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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
Castles, Balmoral and the Cairngorms villages of the Dee valley
Photos
1 / 10Welcome to the area
Castles, Balmoral and the Cairngorms villages of the Dee valley
Royal Deeside is the valley of the River Dee between Banchory and Braemar. The name dates from Queen Victoria, who visited in 1848 and with Prince Albert built Balmoral Castle, still the Royal Family's Highland home. The A93 runs up the valley from Aberdeen through Banchory, Aboyne, Dinnet, Ballater and Braemar.
Crathes and Drum castles lie in the lower valley near Banchory, with Castle Fraser and Craigievar in the hills to the north. Further west the valley climbs into the Cairngorms National Park: Ballater has its rebuilt Victorian station, Balmoral and Lochnagar lie beyond it, and Braemar, at 339 metres, hosts the Braemar Gathering each September.
Highlights
Start here
If you only have a few hours, these are good places to begin.
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.
Find your way
On the map
The map shows Royal Deeside and the streets around it. The Getting there page lists nearby stops and stations.
Insider tips
Before you go
1
Check castle seasons
Balmoral, Braemar Castle and the National Trust for Scotland castles keep seasonal opening days. Check each official site before planning a day.
2
Drive for the outlying castles
Craigievar and Castle Fraser are well north of the A93 and much easier to reach by car than by bus.
3
Plan hill walks carefully
Lochnagar and the hills around Braemar are mountain terrain. Check the mountain forecast and carry a map before setting out from Loch Muick or the Linn of Dee.
4
Book Braemar Gathering early
The Gathering is on the first Saturday of September; the organisers put tickets on sale in February.
Tips from the Britlens editors
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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