The Traitors is back for season two, and along with a whole new cast of ‘Faithfuls’ and ‘Traitors’, the same grand castle is back as the backdrop for the drama and deceit. In each episode, the cast starts their day at the castle with breakfast in the grand dining room and ends it with heated round-table discussions in a dark and moody room. But where exactly is it?
Where is ‘The Traitors’ filmed?
The majority of filming for both the UK and US series takes place in and around Ardross Castle in Scotland, about a 30-minute drive north of Inverness. The 19th-century castle sits on over 100 acres of parkland on the banks of the River Alness.
The grand castle has a long and rich history of ownership and renovations. Originally, it was the first Duke of Sutherland who bought Ardross in the late 1700s and built a hunting lodge. In 1845, the second duke sold the estate to British China merchant Sir Alexander Matheson for £90,000. He commissioned architect Alexander Ross to redesign the castle in the Scots Baronial style, which also meant adding some 30 rooms and 700 acres of pleasure grounds with the Alness River winding its way through the middle of them.
Following Alexander’s death, his son, Sir Kenneth Matheson, sold the estate to businessman C. W. Dyson Perrins in 1898. Dyson Perrins spent several months annually at Ardross, with house parties making the most of the grouse moors, fishing and deer forests. Dyson Perrins continued the modernisation efforts, as well as installing electricity and purchasing further land in Glencalvie and Diebidale. A major addition was the Formal Garden, designed by Edward White for the east front. A perspective of Edward's design drawn by C. E. Mallows in 1909 was exhibited at the Royal Academy.
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The estate was then broken up and sold in 1937, with the Mardon family purchasing the castle, Lealty Farm and over 80 acres, living there until 1983 when the estate was sold. In 1983, the McTaggart family acquired the estate and began to restore the gardens including the formal garden, walled garden, shrubberies and lawns.
Can you stay in Ardross Castle?
The Traitors US host Alan Cummings revealed that not even the cast stays in the castle (they all stayed in a far less glamorous Inverness airport hotel) and the castle is not a hotel and rooms aren't available individually. Saying that, if you hire the venue as a wedding or for a group then up to 41 guests can make the most of the unique overnight accommodation.
