Braemar Castle is the only community-led castle in Scotland, and it offers amazing opportunities for heritage volunteering in the wonderful scenery of Braemar! The day-to-day life of the castle has been run and organised by volunteers for the last twelve years, and there are many events throughout the year dependent on our fantastic volunteering community. The success of the castle as a visitor attraction has only been achieved by the commitment and enthusiasm of our volunteers.

“I visited the Braemar Castle last Friday with my fiancé. I just wanted to share with you how great of an experience we had visiting the castle and Braemar as a whole. You all have done such an amazing job with the castle preservation and overall visitor experience. Thank you!” JCF – Castle Visitor 2019

The castle is leased to the community by Invercauld Estate, and like many castles the years have taken their toll on the fabric of the building. Last year we launched a big fundraising project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund – Raising the Standard at Braemar Castle. The project will bring in the funding we need to refurbish the castle and grounds, and to build a robust and resilient framework for volunteering and training to make the most of the amazing opportunities the castle provides. The building will be closed to the public for two years, but we are planning on making the most of our volunteering opportunities as the building is restored. From Hard Hat tours, traditional conservation training and apprenticeships, to training an expert group of special interest volunteers to pack and unpack our collections, there will be a wide range of new activities which will make the castle’s volunteering offer really interesting and ambitious.

We are always delighted to welcome volunteers, most of our regular volunteers come from the small community in Braemar but we love to welcome people from further afield. With our new programme we can greet more new faces and be ready with new volunteering opportunities that a wider range of people can respond to. Anni Stonebridge started in the post of Volunteer and Training Coordinator in May this year, with the job of producing a new volunteering strategy framework and developing the project activity plan - an exciting stage to join a project. We are currently making connections with a range of new exciting partners, including SAMH and the Outdoor Woodland Learning Scheme.

If you would be interested in working with us, or have clients or service users who would benefit from heritage volunteering in beautiful Braemar please get in touch with Anni Stonebridge: braemarcastlevolunteering@gmail.com or Tel: 07766 913595.