Paradise in the Highlands

By Linda Tancs

As many a diary and motion picture can attest, Queen Victoria found paradise in the Scottish Highlands, particularly at Balmoral. Then and now, one of the core attractions of Deeside is its scenery—glens and forests, rivers and lochs, grand highland estates, mountains and moorlands, flora and fauna. You can experience it like a Royal by exploring the Victorian Heritage Trail, a 76-mile route from Drumoak to Braemar. Along the way, you can visit sites like the restored railway track once used by Queen Victoria to journey to Balmoral, the magnificent grounds of Drum Castle, the Victorian village of Ballater, the heather and pines of Glen Tanar and the town of Braemar surrounded by Cairngorms National Park. The grounds and select areas of Balmoral Castle are open to the public when the Queen is not in residence, generally from April through July.