About 10 miles west of Banff, hidden in trees on a wooded promontory above the Burn of Boyne, sit the ruined walls of Boyne Castle — a substantial 16th-century courtyard fortress built by the Ogilvies of Boyne around 1580. It once had four corner towers and a wide moat fed by the burn, and was considered one of the more impressive non-royal castles of the northeast.
The ruins are forgotten now: ivy-covered walls, collapsed vaults, and trees growing through what was once the great hall. There is no signage and no visitor centre — reaching it involves a muddy walk down from the road near Portsoy. For anyone who enjoys atmospheric, unrestored ruins, this is one of the best in Aberdeenshire.