The Traitors has returned to our screens and viewers are loving the show’s Gothic castle and its twists and turns. Ardross Castle, a 19th-century house and estate in the Scottish Highlands, is the location where the hit TV show is filmed.
Both the UK version of the show and the US adaptation hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming use this location. The estate was purchased by the 1st Duke of Sutherland in the late 1700s, and in 1854, Sir Alexander Matheson, an MP and opium trader, bought Ardross and its 60,000 acres for £90,000.
Architect Alexander Ross was enlisted to design the castle building in the Gothic Scottish Baronial style, adding 30 rooms to the mansion, along with the lawns, pond, and fountain at a cost of £7,000. The estate was sold in 1937 before being bought by the current owners, the McTaggart family, in 1983, who began renovating the property. Today, the space is used as a venue for weddings, conferences, and film and TV sets.
For more information on Ardross Castle’s heritage, be sure to read the next issue of Scottish Field magazine.
