From witches and princesses to magical monsters, a world of enchanting characters was brought alive at a fairtyale castle at the weekend.
Budding authors from across the north-east were celebrated when the winners of the Craigievar Castle Children’s Creative Writing Competition were announced.
The contest, sponsored by the Press and Journal, challenged young writers to come up with their own stories inspired by the historic landmark.
Entries had to be no more than 500 words in length – and each had to include two facts about Craigievar Castle.
About 200 youngsters competed in two categories – a junior section for P6 and P7 aged children, and a senior class for the S1 to S6 age group.
Angus Fraser, the National Trust for Scotland’s senior assistant at Craigievar, revealed the winners on Saturday during the venue’s Medieval Weekend.
In the junior category, Jorja Troup-McGregor of Tough Primary School scooped the first prize with her story, Cleaning Choas.
She was followed by Olivia Shannon of Hill of Banchory Primary School with The Mysterious Path and the Magical Monster, while Nicole Taylor of Mearns Academy came in third place with Luna and the Witch.
Bagging first place in the senior section with an untitled story was Isla Skene of Mearns Academy.
Second place was awarded to Vanessa Gadomska from Banff Academy with The Witch of Craigievar Castle, while Tom Marwood of Mearns Academy earned third place with The Prince and the Little Brown Mouse.
The first prize-winners in each section have their stories published today’s Press and Journal, and were given a £60 book token.
The runners-up in both categories each received a £25 book token, and those in third place a £15 book token.
The three winning entries from both sections were read aloud at the castle on Saturday.
Senior winner Isla, 13, has always enjoyed creative writing and loves reading mystery novels.
She said: “I didn’t think I had the knowledge to write a really detailed story.
“When the opportunity came up to write one that was short it was good because I could see how much I could fit into it.”
Third placed Tom said he was surprised to have been chosen from 200 entries.
“I didn’t think I would get picked,” he said.
“I’m not really sure where I got the idea from.
“I had to think about what the moral of the story would be and I took it from there.”
Junior runner-up Olivia on the other hand knew exactly what she was going to write about.
“I have always had the idea in my head and I never knew what to do with it,” she said.
“I saw this as my chance to use it.
“I actually forgot about until I was told I had come second.”
Simon Dye, property manager for Craigievar, said: “With around 200 entries, as you can imagine, the judging panel had a tough task on its hands.
“We were absolutely delighted with the standard of this year’s entries. Many of them demonstrated a very strong standard of imaginative flair and story-telling. Some of them had narratives that really drew you in.”
Now in its third year, the two-day Medieval Weekend, held in conjunction with the Medieval Realm and the Press and Journal, featured displays and demonstrations aimed at giving visitors a colourful insight into life in another era.