Castle of Mey

01 / The documented castle

A Sinclair stronghold on the northern coast

Mey lies in the historic county of Caithness, within today’s Highland council area. George, fourth Earl of Caithness, built the castle for the Sinclair family. Historic Environment Scotland dates its beginnings probably to 1566–72. The house later became known as Barrogill Castle, a name that still appears in older histories and family records.

The projecting tower, corner turrets and narrow gun openings preserve the character of a fortified house. Yet the exterior also records centuries of adaptation. William Burn designed the entrance porch and hall in 1819, using rounded arches beneath the more defensive-looking skyline. The western dining-room wing belongs to the Queen Mother’s restoration in the 1950s.

This is a layered building: sixteenth-century masonry, later domestic improvements and twentieth-century repairs share the same frontage. The castle and garden walls have been Category A listed since 1971. Look for the Queen Mother’s crest, carved by Hew Lorimer, above the western dining-room window: a small feature marking one of the house’s most consequential changes of ownership.

02 / Rescue and renewal

The Queen Mother’s northern home

In 1952, while staying near Dunnet Head, the Queen Mother saw Barrogill in poor condition and bought it. She restored the name Castle of Mey and began repairing the house, gardens and parkland. The official history dates the main restoration to 1953–55. Her visits subsequently settled into a familiar rhythm, with stays in August and a shorter return in October.

Mey became a place to return to, with a working estate beyond the rooms and gardens. The Queen Mother bought nearby Longoe Farm in 1958. Today, the Trust’s purposes still include preserving its Aberdeen Angus cattle and North Country Cheviot sheep, alongside the buildings and their history.

The arrangements for Mey’s future began during her lifetime. She transferred the property to a charitable trust in 1996, accompanied by an endowment. The Trust’s founding deed is dated 11 June that year. Its aims include education and benefit to the local community, giving this former private retreat a continuing public role.

03 / The coastal setting

Growing a garden against the wind

The sea helps explain the garden. Mey stands only about 400 yards from the shore, exposed to wind and salt. The twelve-foot Great Wall of Mey provides shelter, allowing the enclosed ground to offer a very different experience from the open coast. It is a practical structure as well as a memorable name.

The gardens continue to change. The estate’s gardening account describes renewed hedges, gravel paths, sheltered seating and planting intended to carry interest through more of the season. Where possible, produce grown here supplies the tearoom. These details connect the garden to the daily work of the estate.

One feature needs care when following the ghost story. The official history says the monument now called Lady Fanny’s Seat was originally erected as a tribute to Charles John Canning. Its later name is therefore no straightforward memorial proving the events of Fanny’s legend.

04 / The haunting tradition

Lady Fanny and the forbidden match

The Green Lady is usually identified as Lady Fanny, an earl’s daughter whose love for a working man brings her into conflict with her father. The story places her upstairs in the castle, separated from her lover, before a fatal fall from a window. Her presence is then said to remain in the house.

Martin Coventry’s Castles of Scotland gives a specific version: Fanny is a daughter of George, fifth Earl of Caithness, and her lover is a ploughman. Her father confines her in an attic room, and she takes her own life. Coventry identifies the resulting apparition as the Green Lady.

Royal Central’s 2015 account instead makes her the fourteenth Earl’s daughter and the young man a stablehand. It includes differing versions of their separation. The emotional shape survives, but the family generation and circumstances change substantially.

05 / Following the name

The Fanny recorded in the peerage

A contemporary family entry gives us a firmer starting point for the later version. Debrett’s Illustrated Peerage of 1876 lists James Sinclair, fourteenth Earl of Caithness, and his living daughter, Fanny Georgiana Elizabeth, born in 1854. This places that Fanny securely in the nineteenth century. Coventry’s fifth Earl belongs to a much earlier generation.

The same entry describes James as an inventor associated with a road steam engine and a gravitation compass. It lists Barrogill Castle among his seats. That detail restores something of the family’s actual world: the house was part of Victorian life, with interests and ambitions extending well beyond the old tower.

The record establishes a daughter’s name and parentage; it does not describe confinement, a forbidden relationship or a fatal fall. No contemporary account confirming those events was located for this guide. We can recognise a historical Fanny while leaving the connection between her life and the haunting tradition unresolved.

06 / Reported experiences

A presence on the upper floor

Royal Central’s 2015 article also describes visitors sensing a presence, doors closing and lights going out. It names guide Katy Henderson as someone who recounts the legend and says some staff are uneasy about the upper floor. The article does not identify her as a witness to those particular experiences.

These are published descriptions of reports, without dated encounter accounts, recordings or an investigation log supplied alongside them. That limits what we can reconstruct about individual incidents. The setting and tradition are compelling, but the person represented by the Green Lady, and the causes of the reported disturbances, remain open questions.

07 / Planning a visit

Check the season and the access you need

For 2026, the official season runs from 1 May to 30 September, Wednesday to Sunday, with a complete closure from 24 July to 11 August inclusive. Castle admission starts at 11am, with last admission at 3pm. The gardens, grounds, animal centre, tearoom and shop open from 10.30am to 4pm. Check the current calendar before travelling, particularly for future seasons.

Tickets are sold on the day in the gift shop. The published castle route includes family rooms, the library, dining room, butler’s pantry and kitchen, bringing both household life and service into view. Photography inside the castle is prohibited. The visitor centre accepts card and contactless payments only.

The castle currently has no wheelchair access. The visitor centre beside the car park, including its tearoom, shop and toilets, is accessible. The walk from the car park to the castle is about 200 metres; visitors with walking difficulties can ask about closer parking. Contact the estate before travelling with a wheelchair or mobility aid to discuss suitable arrangements. These details were checked on 15 September 2026.