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Castle
Crathes Castle
Sixteenth-century castle east of Banchory, with a designed landscape and gardens, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
A mini guide to
Royal Deeside: things to do
Places worth your time in Royal Deeside
Top places
Things to do in Royal Deeside
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Castle
Drum Castle
Castle between Peterculter and Banchory, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
Castle
Castle Fraser
Z-plan castle north of the Dee, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
Castle
Craigievar Castle
Tower house in the hills north of Aboyne, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
Bridge
Bridge of Feugh
Bridge carrying a minor road over the Water of Feugh, just south of Banchory.
Hill
Scolty Hill
Hill south-west of Banchory; the Scolty Hill Race is run at the Banchory show each July.
Nature reserve
Muir of Dinnet
National nature reserve beside the A97 at Dinnet, between Aboyne and Ballater.
Nature reserve
Glen Tanar
Glen of the Water of Tanar south of Aboyne, and a national nature reserve.
Historic building
Old Royal Station
Former Deeside Railway terminus in Ballater, closed in 1966 and rebuilt after a 2015 fire.
Castle
Balmoral Castle
Royal Family's Highland home since 1852; grounds, gardens and booked tours open on set days.
Distillery
Royal Lochnagar Distillery
Whisky distillery near Balmoral, on the south side of the Dee.
Loch
Loch Muick
Loch in Glen Muick, south of Ballater; the River Muick joins the Dee near the village.
Mountain
Lochnagar
Mountain in the Grampians south of the Dee, between Ballater and Braemar.
Castle
Braemar Castle
Castle by Braemar leased to the community and run by volunteers and staff; open April to October.
Estate
Mar Lodge Estate
Highland estate west of Braemar cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.
Waterfall
Linn of Dee
Waterfall on the River Dee west of Braemar, crossed by a minor road bridge.
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
More areas to explore
Photo credits
- Royal Deeside (area photo): Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Crathes Castle: Oyoyoy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Drum Castle: Ikiwaner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Castle Fraser: Karora, Public domain, source
- Craigievar Castle: Anais Culot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bridge of Feugh: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Scolty Hill: Bruce McAdam from Reykjavik, Iceland, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Muir of Dinnet: Redslippers, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glen Tanar: Paul Chapman, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Old Royal Station: rboed*, CC BY 2.0, source
- Balmoral Castle: Stuart Yeates from Oxford, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Royal Lochnagar Distillery: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Loch Muick: Ballogie, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Lochnagar: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Braemar Castle: Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mar Lodge Estate: Taken and uploaded by Deus Ex to en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Linn of Dee: Trish Steel, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Stonehaven and Dunnottar: Onderwijsgek, CC BY-SA 2.5 nl, source
- Aberdeen city: Carl Farnell, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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