What is recorded here

Crathes Castle Estate, Lade and Ice-pond are recorded as unassigned-period features, leaving their exact age and purpose open to imagination. The lade may have carried water for gardens, mills or household use, while the ice-pond suggests a place where winter was captured and reused through summer. Neither is clearly dated or explained, but together they sketch a estate that shaped natural forces into daily life.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Crathes Castle Estate, Lade and Ice-pond as Lade (period Unassigned), Pond (period Unassigned). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 10m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Crathes Castle Estate, including the lade and ice-pond, was developed by the Gordon family in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is important as part of the historic estate of Crathes Castle, a significant example of a Scottish Renaissance castle and seat of the Earls of Huntly.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.