours must be booked and paid for in advance.