A Royal Tour

 

Part of the purpose of travelling up to Scotland was to see or visit Balmoral. At the time of organising our trip Balmoral Castle was not open to the public but the grounds, gardens and an exhibition hall was, however we spotted an opportunity to tour the estate with a guide and go up into the heathers with the chance of seeing some wildlife. Great!' I thought and then saw the cost for this personal tour and thought not so great. It's designed around a family or single group of six so to do it as a couple was pretty pricey and we decided not to and then as I was nodding off that night, N said, 'Sod it, book it!' We are so glad that we did as we had the most amazing afternoon. 

On arrival we had a walk around the gardens and, because we had booked this tour, we were allowed to park literally on the doorstep of Balmoral which saved a long walk from the carpark and I felt quite special being waved through the royal gates! We also had a browse around the exhibition which included some of the Kings paintings and pieces of the royal Scottish wardrobe. tweeds, tartans and evening wear and lots of mounted deer antlers - a true status symbol of any Scottish Castle or Lodge. We then had a quick bite and coffee and reported for our tour. The Landrover was waiting and we were handed a pair of Swaroskvy binoculars with great ceremony and for a moment considering what the tour had cost, I thought they were ours to keep. Our drvier and guide was an ex military, retired business consultant and now loving life in the highlands. He was very well informed and lived in the locality and very accommodating to my love of photography and my endless questions about the changes that the King was implementing, how the staff and locals felt about them and about rewilding and the environment. I loved every minute of the three hours allocated to us. We started off in what the staff call, 'the gardens' which is the estate nearest to the castle which is open to the public. We drove past the venison larders where any deer shot in the hunt would be brought in to be butchered and stored - time being of the essence the deer are brought down from the mountain as soon as possible. usually by horse and often any spare protection officer is used for this. We also drove past the target at which anyone going out on the hunt has to shoot at accurately to ensure a clean kill - no easy matter from 300ft. Then through the gates and onto the wider estate. 

We passed various cottages - John Brown's Cottage (he was a companion to Queen Victoria) here and the the cottage for 'The Munchi' which will make sense if you watched the film Victoria and Abdul. When Victoria was Empress of India she went through a phase of infatuation all things Indian and he was part of it. read here. Then the cottage where our beloved late Queen stayed on her visits to the castle - she preferred a cosier life on Balmoral than the draughty old castle offered and usually stayed in a modest home on the estate which bordered the gold course. I felt so privileged to see this and it only added to my admiration of her. Queen Elizabeth 11 loved Balmoral and felt relaxed and happy here. I think it was the closest she was allowed to be herself and relax with her family and her animals. Later on our tour around the pristine woodlands and heathers, we had a stop of the Royal picnic place where a small log cabin had been erected and the late Queen and family enjoyed the fresh clean air to relax in nature and enjoy a barbeque - so very different from those state occasions.  A beautiful peaceful site on banks of a small lake fed by a babbling stream and no wonder chosen as a favourite.  Further on we encountered a herd of red deer with many young and up on the heather and listened to the absolute peace and quiet with the odd call of an eagle maybe.  We heard about the endangered Capercaillie bird that have nesting pairs on Balmoral - there are about 600 left in existence and a handful left on the estate but the numbers are up. We couldn't get close as it mating season. 

So it seems that King Charles is already making progress to returning the land to how it was pre Victoria's time. He visits regularly but has his own estate separate to Balmoral  - Birkhall - where he is happiest away from the visitors and intrusion but is seen walking and enjoying the outdoors and fishing in the River Muick. Part of the Balmoral Estate highlands is accessible for walking and open to the public and there are stories of Americans lost up there encountering the late Queen on her walks and asking for directions or for her to take their photo - having no idea who she was in her raincoat and headscarf! 

It was an afternoon well spent ad worth every penny even though we had to give those binoculars back.  Back at the castle we were offered warm venison pie - I was starving after all that fresh air and of course I had to have a look in the Balmoral Shop. I bought a commemorative tin of shortbread with a most beautiful photograph of the Queen in her tweeds and some Balmoral gin which we opened it recently - it tasted of wild. salty heather and happy times!

The last day at Pitlochry was spent at another castle Blair Castle here was in some ways grander than Balmoral - owned by the Athol family who have the only private army in the country - and they are certainly well armed! We arrived to drizzle and saw a coach party pull up at the same time so raced into the castle ...... and felt like pulling up the drawbridge. 'Hang on a wee while the piper is about to play', the lady at the door said and it was worth it for entertainment value from our dry viewpoint as he grinned through clenched teeth while fifty tourists stood next to him in various formations to have a photograph with him! We started our exploring to avoid the damp mass that was about to follow. A castle steeped in history from 13th century medieval to Victorian eras, and home to nineteen generations Clan Murray and the - the ancestral home of the Duke of Athol - the current Duke was born, raised and lives in South Africa. We spent an hour  or so enjoying the history and antiques and I thought many times - if only these walls could talk. We left to enjoy the gardens but got lost in the grounds and the Scottish weather got the best of us and we headed back to are lovely accommodation to sample another Scottish Rock Rose G&T before another excellent dinner at Knockendarrach.

We had to leave the highlands the next morning and head to Loch Lomand for the night - always a favourite stop on our way back down to the south. Loch Lomand is next to the pretty town of Luss and a morning spent there with a bit of shopping and enjoying the views over the water was just what we needed. I'm always sad to leave Scotland and 'cannee' wait for our next visit!