BALMORAL CAIRNS AND CASTLE - LOCHNAGAR SPECIAL

“A fantastic walk and a fantastic guide !! I would fully recommend this as a "must do walk". 10 out of 10. Thank you for bringing this experience.”

Lochnagar Distillery visit
Lunch or post trip dinner
Castle tour by the Balmoral Estate team
Cairns walk open all year
Castle is closed while Royal Family in residence, usually August to mid September
Limited to groups of 8 participants
This event can take anything between 2-5 hours depending on their preference and number of cairns visited
Walking distances of 4-10km (6 miles)
The Cairns are a collection of historical monuments erected by the Royal Family to commemorate significant events, surrounded by beautiful Caledonian pine forest; they are a real hidden treasure in Aberdeenshire. There are thirteen Cairns on the Balmoral Estate, eight of which you have the option to visit on this circular walk. The first Cairn to be built was the Purchase Cairn atop the hill Craig Gowan. It commemorates the purchase of the Balmoral Estate by Prince Albert in 1852. This Cairn, like all the others visited (with the exception of the “Aberdeenshire Pyramid”) are conical in shape and extremely elegant in a simple, rustic and understated way. Made of granite stone, they are covered in lichen, weathered with time and sit beautifully within their surroundings.
The impressive pyramid shaped Prince Albert’s Cairn sits on top of Craig an Lurachain. It was built in the beloved memory of Albert, the Great and Good Prince Consort, erected by his broken hearted widow Queen Victoria in August 1862.