Fairytale ending! Fortress that inspired Walt Disney is restored to its former rose glory after Scottish rain dulled its walls

A fortress said to have inspired Walt Disney has been restored to its former glory after rain eroded away its vibrant pink paint.

Craigievar Castle is located in Aberdeenshire and the animator and film producer is said to have based his designs for Cinderella Castle on it.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) said extensive conservation work has been underway for more than a year to protect the historic building and its collections from the effects of climate change.

The harling was replaced in 2009, but new conservation and maintenance work was deemed necessary.

Several layers of a special limewash recipe have been applied to the castle walls to freshen the color.

NTS added that they will be adding 'small and discreet adjustments to the roof that will future-proof the castle against wetter winters'.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) said extensive conservation work has been underway for more than a year to protect Craigievar Castle (pictured before painting, left and after, right) from the effects of climate change

Gille Young, NTS regional curator, described the project as a slow process.

“It's very important that we take care of this castle,” she said.

'If we take care of the building, the collections inside are also taken care of.

'It will be very positive, especially for the local community who will look up from the main road and see this beautiful pink castle that glows at the best of times.'

Colleague Annie Robertson, regional construction expert at NTS, explains: 'This project is a follow-up to a project from about fifteen years ago. That was to address a long-standing problem with damp in the castle.

'We must also maintain this building well in the future. It's such an important piece of architecture.

'Craigievar is known as the Pink Castle. It really is the icon of Aberdeenshire castles, but it wasn't originally pink. It used to be an off-white color.

'It was not until the 1820s that the then Forbes Laird had ordered repairs to the castle – they required quite a bit of work – and the Aberdeen architect John Smith ordered the castle to be made pink to match the granite mouldings. '

Speaking about the new paint job, stonemason Steven Harper said: 'Limewash is essentially lime putty that has been diluted and diluted to a milky consistency. We then add earth pigments to it, which gives it its pink color.

'There are about three pigments we used for the Craigievar pink. But I can't go into details because the recipe is top secret.'

Built by the Mortimers of Craigievar between 1575 and 1595, Craigievar Castle would have looked a little different in its original form.

Instead of the iconic turrets, the top floor of the castle was probably much plainer and less high.

Walt Disney is said to have based his designs for Cinderella Castle (photo) on Craigievar Castle in Scotland

Several layers of a special recipe for limewash have been applied to the castle walls to freshen the color. In the photo: the castle under construction in January

The late 16th century castle encompasses everything under the carved stone console, decorated with projecting stone cannons that wrap around the castle walls.

Due to the skill of the architect-masons who worked on the building, it is not immediately clear that Craigievar is actually the result of two phases of construction.

The castle as it stands today was completed around 1626 by William Forbes.

He bought the lands in 1610 and, keen to express the status that his wealth – which he had acquired through his work as a merchant through the Baltic trade – had brought him, replaced the simple upper parts of the castle with the series turrets and the viewing platform with balustrade that we know today. see today.

The Forbes family lived there for more than 300 years before placing it in the care of the National Trust for Scotland in the 1960s.