Kindrochit was a hunting seat of
King Robert II, who issued charters here most years between 1371 and 1388. In 1390,
Robert III granted a licence to Malcolm Drummond to build a new tower on the site. The site of the earlier royal lodge was excavated in the 1920s and included a hall around , with square towers at each corner.
John Erskine, Earl of Mar showed the ruined castle at Kindrochit to
John Taylor when the poet made his
Pennyles Pilgrimage to Scotland in 1618. Taylor, who rode with the Earl from
Braemar Castle, was told that
Malcolm Canmore had built the castle in the 11th century. He thought it remarkable because he did not see another house in the next 12 days of their ride. C. Michael Hogan has suggested that Kindrochit Castle, as well as
Kildrummy and
Durris Castles, were likely sited based upon strategic positions relative to the ancient
Elsick Mounth trackway, which provided a strategic crossing of the
Mounth of the
Grampian Mountains. == The Castle Today ==