A community group has been awarded almost £10,500 to restore two historic sundials at a north-east castle.
Ellon Castle Community Trust was handed the keys to the building and its sprawling gardens in 2015.
The group has since set about breathing new life into the site so it can become a prime attraction for visitors to the town.
As part of that work two sundials, which date back to the 1800s, will be renovated after sustaining vandalism and other damage over the years.
The group will receive £10,450 in funding from the Mushroom Trust, a charity which supports improvements to community gardens.
The larger structure is about 10ft in height and is believed to be one of only two “multi-faceted” dials in existence – the other being in Pitmedden Gardens.
It’s multiple sides meant that the time could be worked out no matter what side the sun was facing.
The dial has lost its impressive top, which will have to be replaced and re-carved to return it to its original condition.
The other structure dates back to the 1700s and has a grim and sad history as it is dedicated to the then laird Baillie Gordon’s sons, two of who were murdered by their tutor after he tried to cover up his affair with a servant.
The four-headed piece, each representing a son, has been covered up to protect it in recent years but occupies a prominent place on the upper terrace, above the garden.
Alan Cameron, the trust’s director of community involvement, said the work would begin in August.
And he confirmed the wider project was moving apace with major repairs on the walls due to be carried out at the end of the month.
He said: “The first phase is to make the place safe because a lot of work needs to be done on the walls.
“Some of them are bulging and crumbling and need to be re-pointed to make them stable.”
