We’ll need to go back too. It starts near a side entrance to Balmoral Castle and soon rises to Princess Beatrice's Cairn at the side of the track, then continues quite steeply to a pyramid-shaped cairn dedicated to Prince Albert. She obviously loved him very much to have this built for him.
A little edit in Adobe Lightroom has helped me lighten some of these.
This was a perfect place for stargazing, no light pollution at all. Don’t do what I first tried to do and Google the closest road to the pyramid.
using a map and compass.
We crammed so much into this weekend.
Prince Albert’s cairn (the largest) was built after his death in 1861 and now stands proudly on a hilltop overlooking the seemingly endless forest below.
I loved the walk, then learning about some of the history after it made it even more special.
In hindsight, walking the trail clockwise turned out better for us.
I know that the cairns are just a tower of stones, but they also have meaning and purpose.There it was, sitting just off the path to the left amongst the shelter of the swaying trees. Last of 6 summits on a morning circuit. Please link direct to our walking routes and not to our map pages. I’m curious as to how far one would have to walk if one started from the parking lot at Royal Lochnagar and walked to Prince Leopold’s cairn and/or Prince Albert’s cairn?
I waved at the castle just to say hello, as you do.
I totally get why he felt that connection.We spent a lot of time here, recording time lapses, taking photos and video.
We could have turned back the way we came but I didn’t want to miss out on the rest of the walk.We had to pick up our pace and not stop as often. It’s difficult to describe in words.I think it’s feeling at one with what’s around you, knowing that this is what life should be about. I felt so lucky that the sun was shining and I could see this.
It felt like I was going on a treasure hunt or geocaching. Did they love it I wondered? We walked across the road towards the houses and turned first left, passing a red post box.I was in my element as you can imagine. Final Approach to the Cairn
Soon the entrance to Balmoral Castle is seen on your right; ignore this and follow the road to the left.
Return to the path by the same route and turn left. My head was down deleting old photos and videos from my phone but also trying to pick up my pace as Alan was way ahead of me.Suddenly I stopped and looked up, and there was When I realised she died so young it made me feel sad. These are the most beautiful woodlands I’ve ever seen. We shouldn’t worry or feel stressed about our lives, but experience feelings of true happiness, appreciating our beautiful planet, caring for it and each other. The machine didn’t give us a ticket. View from Prince Albert’s Cairn View from Prince Albert’s Cairn Inscription on the cairn ‘To the beloved memory of Albert the great and good Prince Consort. As I was taking photos, Alan, as always, was taking photos of me.As I was walking through the trail, I wondered how many other members of the Royal family past and present walked the same path. We walked on but I was wondering what was along there.You will see from my photos we were almost reaching twilight. We knew of a secluded spot where we thought it would be okay to park.On the way there we stopped off at Braemar again to see if the chip shop was open on a Sunday. Keep right where the path forks and soon Prince Leopold's cairn is reached by a short detour to the left. OS 1:25K mapping © Crown Copyright and database copyright 2010. Parking is available in a large layby a hundred yards or so to the west.
Prince Albert's Cairn (1862), Balmoral Castle Estate, Crathie, Nr Ballater, Royal Deeside, Cairngorms National Park, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK.
Follow the track through the wooden gate ahead and then almost immediately turn right onto a path which doubles back slightly to pass behind the cottage, reaching a path junction where you turn left into the pines.
I was wary crossing the bridge for some reason. I knew straight away I was going fall in love with this trail. Explore Scotland through my photos and experiences.