Mingling with the Royals - present

Although not ardent Royalists, having booked our stay at Mar Lodge, in this Jubilee year we felt it our duty to visit nearby Balmoral Castle. For many visitors this is usually a half day excursion – however, we made this a wonderful full day out.

Keen to get behind the scenes on an estate whose use isn't limited to purely commercial interests, we booked a morning "Land Rover safari". 

First things first, this wasn't in a traditional Land Rover (Defender) which would still have been an experience. This was in a Discovery - air suspension, automatic drive, automatic hill decent and traction control, cream leather seats, air conditioning...the list goes on and on. Apparently the vehicle of choice by the Queen in her older age. The trips accommodate up to six passengers - on our trip there were only four of us so nobody had to use the smaller seats at the rear of the vehicle.

Advertised as a three hour trip, in reality it was closer to three and half. The enthusiasm of John, the estate ranger, made the morning very special. His years of highland experience and his personal interest in the birds and wildlife added enormously to his "commentary" as he described the history of the estate, estate management past and present, as well as commenting on daily and annual life of a Highland estate.

After looking behind the scenes of some of the estate's farm building, we headed off along the lowland tracks through the pine forests - along the route of one of the former military roads that criss-crossed the highlands as part of Westminster's efforts to control the perceived maverick influences of the highlands three hundred years ago.

And then the Discovery showed its capabilities as we headed off of the stone-surfaced tracks and up water-filled ruts, bouncing about with the occasional slide as we headed further up above the estate. It was great to once again enjoy a 4x4 in the terrain it's designed for rather than the school or shopping runs that many seem to be wasted on these days. Passing through various areas of the forests, we were able to look back down on what was now the distant River Dee and castle. Each of the areas was gated to help restrict deer access. One of the major projects the estate is running is naturally re-establishing areas of Caledonian pine forest, rather than through planting.

We stopped for a break beside the "Honka hut", a favourite day-time haunt of the Queen and Prince Phillip when staying on the estate - see the top picture above. It was easy to imagine why they would enjoy it so much. Away from any noise other than the wildlife, with spectacular views, it must be nice to spend the day taking one's ease and enjoying a picnic or barbecue.


The drive continued out across bleak moorland, punctuated with stops to look for birds and wildlife using the binoculars each passenger were provided with. While the morning wasn't searing hot, on the open moorland it was certainly warm. It was equally easy to imagine how desperate it would be on a wind-blown rain-drenched day. The trip also took in two other man-made features - the footbridge over the Falls of Garb Allt, a Victorian cast iron bridge, and another stone-built dayhouse favourite of the Queen looking up to Lochnagar. Dropping off the moorland, we meandered our way back through the golf course and estate farm buildings to conclude our thirty mile drive beside the estate office where daytrippers were stepping off their coaches in time for lunch.

After a sandwich, we continued our visit, taking in the grounds, vegetable gardens and ballroom exhibition before taking a walk around the lower levels of the estate and alongside the River Dee. Some visitors express disappointment that the only room open to the public is the ballroom - if you visit expect to walk around the whole castle, you could easily be disappointed. However, staying at Mar Lodge, the connections between the two estates were of special interest to us. In the ballroom, while it wasn't possible to photograph it,  I was especially interested to see the bottle of whisky, number one of sixty, given to the Queen by the Royal Lochnagar distillery to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. Of note was the fact that buyers will be "invited" to purchase a bottle for £100,000 - profits from the project will be donated to a trust that supports rural craftspeople. Mmm...I need to go and have another look for my invitation...