Fire Catastrophe Averted at Blair Castle

The swift action of the emergency services to a fire at Blair Castle averted a near catastrophe last night. Flames were spotted rising from the clock tower at the South End of the castle at around 8.45pm where a chimney fire had broken out above the castle’s wood chip boiler. Thankfully the castle was empty at the time and the few residents were quickly evacuated. Fears that the fire would spread to the rest of the castle failed to materialise and fire fighters had fully extinguished the blaze by 10pm.
The fire gutted the interior of the Clock Tower and its late nineteenth century roof was completely destroyed by the flames. The fire also severed the main power supply to the castle offices.


The fire department and the structural engineer have now inspected the damaged area and deemed it safe and the Atholl Estates Works Team are clearing the debris to allow power to be restored. Further remedial work will take place over the coming days. We look forward to restoring the clock tower as quickly as possible and we will keep all our visitors informed as work progresses. We are very thankful to the fire department, police and estate staff for their dedication and quick action in controlling and limiting the extent of the fire.


Thankfully all 30 rooms on public display were untouched by the blaze and all artefacts and exhibits were unharmed. We are delighted to report that Blair Castle will be open as normal to visitors this Saturday, 9.30am to 2.30pm.