programme 2 victoria albert’s highland · pdf fileprogramme 2 victoria &...

PROGRAMME 2 VICTORIA & ALBERT’S HIGHLAND FLING Introduction

The Highlands are renowned throughout the world as a symbol of Scottish identity and we’re about to find out why. In this strenuous four-day walk we’re starting out at Pitlochry – gateway to the Cairngorms National Park – on a mountainous hike to the Queen’s residence at Balmoral. Until the 19th century, this area was seen by many as a mysterious and dangerous land. Populated by kilt-wearing barbarians, it was to be avoided by outsiders. We’re going to discover how all that changed, thanks in large part to an unpopular German prince and his besotted queen.

.Walking Through History

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Day 1. Day 1 takes us through the Killiecrankie Pass, a battlefield of rebellious pre-Victorian Scotland. Then it’s on to an unprecedented royal visit at Blair Castle. Pitlochry to Blair Atholl, via the Killiecrankie Pass and Blair Castle. Distance: 12 miles

Day 2. Things get a little more rugged with an epic and challenging hike through Glen Tilt. Then it’s on to Mar Lodge estate where we’ll discover how the Clearances made this one of the emptiest landscapes in Europe, and a playground for the rich.

Blair Atholl to Mar Lodge, via Glen Tilt. Distance: 23 miles

Day 3.

Into Royal Deeside, we get a taste of the Highland Games at Braemar, before reaching the tartan palace Albert built for his queen at Balmoral.

Mar Lodge to Crathie, via Braemar and Balmoral Castle Distance: 20 miles

Day 4. On our final day we explore the Balmoral estate. The wild and remote lands of Glen Muick, in the shadow of mighty Lochnagar, reveal the legacy this couple’s passion has left on the landscape.

Crathie to Glas-allt-Shiel, via Gelder Shiel and Loch Muick Distance: 12 miles

Please use OS Explorer Maps 386, 394, 387, 388 (1:25k) or OS Landranger 52, 43, 44 (1:50k). All distances approx. Please take care to plan your walks carefully and be well equipped with compass, food and water and full waterproofs. Parts of this walk are both remote and challenging. In particular we recommend that Day 2 only be attempted in summer months and by experienced walkers with a good degree of fitness.


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Our walk begins at Pitlochry – gateway to the Cairngorms National Park. The high street is packed with shops selling tweed, tartan and shortbread. Heading west out of town towards Killiecrankie we veer off the main road down Clunie Bridge Road. Clunie footbridge takes us over to the south side of the River Tummel. Following the river for a few miles, we arrive at the Linn of Tummel and a clue to the fact that we’re already walking in the footsteps of Victoria and Albert.

We continue north on the wooded path alongside the River Garry and pass under the Garry Bridge. If you fancy a bungee jump in the Highlands then you’ve just struck gold. We’re ploughing on, however. Now in the Pass of Killiecrankie, we come to a white footbridge just beyond the road bridge. This takes us over the river to General Wade’s Military Road.

Day 1 – Places of Interest.s

Pitlochry to Blair Atholl, via Killiecrankie Pass and Blair Castle Distance: 12 miles

Linn of Tummel

The contrasting rivers of the slow-flowing Garry and the fast-flowing Tummel meet here. Notice beside the Linn a very early example of a fish pass, blown out to enable salmon to bypass the falls and more easily migrate upstream. The Coronation Bridge a little further down the Tummel allows you to view the falls from the other side, where you’ll see an obelisk commemorating Victoria and Albert’s visit in 1844. It was a remarkable occasion given no monarch of Great Britain had ever been this far north before. Twenty-five-year-old Victoria had given birth to her fourth child only a month before. She’d also survived three assassination attempts! Albert demanded she take a holiday.


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As we push north-west along the pass, we come to signs for Soldier’s Leap. This is about a mile beyond the white footbridge we used to cross the Garry.

A few hundred yards further up the steep side of the gorge and we come to the Queen’s View with spectacular views across the gorge and over to the railway viaduct.

The Battle of Killiecrankie

The Military Road was a key strategic route. It took you from the Lowlands into the Highlands and the narrow pass was the only way in or out. It was also the site of the very first battle of the Jacobite Uprisings - and a legendary defeat for the British government. The Jacobites were led by Viscount Dundee, known as Bonnie Dundee. On 27 July 1689, Dundee’s Highlanders massed just north of here. Five thousand highly organized government troops, twice the Highlanders’ numbers, marched through the narrow pass. Bonnie Dundee’s men were ready for them. Raising their broadswords, they charged, cutting right through the terrified redcoats. In the aftermath, the Highland population was brutally persecuted. Clans were broken up. Those caught wearing tartan or speaking Scots Gaelic faced imprisonment, or even transportation. It was over fifty years before the Jacobites were outgunned, however. On the 16th April 1746, they were wiped out for good at the Battle of Culloden.

Soldier’s Leap

One fleeing soldier, Donald McBane, managed to evade the Highlanders chasing him, in spectacular style. He climbed down onto the rocks below and leapt a full 18 feet (5.5m) across the fast flowing Garry. He later recalled how ‘Many of our men were lost in that water.’

The Queen’s View

The Queen was a big diarist and while many of her diaries were burnt on her death, some survived. Her daughter Beatrice had some of these – including her Highland journals - published. Standing at this very spot Victoria wrote, ‘We came to the Pass of Killiecrankie, which is quite magnificent: the road winds along it, and you look down from a great height, all wooded on both sides, the Garry rolling below it. I cannot describe how beautiful it is. Albert is in perfect ecstacies.’


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Continuing up the stepped footpath to the road, we follow the B8079 towards the village of Killiecrankie. Note: The Killiecrankie Visitor Centre, run by National Trust for Scotland, is located on the roadside just above the Soldier’s Leap and Queen’s View. When we hit the village a left turn takes us over the railway line and river. Follow the Garry River to Essangal where the lane then passes under the A9 and continues as a footpath. A pleasant stroll along the south bank of the Garry brings us to a footbridge and the beautiful village of Blair Atholl.

Cross the railway line and pass a stunning working water mill, which dates back to the 1500s. If you have time, don’t pass up their delightful tea rooms and bakery. On the north side of the main road you can’t miss the entrance to Blair Castle. We’re heading in to explore this historic castle and take in the incredible grounds as we conclude our first day and prepare for a tough Day 2.

Sir Walter Scott

Scott was a massive best seller in 19th century Britain. Titles such as Ivanhoe, Waverley and Rob Roy were read across the globe and were largely responsible for a new romantic notion of Scotland. He’d already lured one monarch to Lowland Scotland in 1822, when George IV arrived in Edinburgh wearing a lurid kilt designed by Scott himself. The once illegal dress of the clans was transformed into high fashion. Now his books were drawing another British monarch to Scotland. In September 1844, Victoria and Albert – both huge fans of Scott’s work - came to stay at Blair Castle for three whole weeks.

Blair Castle

From burns and groves to walled gardens and atmospheric woodland, the grounds of Blair Castle offer remarkable variety and breathtaking beauty. It certainly pleased Victoria and Albert, who, after a brief visit in 1842, duly returned two years later with around seventy-five royal servants. Their baggage even included a grand piano! Unsurprisingly, the Duke and Duchess moved out to make room. The royals insisted it was a strictly private holiday, so there are no pictures of the Queen at Blair. Yet extraordinary early photos held in the archive show the Duke’s private bodyguard, the Atholl Highlanders, ready to receive their guests on 11 September 1844. The regiment acted as Victoria’s protection

during the visit. Impressed, she gave them their royal colours, which they retain to this day.


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Today’s walk is a Cairngorm classic but is unusually long and challenging and should only be undertaken by experienced hill walkers and during summers months when daylight is plentiful. Before setting off we recommend that you check with locals regarding the state of the various ford crossings along Glen Tilt.

A few miles on through the narrow, steep-sided glen, we come to a cottage marked as Clachghlas on the OS map. Our walk today is tough enough so we’re ploughing on straight through Glen Tilt. However, you can veer off the main route here and head up the steep track towards Carn a’Chlamain. Rising up above the glen, you will be blessed with extraordinary panoramic views across the Cairngorms. With mountains as far as the eye can see, take it all in at the scree-laden summit of 963 metres. The estate has a pony trekking centre so you can even do it on a highland pony ‘a la Victoria’. We suggest taking an extra day if you wish to undertake this tough climb.

From the village of Blair Atholl, we pass Blair Castle as we press on towards Old Blair. This is where the Duke and Duchess stayed during the royal visit. Following in the footsteps of Victoria and Albert’s three week adventure will take us deep into the wilds of Glen Tilt. We’re taking the high road into the glen, though there is also a low road nearer the river. Neither is lacking in scenery and they meet just short of Gilbert’s Bridge a few miles on. After crossing the bridge, the track runs alongside the river. We need to keep our eyes peeled for a partially hidden well in the bank; a good opportunity for some refreshment.


Blair Atholl to Mar Lodge, via Glen Tilt Distance: 23 miles

Victoria’s Well

Victoria and Albert came up this track almost every day in search of adventure. On one such excursion the Queen stopped at this spring, took a swig and declared it the best water she’d ever tasted. The story goes she told her servants that from then on all the water she drank throughout the entire holiday had to come from this spring.


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Over a mile along the glen and we hit a wooded area around Forest Lodge. Beyond the lodge is a dramatic waterfall where – if it’s the season – we can see jumping salmon. This is also the very spot where a world-changing discovery was made.

Driving north-eastwards up the glen, in over four miles we come to Bedford Bridge and the Falls of Tarf. These impressive falls are the scene for a famous portrait of Victoria fording the Tarf on her pony.

Carn a’Chlamain: Stag Hunting and Luncheon

Despite covering over two hundred and twenty square miles, the Atholl Estate is well under half the size it was when Victoria and Albert visited. But it’s still one of Scotland’s great hunting estates, with over seven thousand deer roaming these glens. When they came up here on Saturday 21 September 1844, Victoria came to the summit while Albert was off trying to bag a stag. ‘I went up quite to the top, which is deep in moss… Here we sat some time sketching the ponies below... The view was quite beautiful, nothing but mountains all around us, and the solitude, the complete solitude, very impressive… We descended this highest pinnacle, and proceeded on a level to meet Albert… He had bad luck, I’m sorry to say.’

Hutton’s Waterfall: The Founder of Modern Geology

At this very spot Scottish geologist James Hutton made a world-changing discovery. In 1785 he saw that granite had been injected in a molten state into far older rocks. His finding provided unequivocal evidence that the earth was millions of years older than the Bible teaches. Heretical stuff in late 18th century Britain! From the viewing area you can see the distinct pink and grey colours where the rocks meet.


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Soon after the bridge we pass the Aberdeenshire – Perthshire border. This is just below the watershed from where the rivers either flow west to the Atlantic or east to the North Sea. We’re also now into Mar Lodge Estate run by the National Trust of Scotland. As the narrow corridor of Glen Tilt gives way to the vast flood plain of the River Dee, the route crosses fords at the Bynack Burn and the Geldie Burn. Please plan ahead and allow for the weather as the Geldie, in particular, is a challenging crossing and not always possible. Once across these burns, stone ruins allude to a dark episode in the country’s history.

A few miles to the east is the Linn of Dee. On our way through the flat plain, however, savour fantastic views of distant mountain ranges. In particular, look out for the often snow-capped Devil’s Point. The Gaelic name it derives from isn’t quite so polite! The Linn of Dee is a famous picnic spot where the Dee is funnelled through a rocky gorge below. It rampages below a gothic arched bridge opened by none other than our Victoria. A few miles further down the Dee and we’re resting our heads at the old stables of Mar Lodge. This is Mar Lodge Base Camp and the National Trust for Scotland offers budget accommodation here for walkers.

Bedford Bridge: The Right to Roam

In the portrait, Victoria’s Atholl Highlanders are wading through chest-high water with bagpipes in hand. They had to ford the river here as there was no bridge. In fact this bridge was only built after a young boy called Francis Bedford drowned while trying to swim across in 1879. The Duke of Atholl had pulled down the only footbridge to discourage people from

entering his deer park. It was part of a long running feud over access to the public. In the 1840s, public access down this route had been secured. A group of students, led by their professor, were chased off the estate and the resulting Court of Session ruled against the Duke of Atholl. Since 2003, Scotland’s Right to Roam Act has given far greater access to walkers here than in England and Wales. You’re allowed to walk almost anywhere as long as you don’t upset the wildlife… or the landowners!

The Clearances

When wool prices soared in the 18th century, estates moved to sheep farming. It was simply more profitable but did not support a tenant population. Peasant farmers and tenants, now surplus to requirements, were ‘cleared’ off their land from 1780. When in the 1820s and 1830s wool prices fell and the value of sporting estates rose rapidly, the sheep went the same way and were shifted off the land. The Highland Clearances devastated Gaelic culture and clan society and dragged on well into the mid-1800s when Victoria and Albert were bringing glamour and royal prestige to these sporting estates. The evictions here were not as intense or brutal as they were in the north and west. Some got employment on the sporting estates as stalkers or game keepers, and others were

found alternative housing. Yet the eerie emptiness, so appealing to Albert and Victoria, remains this landscape’s most striking feature. Even today, over half of Scotland is owned by fewer than five hundred people.


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We can’t leave Mar Lodge without seeing the ballroom. From the old stables we walk down to the main hunting lodge. Round the side we find a strange and rather out-of-place looking building. Inside, an incredible yet macabre collection of 2435 pairs of antlers, collected by the Dukes of Fife, stare at us from every inch of wall and ceiling. But back to walking! Crossing the white Victoria Bridge we follow the south bank of the Dee three miles east to the village of Braemar at the heart of the Cairngorms. The village has much to offer, but we’re heading to the Memorial Park, venue for the annual Braemar Gathering.

At this point we need to go back on ourselves a few miles to the Victoria Bridge near Mar Lodge. With no bridge over the river at Braemar and mountains blocking the way east, the only route to Balmoral is on the A93, which doesn’t make for a relaxing walk. Plans are afoot to build a foot and cycle bridge over the Dee at Braemar so hopefully this little detour will soon be unnecessary. We’ve still got a fair distance to cover today so we’re pressing on along the north bank of the river but if you have time, admire the views and tranquil setting at the Linn of Quoich and the Punch Bowl. You’ve guessed it, Victoria once picnicked here. It’s around six miles before we come to a walker’s car park by the A93 near Invercauld Bridge. Heading down across the road, a brief walk along back along the wooded river bank takes us to the beautiful old Bridge of Dee.


Mar Lodge to Crathie, via Braemar and Balmoral Castle Distance: 20 miles

The Braemar Gathering

On the first Saturday of every September, Victoria’s great, great granddaughter attends the Braemar Gathering, the most famous Highland Games of them all. Gatherings of some sort have been held here since the time of King Malcolm around 900 years ago. After the disastrous 1745 uprising and defeat at Culloden, however, it was banned for over 30 years. By 1800 it was up and running again and ever since Queen Victoria’s visit in 1848 it has been regularly attended by the reigning monarch and members of the Royal Family. This all helped to rebrand the games in the 19th century. In came bright tartans, dancing and bagpipes as workers competed for cash prizes and the honour of their estates.


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Over the bridge we leave this picturesque setting and pass through a gate into the estate. Around 180,000 walkers come through the estate every year. Follow the high path through the Ballochbuie Forest that bends slightly south away from the river. This ancient pine forest is teeming with wildlife and offers superb views across the estate. Look out for the odd clearing where you see the castle off in the distance.

We’re looping round the Garbh Allt Falls where a beautiful cast iron footbridge arches over the steep and dramatic Garbh Allt river. The path brings us back within sight of the Dee, which we follow for around four miles until we’re almost at the castle. Following the well-marked footpath up to the Purchase Cairn, we’re rewarded with some cracking views of the castle and estate.

Brig O’ Dee

This remarkable six-arch, hump-backed rubble bridge is the back way into Balmoral for walkers. On the line of the old military road, it was built in around 1752. When Albert and Victoria took over the Balmoral estate, they wanted their privacy. With the old road running so close to the castle they had the bridge bypassed. The current Invercauld Bridge and a new road that ran along the north bank of the river were constructed.

The Purchase of Balmoral

At 50,000 acres today, the original estate purchased by Albert in 1852 was 11,000 acres in size. Four years prior to this they had had leased the estate without ever having actually seen it. The advice of Albert’s physician and some paintings were enough to convince them they should move in. When Victoria first laid eyes on the old castle in September 1848, she was delighted, declaring it, ‘a very pretty little castle in the old Scottish style.’ This slice of the Highlands would cost them £30,000, or about £2.8 million in today’s money. With revolution sweeping Europe and living in constant fear of revolt, Balmoral would provide a welcome retreat away from the pressures of London.


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We’re taking the paths down to the castle and out of the main entrance to take a rest at the small village of Crathie, famous for its church regularly attended by the royals when in residence. In the restored Manse Courtyard of historic Crathie Kirk are Crathie Opportunity Holidays. This charity offers beautiful cottages overlooking the Dee and specially designed to cater for disabled people.

Balmoral Castle: Out with the Old….

With their ever growing family they decided old Balmoral was too small. So, Albert – who had been heavily involved with the building of the new Houses of Parliament - set about designing a new castle. Work began in 1852 and they celebrated by borrowing another local tradition and erecting the first of many memorial cairns. This one lies on top of Craig Gowan. On the evening of the 11th October 1852, the royals partied up here with pipers, whisky and dances as the cairn was being built. Victoria was watching adoringly as her husband laid the last stone. In her diary she gushed, ‘I felt almost inclined to cry. May God bless this place and allow us yet to see it and enjoy it many a long year’.

Four years later, the new castle stood as Albert’s architectural love letter to the Highlands. Bristling with towers and turrets and furnished everywhere inside with clashing tartans. All designed by the Prince himself, the new castle could almost be described as McDisneyland. Victoria wrote that Albert’s creation was ‘perfection’ in every way.


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With a much needed rest under our belts following two demanding days, we’re in for a more relaxed conclusion to our walk. Cross Brunel’s bridge and head back into the castle grounds. Pass the grand memorial obelisks in memory of Victoria and Albert en route to Rhebreck. If you fancy a wee dram at this stage of the morning then the Royal Lochnagar Distillery – which Victoria and Albert visited in 1848 – is just nearby. Probably better we save that for a more sociable hour though! Through the walker’s gate and we’re in thick woodland. After half a mile, at a crossroads, we take the path south and after a short while woodland is replaced by a truly impressive reveal and vast open country. The Gelder Burn winds its way towards Mount Lochnagar, looming large ahead of us.

We’re pushing further south. At a fork we follow the path round to the right then swing left towards a cluster of trees in the shadow of mighty Lochnagar. In amongst the trees is a cottage, Gelder Shiel, with a walker’s bothy just behind the main building.


Crathie to Glas-allt-Shiel, via Gelder Shiel and Loch Muick Distance: 12 miles

Mount Lochnagar

By the 1850s, the royal duo had become much more adventurous than a decade earlier on the Atholl Estate. They even conquered Mount Lochnagar several times, though the ponies were no doubt put to good work. This munro has literary connections through Lord Byron and Prince Charles, who penned a children’s book titled The Old Man of Lochnagar in the 1980s. At 1155 metres, it’s the headline feature of the estate. Interestingly, the Gaelic term for the summit translates as ‘small cairn of faeces’.


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We’re pressing on along the Gelder Burn until the track joins the main footpath heading south towards Loch Muick. Following the track round Cairn Connachcraig we cross a hefty ford and come through pretty woodland before arriving at Allt-na-guibhsaich.

A mile south of the cottage are the sandy shores Loch Muick or ‘Loch of the Swine’. The Muick river winds its way down to the northern end of the Loch, which stretches two and a half miles and offers sensational views. The royal couple kept a boat on this loch and both the launching tracks and boathouse they used remain. Our royal duo’s boat must have been quite big as she noted it took four men to row it! We’re taking the track to another cottage, Glas-allt-Shiel, at the far end of the loch. Surrounded by lush green grass, picnic benches and babbling brooks set amongst loch-side woodland make this an ideal spot for a relaxing picnic.

Note: Just east of here at Spittal of Glen Muick is a ranger station with toilets and parking. Tracks run along both sides of the loch, but, for a higher route, the Capel Road track ascends up Black Hill for magnificent elevated views across Glen Muick.

Gelder Shiel: The Simple Life

For two months each year, Balmoral was Albert and Victoria’s sanctuary. They had their own little Scottish fantasy and part of that was affecting Scottish mannerisms. The queen while up here put on a slight Scotts accent and Albert tried unsuccessfully learning Gaelic. The pair took great pleasure in the simple Scottish life, visiting cottages, eating porridge and pancakes and doing the Scottish thing. It was a much needed release from all the hidebound protocols of court life. Gelder Shiel would later become one of Victoria’s favourite retreats. Tucked away in this little enclave of forest with the soothing sound of the Gelder Burn bubbling away, you can certainly understand why.

‘The Hut’

Victoria ironically nicknamed this 15-bedroomed building ‘The Hut’. Nowadays it’s let out to holidaymakers. But in the 1850s the royal couple camped out here regularly after they had it built in 1849. You can still see a little corridor that was built to provide passage between their love nest and the servants’ quarters.

The Widow’s House

Whenever it came to that time when the Queen and Prince Consort had to leave Balmoral, the royal mood darkened. In October 1861 the Queen wrote, ‘my heart sinks within me at the prospect of going back to Windsor’. Away from here Albert was increasingly depressed and weighed down by the demands of court. Most exhausting was the brood of nine children. Years later, Victoria could still not forgive eldest son Bertie for the toll his scandalous philandering took on Albert’s fragile health. In December 1861, the Prince was diagnosed with typhoid fever. At Windsor, the family gathered around to read to him. Victoria chose a novel by Walter Scott. On 14 December, Albert died, aged forty-two. ‘The Hut’ was too full of happy memories for Victoria. The couple had always said

they wanted to build somewhere here, so she did, and called it the ‘Widow’s House’. This was for years where she came to enjoy her solitude, and where we complete our four-day walk.

programme 2 victoria albert’s highland · pdf fileprogramme 2 victoria &...

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