The Central Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 154

Lecht Ski Area & Tomintoul Kildrummy Castle

Alford

Strathdon

DEESIDE

Craigievar
Castle

Corgarff
Castle

Morven
(2861ft)

Tarland

2

Aboyne

Crathie Banchory

Braemar
Castle

Bridge O'Ess
Glen Tanar
Equestrian Centre

Ballater

Balmoral
Castle

Braemar

N

Shiel of
Glentanar

Morrone
(2818ft)

Clachan Yell
(2081ft)

Mount Keen
(3081ft)

Lochnagar
(3789ft)

0 4

miles

Loch Muick

Glenshee & Blairgowrie Fettercairn

regularly holidayed here, at Balmoral , since Queen Victoria bought the estate.
Eighty thousand Scots turned out to welcome her on her first visit in 1848.
Victoria adored the place and the woods were said to remind Prince Albert of
Thuringia, his homeland.
Deeside is undoubtedly handsome in a fierce, craggy, Scottish way, and the royal
presence has helped keep a lid on any unattractive mass development. The villages
strung along the A93, the main route through the area, are well heeled and have
something of an old-fashioned air. Facilities for visitors hereabouts are first class, with
a number of bunkhouses and hostels, some decent hotels and plenty of castles and
grounds to snoop around. It's also an excellent area for outdoor activities , with hiking
routes into both the Grampian and Cairngorm mountains, alongside good mountain
biking, horseriding and skiing.
GETTING AROUND DEESIDE

By bus Stagecoach Bluebird buses #201, #202 and #203
from Aberdeen regularly chug along the A93, serving
most of the towns on the way to Braemar. Bus #201 runs

to Crathes (45min), Banchory (50min), Ballater (1hr 45min),
and Braemar (2hr 10min), while #202 and #203 stop at
Lumphanan and Banchory respectively.

Drum Castle
Near Drumoak, 10 miles west of Aberbeen off the A93 • April-June & Sept Mon & Thurs-Sun 11am-4pm; July & Aug daily 11am-4pm;
Garden of Historic Roses April-Oct daily 11am-4.15pm • £6, grounds only £2 • NTS
Ten miles west of Aberdeen, Drum Castle stands in a clearing in the ancient woods
of Drum , made up of the splendid pines and oaks that covered this whole area before
the shipbuilding industry precipitated mass forest clearance. The castle itself
combines a 1619 Jacobean mansion with Victorian extensions and the original,
huge thirteenth-century keep, which has been restored and reopened. Given by
Robert the Bruce to his armour-bearer, William de Irvine, in 1323 for services
rendered at Bannockburn, the castle remained in Irvine hands for 24 generations
until the NTS took over in 1976. The main part of the house is Victorian in
character, with grand, antique-filled rooms and lots of family portraits. The finest
room is the library, within the ancient tower; you'll get an even better sense of the
medieval atmosphere of the place by climbing up to the upper levels of the tower,
with the battlements offering views out over the forest.