Balmoral Cairns: Royal Woodland Walk

Have you ever explored the grounds in the Balmoral Estate, Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire?

My husband found this stunning walk on the Walk Highlands website. We both loved exploring the trail in October this year. Autumn was glowing with its natural beauty!

I checked with Balmoral Castle first if we would have access to the trail. They confirmed yes, we could enjoy the trail. It’s a 10km circuit around beautiful woodlands and cairns to commemorate the marriages of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s children, including a most impressive large pyramid dedicated to Prince Albert himself. They had nine children together, with some sad stories to tell.

The trail wasn't signposted, so we used the map from the Walk Highlands website and our Garmin to find the cairns. It felt like an exciting treasure hunt! What touched me the most was that we were walking in the footsteps of Royalty past and present. I can see why the Royal family love to come here for their holidays. When we reached Prince Albert’s pyramid it was an amazing sight to see. Queen Victoria was broken hearted when he died at the young age of 42.

If you have time you can also visit the Royal Lochnagar Distillery as it's close to the start of the trail. We didn't have time, so we will return!

If you want to read more about our walk and see more photos, check out my blog post.

Remember to always respect the land around you and the privacy of the people who live on the estate.

Princess Beatrice’s Cairn
 

Magical woodlands

Prince Albert's Cairn

Princess Alice's Cairn



Balmoral Castle from Prince Leopold's Cairn