Littlemill to Crathie

Walk 1

The walk today is in Upper Deeside and traverses part of the Balmoral estate.

The walk starts at Littlemill after getting off the bus by the bridge over Girnock Burn. Start walking south west, following the left bank of the burn. You will come across two junctions. Keep right at the first one (the left path leads you to Mill of Cosh), and left at the second one. If you are on the right track, you should cross a small burn and head into a wooded area.

Continue on this path past Loinveg. You will come across a junction (OS grid ref: NO 3137 9305) with the option to turn right to Camlet or proceed straight forward. Both tracks will eventually rejoin, so you can choose which one you’d prefer. Once you’re back on the main track (OS grid ref: NO 3100 9232), continue ahead for about 400m. At the junction, keep right on the track heading west past some grouse butts and towards Ford Bovaglie. Continue to the next junction. For those who wish to walk up Tom Bad a’Mhonaidh (473m), turn left for a short walk up the hill, then come back down in a north-westerly direction to meet the path again.

We will then continue in a north-westerly direction on the track downhill, passing Buailteach towards the Royal Lochnagar Distillery. Turn into the village of Easter Balmoral. Turn right and walk a short distance to a suspension bridge over the River Dee. Cross this bridge and walk past the ruins of St Manir’s Church, then turn left to the car park for Balmoral Castle. The bus will be parked in the coach park.

Walk 2

For those wishing to go for a shorter walk, there are plenty of options once in Crathie. Please find below notes for a walk that goes past some of the Balmoral Cairns.

Start at the Balmoral Castle Car Park and cross the River Dee. At the Obelisk, turn left and follow the road to a junction where you’ll see a sign for the Royal Lochnagar Distillery. Turn right up the hill. At the next junction, turn right to cross a bridge and then immediately turn left, following a road heading uphill, passing some cottages.

At the next junction, turn left to go up to Princess Beatrice’s Cairn. Following the path will eventually lead you to Prince Albert’s Cairn and then back down to a T-junction. At the junction, turn right and continue north. Keep on this track at the next junction, walking through the trees. The next cairn is easy to miss. You will come across a path junction at the coordinate NO 25691 93724. After about 50 minutes, there is a rough path on the left heading steeply uphill. It leads to Princess Helena’s cairn.

Return to the path by the same route and turn left to continue along it until Princess Louise’s cairn, erected in honour of her marriage to the Marquis of Lorne in 1871. The easiest way to visit the base of this cairn is to continue past it on the main path and then take a clear path on the left that leads back to it.

The next cairn is reached by a short detour to the right from the path. The Purchase Cairn was erected in October 1852 to commemorate the purchase of the estate by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Return to the main path and continue downhill. Keep right at two junctions and continue downhill briefly, until Prince Leopold’s cairn is seen, reached by a short detour to the left. This cairn directly overlooks Balmoral Castle. It was purchased by Queen Victoria in 1848 and largely remodelled under the direction of Prince Albert. From here, return to the main path and continue downhill, turning east-southeast.

At the next junction (NO 26032 94315), turn north, going past some buildings, staying on the path to reach the junction at coordinates NO 25896 94854. From there, turn right and retrace your steps to the car park.

Bus departs for Aberdeen at 3pm.

Committee member in charge of today’s walk is Giada La Vite.

The above notes are for guidance only and are intended as an aid to be used along with a map and compass and/or a GPS device with OS maps. In the event of an emergency arising, the person in charge today should be notified, if possible, before the emergency services are contacted on 999.

Cancellation/waiting list: It is important to contact Gilbert ( Mobile No 07807240817) if you cannot attend and need to cancel your booking. The bus is often fully booked, which means any cancelled seats can be reallocated to those persons on the waiting list. Anyone unsuccessful in booking a seat should contact Gilbert, who will put them on the waiting list.