A Perthshire castle is sparkling once more after undergoing extensive renovations.
Blair Castle’s restoration team has been working hard over the winter to ensure the 700-year-old castle is in prime condition when it opens its doors to the public on April 1.
Furnishings and features that are hundreds of years old have been lovingly treated to ensure they will continue to be preserved for many more centuries.
Work has ranged from commissioning specialist painters to reveal the original wall colours to recarpeting some of the largest rooms.
Specialist painter Tony Malin was commissioned to improve a wood grain effect on the picture stair case and he also uncovered an original colour under paint from the 1980s on a table from the castle’s dining room.
Other restorations included intricate work to restore a portrait of George Murray, an ancestor of the 10th, 11th and 12th Dukes of Atholl.
The portrait was sent to Egan, Matthews and Rose in Dundee, who specialise in the restoration of older paintings.
During the work, the castle’s cleaning team found behind a radiator in the castle’s ballroom a 70-year-old letter from a boy who had been evacuated to Blair Castle during the Second World War to his brother.
Marketing and communications officer at the castle Stuart Letford said: “It has been a busy and exciting time at Blair Castle and the team here has been working very hard over the past few months to ensure the castle is ready for visitors on April 1, when we open our doors for the summer.
“From polishing every last piece of weaponry on display to restoring antique furniture to its former glory, all the work carried out has been completed with care to respect the castle’s 700 years of heritage.”
This year, Blair Castle is introducing four exhibitions, three of them to mark battle anniversaries.
A Gallipoli exhibition will mark 100 years since the Dardanelles Campaign in the First World War. A Battle of Waterloo exhibition will commemorate 200 years since that famous conflict, and a showcase will remember the 1715 Jacobite Rising.
Stuart added: “There are a great many attractions to see at Blair Castle this year and our commemorative war exhibitions will be particularly significant as it is 100 years since the Dardanelles Campaign at Gallipoli during the First World War, in which the 8th Duke of Atholl commanded the Scottish Horse Regiment.”