Nothing now remains of Inchbrakie Castle. It was built, enlarged or restored in 1519 by Patrick Graham upon a large mound or motte. It is said that it was burned and destroyed by Cromwell.
Where the courtyard of the castle used to be is an ancient yew, a male, now surrounded by dense modern plantation woodland. Limbs falling off plantation trees have damaged the yew by snapping some branches such is their close proximity. It also appears that heavy shading and competition for nutrients and water within the last 100 years have adversely affected the yew. In 1846 it was described as being of extraordinary size, implying it had a dense canopy which is sadly no longer the case. A girth of almost 450 cm suggests a yew over 450 years old and would seem to confirm a planting date in or shortly after 1519. As it is said to have been in the courtyard of the castle, it seems miraculous that it survived the destruction and burning of the castle.
There are other yews on the Inchbrakie estate, most notably at the monument to the previous site of Inchbrakie Mansion. A pair of yews was planted here around 1733, when the new mansion was built. Sadly one was damaged by the harvesting of adjacent plantation trees and then felled in 2014. It is a sad loss of a yew almost 300 years old and of obvious historical significance to the Graham family.
Elsewhere on the estate are more yews in the parkland and exhibiting layering from the roots. One stand of what looks like four tall yews is remarkable in that it seems the two smaller trunks are layering from the larger two.
