Archive - June 2018

Explore Our History: Celebrating the past

Carlowrie Castle has everything: a world-class art collection, Nespresso machines and roll-top baths in every room, an award-winning chef, stunning gardens, the best parties in Scotland…

The castle also has a fascinating history.

Working in partnership with Craft Design House, we are developing an exclusive collection of homeware and accessories and an innovative program of experiences by leading Scottish designers and makers. These will provide a stylish, unique and interactive interpretation of Carlowrie Castle’s history and the story of its most intriguing inhabitant, Isobel Wylie Hutchison.

>Born at Carlowrie in 1889, Isobel was a pioneering Arctic explorer, botanist, writer, artist, polyglot (she spoke over eight languages fluently) and one of the world’s first documentary filmmaker, capturing extraordinary footage of the native peoples she encountered as they went about their daily lives.

Isobel made her first expedition in 1924 to Iceland, and later travelled to Greenland, the Arctic, Alaska, Canada and the Aleutian Islands. In 1934 she became the first woman to receive the prestigious Mungo Park Medal from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. It was presented to her by the future King George VI.

Isobel sent back thousands of botanical specimens to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew and Edinburgh and was responsible for planting and nurturing much of the garden at Carlowrie Castle. By the 1950s Isobel had slowed down somewhat, but still embarked on ‘strolls’ from Carlowrie to London and John O’Groats, gave lectures and wrote papers about her experiences, including for the National Geographic.

When Isobel passed away in 1982 the Hutchison line ended and the castle went on the market for the first time. It was bought by the Marshall family who own it to this day.

The collection will be launching in October 2018.