Balmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle is located in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire near the village of Crathie. It is situated within the stunning scenery of The Cairngorms National Park, which is the United Kingdom’s largest National Park. The castle is equal in distance from both the Victorian village of Ballater and the Aberdeenshire village of Braemar, approximately 50 miles to the West of Aberdeen.

As with many things in life, Balmoral Castle became a home for royalty much by chance. In 1847, during Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s third visit to Scotland, the royal couple’s trip was interrupted by heavy rainfall. This then led the Queen’s physician to recommend Deeside. It was recommended to the Royals because the physician’s opinion was that the weather in Deeside was more palatable.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had fallen in love with Scotland through their previous trips. They thought that Deeside would be an incredible place to create their Scottish home. Soon after the death of Sir Robert Gordon in 1847, they managed to acquire the lease for Balmoral Castle and thus, began the journey towards living in their dream Scottish home at Balmoral.

Interesting fact: On previous visits to Scotland Queen Victoria and Prince Albert occupied Blair Castle in the stunning area of Perthshire

Blair Castle, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert would stay in Scotland before the castle at Balmoral became their Scottish home.

In 1852 the purchase of the Balmoral estate was completed by Prince Albert who had bought Balmoral as a gift for his wife, Queen Victoria. Despite being a dream location for Queen Victoria, the building was deemed to be too small to house the royal couple’s growing family. They needed extra staff and room for official visitors requiring to meet and stay on the premises.

In 1856 a new castle building was finished and designed by William Smith (no, not the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!) an architect of Aberdeen City. The new castle is the very building we now know as Balmoral Castle. The old castle which was very close to the current castle was demolished around the time that the new building was completed.

Later, after Balmoral Castle, had been completed Prince Albert had plans to build a number of properties among the castle grounds but he, unfortunately, died before work had begun. Queen Victoria decided to continue Albert’s plans by ensuring that several cottages were created in the vicinity of the Balmoral castle. A garden cottage was constructed and located in the garden for children, Karim Cottage for her Indian secretary and Baile na coille for her servant John Brown.

Glas Allt Shiel lodge in Glen Muick, Balmoral Estate. Queen Victoria and future generations had a stunning view of Loch Muick. Photo Credit: Visit Scotland

Glas Allt Shiel lodge was constructed in 1868, after the death of Albert, beside Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate for Queen Victoria. It would become a place for her to escape from the outside world.

If you find yourself wandering the grounds of Balmoral Castle then lookout for a statue depicting a Collie dog proudly guarding the grounds. The statue was placed in the memory of Queen Victoria’s faithful dog named ‘Nobel.’

While you could say that the late Queen treated Buckingham Palace as her office, and Windsor Castle as her home (where she could relax after a long day’s work), then the castle at Balmoral was considered her holiday house.

The Queen actually had a number of different holiday homes to choose from when she wanted to rest from her busy schedule. As of 2019, she had the choice of visiting Wales at the Lywynywermod Estate, staying at the English country house of Sandringham in Norfolk or retreating to the Scottish Castle of Mey in Caithness.

An Overhead view – Castle of Mey in Caithness. Photo Credit: Visit Scotland

Balmoral Estate had become somewhat of an annual tradition for the Queen and she tends to visit every summer for a holiday. As well as Balmoral Castle the Queen actually had another holiday property on the Balmoral Estate:

Craigowan Lodge

This lodge houses an impressive seven bedrooms. Craigowan Lodge was mainly used by the Queen and Prince Phillip for the first two weeks of their summer holiday while the castle at Balmoral is still open to the public. When the Queen moved into the castle the lodge tends to be used for royal guests. In total there are around a staggering 150 buildings on the estate including Birkhill, which was used by Prince Charles, and 6 smaller buildings that are used as holiday cottages to let.

The Queen’s Balmoral Adventures

It has been said that Balmoral was the Queen’s favourite place in the world to visit and it is no wonder that she loved Balmoral. With acres of ground to explore in the stunning scenic area it was a chance for her to feel like an everyday person and an opportunity for her to unwind on the sort of holiday activities that everyone enjoys.

The Queen, even in her 90s, enjoys exploring the Balmoral grounds on horseback, riding along the banks of river Dee, and, sometimes she liked to take the wheel of a vehicle with a little bit more horsepower – her trusty Range Rover. In public, you would normally see the Queen driven around by a chauffeur, but during her holiday at Balmoral, you could guarantee she would be personally battling the roads with her four-wheel drive vehicle.

The banks of River Dee. The Queen enjoys riding her horse alongside this River.

As many dog owners will agree there is nothing quite like exploring the countryside with your loyal canine companion. The Queen was no different from other dog owners, as when she had the chance to explore the area by foot, then it was an opportunity to take her ‘many’ dogs for a good old fashioned ‘walk’. The Queen was famous for having a soft spot for ‘Corgi’ dogs.

Sadly Red Squirrels are declining, but the Balmoral area is one of the best places to find these delightful furry creatures. A squirrel cam has even been set up in the gardens of Balmoral castle where you can check on them 24 hours a day from wherever in the world you may be!