BRITAIN
BALMORAL CASTLE
Vacation
like Royalty at BALMORAL CASTLE - Scotland.
Ask our Britain Specialist
to arrange your 'Vacation Like Royalty' during your next visit to Britain!
'Vacation Like Royalty' What to know 'If you go...'
In the early evening, after the 'tourists' have left - but hours before the summer sun goes down - the boundless grounds of Balmoral Castle are empty save for shaggy-coated highland cows and songbirds twittering overhead - so it's time for you to picnic in the sunken gardens, read under a tree by Queen Victoria's garden house, stroll the banks of the River Dee, or even peek in the castle windows. It's as if you are an invited guest of the Royal Family, which, in a sense, you are - in a best-kept secret. Queen Elizabeth rents out a handful of cottages on her immense and breathtaking Balmoral Castle estate in the Highlands of Scotland.
About a 'Vacation Like Royalty'
While ramblers, bicyclists and tourists jam the area in summer when the heather cloaks the hillsides in a carpet of magenta and daytime lasts nearly until midnight, the castle remains an oasis of seclusion. The moors, forests and miles of trails are yours to explore. (You might even bump into a member of the family; one day this Spring, Prince Harry was teeing off at the castle golf course, as a cottage resident passed by. "The beauty of Balmoral is that there are no crowds, and it has some of the best trails anywhere. You won't run into anyone," say Robert Reid, proprietor of Wheels and Reels, a bike rental shop in the nearby hamlet of Ballater.
And the estate also offers a prime jumping-off point to explore the ruins, castles, quaint stone villages, and distilleries that lie in the highlands of the Grampian Mountains. (The Royal Lochnagar distillery, literally on the other side of the castle keep, produces a single-malt whiskey, and you can watch it being made.) Restaurants take pride in serving only local products, from salmon caught in nearby rivers to lamb, venison and beef from surrounding farms. A handful of notable galleries sell contemporary and traditional painting and sculpture that testifies to the current rage in Scottish art.
But the six cottages themselves - offering the ability to live among Royals - should be the real draw. They are scattered from one end of the massive 55,000-acre manor to the other, and range from a nondescript bungalow just moments from the castle, to a stately old hunting lodge miles away, nestled in a glen with sweeping views of Loch Muick. The Old School House, which lies on the other side of the estate near Birkhall and was indeed a school, is available year-round. (Birkhall was the Queen Mother's home at Balmoral, and it was here she allowed Prince Charles and paramour Camilla Parker Bowles to stay - for the sake of what she considered his "private happiness" - even while married to Diana. Accompanied by Prince Harry, they fled to Birkhall in April, after the Queen Mother's funeral.)
Some of the dwellings, such as Colt Cottage, are unglamorous. Others are filled with bits and pieces of antiques and old furnishings, and have wood-burning fireplaces. Prices run from $450 to $1,200 a week, and vary with the season. They are available April through November - although the Royal Family claims some of them when they are in residence, from August through October, and Balmoral is closed to the rest of the public. During these three months, all signs that the castle is a 'tourist attraction' disappear. Exhibits in the ballroom, the only room open to visitors, are removed, the carpet rolled up and the goliath hall returned to its original purpose: balls and parties. Each day, the Queen's piper, wearing the Balmoral tartan designed by Prince Albert to mirror the colors of the Highlands, pipes the family to breakfast and dinner.
In Scotland, the Royal Family lives by Edwardian rules of engagement, according to Robert Lacey, author of the new book, "Monarch: the Life and Reign of Elizabeth II", released in in the U.S. in May. Everything from cooking utensils to mattresses, as well as the hunting dogs and riding horses, is brought up in trucks, all in time for the "Glorious Twelfth," the date in August that marks the start of grouse-hunting season. "She (the Queen) loves the place, she believes deeply in the ancient Scottish way of life, and it is perpetuated there," says Lacey. He estimates she spends more that $41.5 million per year to maintain the estate, which is one of the few royal residences the queen actually owns.
While it might be titillating to stay at Balmoral when the Royals are there, police, bodyguards and sharpshooters are also in residence. The freedom to roam and explore can be restrictive. Besides, the dreaded Scottish midge -a tiny, biting relative of the mosquito -takes up residence then, too. "They seem to come about the time the Royals do and leave with them," muses Nikki Henderson, owner of Rowan Antiques in Ballater. A better time to visit would be mid-summer as the late-blooming flowers and shrubs planted to peak when the royal family arrives, begin their show. Or in the spring, when you might run into the Queen, who sneaks up for a week each May and stays in Craig Gowean cottage near the golf course. "She walks all over," says one staffer. "People pass right by her and don't know who it is.
"Coming to Balmoral, says Lacy, is the high spot of the Queen's year. Here, she goes on what her staff calls "Balmoral time," slowing down, relaxing and shutting out the modern world. It is here, he says, she comes closest to realizing her dream of being a "country lady surrounded by dogs and horses. Balmoral was magic to Queen Victoria, and it is magic to Queen Elizabeth, too," he adds. "Being able to stay there is like you can sample what she loves."
What to Know 'If you go...'
Art Galleries Bike
Rentals Dining Getting There
Groceries Lodging
Places of Interest Shopping
GETTING THERE
Fly into Aberdeen - - Rent a car and drive
to the Castle - Fly or take the train to Edinburgh
The easiest way to reach Balmoral is to fly into Aberdeen (there are several flights a day from London) and rent a car for the 50-mile drive to the castle. Or you can fly or take the train to Edinburgh, which is about a three-hour drive from Balmoral.
LODGING
Alltnaguibhsaich Lodge - Colt Cottage - Connachat
Cottage - Garbh Allt Shiel Lodge - The Old Schoolhouse
The five cottages of Balmoral Castle - ranging from a two-bedroom bungalow to a nine-bedroom lodge - are generally available to rent from March 25 to Nov. 11. Weekly rates range from $450 to $1,200. The castle isopen tovisitorsfrom the beginning of April to the end of July, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: $1.50-$6.50. You also can arrange to go fishing or pony trekking on the estate's highland ponies.
DINING
From the gourmet restaurant - The Green Inn
The GREEN INN in Ballater is a small hotel with a gourmet restaurant, set on the village green and run by Jeff and Carol Purves. Jeff Purves' specializes in local products to make regional dishes, such as traditional Scottish inky pinky and mealie pudding, and offers Scottish cheeses for dessert. Fixed-price meals start at about $40 without wine, service included.
Darroch Learg Hotel
DARROCH LEARG also is a gracious old hotel, with a gourmet restaurant serving such local foods as fish from the River Dee and Deeside venison. A three-course meal is $50, without wine, service included.
SHOPPING
Tartan Accessories - hats, shawls, earrings can
be found in shops in Ballater.
For traditional wool and cashmere sweaters, scarves and skirts, visit CONNELLS OF BALLATER at 2 Bridge St.
Designer cashmere, some of it seconds, and fine shawls and scarves (at very reasonable prices) can be found at LA SCALA, 45 Bridge St.
For antiques, Nikki Henderson often carries pieces of Scottish silver at ROWAN ANTIQUES, 5 Victoria Road.
GROCERIES
Top Shop of Scotland Award - H.M. Sheridan
It's best to buy specialty items in advance, as grocery stores in nearby villages are basic. There are, however, very good butcher shops, all of which carry local lamb and the famous Aberdeen beef, and they routinely stock haggis, the Scottish specialty of stuffed sheep's stomach. Try H.M. SHERIDAN at 11 Bridge St. in Ballater.
BIKE RENTALS
The River Dee offers some of the best fishing in
Scotland.
WHEELS AND REELS in Ballater rents high-quality bikes (and fishing gear) for about $75 a week.
ART GALLERIES
Painting of the Lost Gallery and its surroundings
The LOST GALLERY carries contemporary sculpture and painting from collectible Scottish artists. True to its name, the gallery lies on a winding country road outside of Strathdon, about 20 miles from Balmoral.
KNOCK GALLERY is in Crathie, just a mile from Balmoral. Alicia Thomson carries work by local Scottish artists, painting and sculptures by Polish artists, and a collection of handmade silver and amber jewelry. Fine traditional Scottish wildlife and landscape painting, from the 17th century to the 21st, can be found at McEwan Gallery just outside of Ballater.
PLACES OF INTEREST
Braemar Castle - Kildrummy Castle
BRAEMAR CASTLE was built in 1628 and is the seat of the Farquharsons of Invercauld, who live there several months of the year. Closed in July and August.
The exquisite ruins of 13-century KILDRUMMY CASTLE are open through September.
Page