About Balmoral Castle & Estate
Balmoral Castle and Estate is the Scottish home of the British Royal Family. This page is about Balmoral Castle & Estate, the landscape, wildlife, gardens, grounds, exhibitions, shops, cafe, holiday cottages, luxury safaris and salmon fishing.
Balmoral Castle & Estate Description
The Castle and grounds are open to visitors from 1st April to 31st July 2014
Reviews
January special offer🌠-
A cheeky red squirrel at its log pile house.
A fresh dusting of snow at Balmoral Castle this morning.
Storm brewing over Loch Muick!
Take care if you are on the hills tomorrow!
Great advice for anyone visiting the hills this winter!
Have a great International Mountain Day #MountainsMatter
Red deer calves having fun in a wallow!
Some recent footage from our deer wallow camera.
There is a foot bridge out at the far end of the Loch Muick circuit path. It may be some time before the water recedes enough to repair it.
Afternoon light at Balmoral Castle today.
Snow showers at The Spittal of Glen Muick visitor centre this morning.
What an amazing visit. I can certainly see why our wonderful Queen and family love it so much. What an amazingly peaceful location. Wouldv'e loved to see more rooms inside the Castle but guess I will just have to marry Harry to do that maybe� A perfect visit.
We were amazed that the public are allowed into the grounds of Balmoral, thank you to her majesty. It was interesting learning about its history and looking at so many pictures of the royal family. The gardens are beautiful, the cafe has a good choice of decent food, the shop has some local treats and good quality souvenirs. We spent four hours there, didn't see everything.
We took relatives from Canada to visit Balmoral Castle & Estate yesterday having never been before, we were not disappointed. We spent a good 2 and a half hours doing the Audio tour and corgi challenge with my daughters 10 & 7. There were 3 seniors, myself and 2 children and we all loved it. the weather was stunning as were the grounds and we all very much enjoyed the informative and interesting tour. We will defiantly be visiting again. Thanks for a lovely family day out l.
We had a lovely two hour walking tour of the estate grounds- our guide Kathleen was absolutely fabulous! She intermingled facts with personal stories of growing up in and around Balmoral. And the view from the top of the hill made the tiring climb well worth the effort! The grounds and castle are beautiful and the history of Balmoral is very interesting. It was an enjoyable afternoon!
We enjoyed a fabulous day in truly beautiful surroundings, with delicious venison for lunch which we were lucky enough to follow with a 2 hour tour of the estate conducted by the Head Ranger himself . Thouroughly recommended for a day if the vicinity of the Cairngorms. Full 5 stars from me.
We are staying in Rhebreck Lodge and it's a fantastic place. I feel so much at home, and don't want to leave this magical winter wonderland, I'd like to be back to see spring, summer and autumn at Balmoral. Thank you.
Played on the estate golf course and it was a great experience.course was in great condition.the catering team(ellouise & her sister) looking after us were excellent, giving us a first class service with lovely food and drink.
Lovely visit here last week all the staff were lovely especially Bill who drove the people trailer and the staff in the shops. I also was very lucky that I lost my watch near the castle and someone handed it in and the staff were exceptionally nice dealing with this and I’m thankful to everyone who helped me during that time a credit to Scotland and the Queen.
Lovely place to visit, the grounds are beautiful. The luxury Land Rover Safari was a fantastic way to see the large estate and beautiful surroundings.
Lovely afternoon out. Staff were friendly and welcoming. Grounds are lovely and yes you do only get access to one room but what you see is well presented and with good information. Lovely tea room with lovely staff. We had our 1 year old grandson with us and he was given some foamed milk with chocolate sprinkled on top no charge. Could have spent longer. Audio guides very good.
It’s a lovely place to visit and very peaceful too xxx
It was such a beautiful day I enjoyed every minute of it.
We had lunch, very nice, we went for a stroll around the estate so relaxed and so beautiful. I’m not surprised that the royal family love it.�����
I found the grounds and atmosphere of this place purely magical. If you are big fan of the royals and it's history, a visit here is a must. Some people have moaned about the disappointment of only seeing one room, and whilst it may have been nice to see more, I went there, well aware that it is actually her private family home, and I guess she wants to keep at least one part slightly private - given that we actually saw Her Majesty leave for church and return whilst we were there on Sunday, I was more than happy to respect her limited private life whilst strolling through her magnificent grounds and gardens and even felt honoured she would allow us in at all!!! Thank you to all the very friendly & accommodating Balmoral staff for a lovely experience....
Fantastic day out, beautiful gardens and castle. Staff are very helpful, nothing was to much trouble. A little disappointed with only being able to access one room of the castle....but I guess it is the queens private residence.
Beautiful place to visit , steeped in history , the children loved it . You can see why the royals love to holiday here , it’s just stunning scenery and the drive through the highland moors is well worth it . The cafe was nice and my daughter and husband were thrilled with their cheese scones .
We pre bought our tickets on line and this was easy . The staff we met around the estate were all friendly and welcoming . We will definitely return ... when the queen has finished her holidays of course .
Beautiful castle, only one room open for visits would have loved to see more but overall had a lovely time there. Gardens stunning.Little cafe serves homemade cakes and main meals well worth a try. Gift shop is reasonably priced.
Although we had a 3 hour drive it was amazing, great food and service and great for the kids and great pictures of our family day at this amazing place
The castle and grounds where stunning ! Would only visit on a fine dry day though as only allowed access to the ballroom in the castle , which was a wee bit disappointing ..�...I suppose I expected gold guilt walls and ceilings and marble floors ! ...the outside of the castle and the gardens were worth the visit though and the dry sunny day was perfect , the tearoom was lovely staff very polite and friendly all round the castle , scones a bit small �...the museums at start of tour where very nice and informative lots of good pictures and artifacts, �...colette and Jim ....�
Having visited Balmoral and surrounding areas all our lives. My husband and I decided to pay the entrance fee and visit the castle. The grounds and gardens are impressive. The castle is a but smaller than you think. We were disappointed that only The Ballroom was open to the paying public. They had a computer image of rooms, but it would have been nice to see the actual rooms. Apart from that we had a great visit. The Cafe is well worth a visit.
What an amazing visit. I can certainly see why our wonderful Queen and family love it so much. What an amazingly peaceful location. Wouldv'e loved to see more rooms inside the Castle but guess I will just have to marry Harry to do that maybe� A perfect visit.
We were amazed that the public are allowed into the grounds of Balmoral, thank you to her majesty. It was interesting learning about its history and looking at so many pictures of the royal family. The gardens are beautiful, the cafe has a good choice of decent food, the shop has some local treats and good quality souvenirs. We spent four hours there, didn't see everything.
We took relatives from Canada to visit Balmoral Castle & Estate yesterday having never been before, we were not disappointed. We spent a good 2 and a half hours doing the Audio tour and corgi challenge with my daughters 10 & 7. There were 3 seniors, myself and 2 children and we all loved it. the weather was stunning as were the grounds and we all very much enjoyed the informative and interesting tour. We will defiantly be visiting again. Thanks for a lovely family day out l.
We had a lovely two hour walking tour of the estate grounds- our guide Kathleen was absolutely fabulous! She intermingled facts with personal stories of growing up in and around Balmoral. And the view from the top of the hill made the tiring climb well worth the effort! The grounds and castle are beautiful and the history of Balmoral is very interesting. It was an enjoyable afternoon!
We enjoyed a fabulous day in truly beautiful surroundings, with delicious venison for lunch which we were lucky enough to follow with a 2 hour tour of the estate conducted by the Head Ranger himself . Thouroughly recommended for a day if the vicinity of the Cairngorms. Full 5 stars from me.
We are staying in Rhebreck Lodge and it's a fantastic place. I feel so much at home, and don't want to leave this magical winter wonderland, I'd like to be back to see spring, summer and autumn at Balmoral. Thank you.
Played on the estate golf course and it was a great experience.course was in great condition.the catering team(ellouise & her sister) looking after us were excellent, giving us a first class service with lovely food and drink.
Lovely visit here last week all the staff were lovely especially Bill who drove the people trailer and the staff in the shops. I also was very lucky that I lost my watch near the castle and someone handed it in and the staff were exceptionally nice dealing with this and I’m thankful to everyone who helped me during that time a credit to Scotland and the Queen.
Lovely place to visit, the grounds are beautiful. The luxury Land Rover Safari was a fantastic way to see the large estate and beautiful surroundings.
Lovely afternoon out. Staff were friendly and welcoming. Grounds are lovely and yes you do only get access to one room but what you see is well presented and with good information. Lovely tea room with lovely staff. We had our 1 year old grandson with us and he was given some foamed milk with chocolate sprinkled on top no charge. Could have spent longer. Audio guides very good.
It’s a lovely place to visit and very peaceful too xxx
It was such a beautiful day I enjoyed every minute of it.
We had lunch, very nice, we went for a stroll around the estate so relaxed and so beautiful. I’m not surprised that the royal family love it.�����
I found the grounds and atmosphere of this place purely magical. If you are big fan of the royals and it's history, a visit here is a must. Some people have moaned about the disappointment of only seeing one room, and whilst it may have been nice to see more, I went there, well aware that it is actually her private family home, and I guess she wants to keep at least one part slightly private - given that we actually saw Her Majesty leave for church and return whilst we were there on Sunday, I was more than happy to respect her limited private life whilst strolling through her magnificent grounds and gardens and even felt honoured she would allow us in at all!!! Thank you to all the very friendly & accommodating Balmoral staff for a lovely experience....
Fantastic day out, beautiful gardens and castle. Staff are very helpful, nothing was to much trouble. A little disappointed with only being able to access one room of the castle....but I guess it is the queens private residence.
Beautiful place to visit , steeped in history , the children loved it . You can see why the royals love to holiday here , it’s just stunning scenery and the drive through the highland moors is well worth it . The cafe was nice and my daughter and husband were thrilled with their cheese scones .
We pre bought our tickets on line and this was easy . The staff we met around the estate were all friendly and welcoming . We will definitely return ... when the queen has finished her holidays of course .
Beautiful castle, only one room open for visits would have loved to see more but overall had a lovely time there. Gardens stunning.Little cafe serves homemade cakes and main meals well worth a try. Gift shop is reasonably priced.
Although we had a 3 hour drive it was amazing, great food and service and great for the kids and great pictures of our family day at this amazing place
The castle and grounds where stunning ! Would only visit on a fine dry day though as only allowed access to the ballroom in the castle , which was a wee bit disappointing ..�...I suppose I expected gold guilt walls and ceilings and marble floors ! ...the outside of the castle and the gardens were worth the visit though and the dry sunny day was perfect , the tearoom was lovely staff very polite and friendly all round the castle , scones a bit small �...the museums at start of tour where very nice and informative lots of good pictures and artifacts, �...colette and Jim ....�
Having visited Balmoral and surrounding areas all our lives. My husband and I decided to pay the entrance fee and visit the castle. The grounds and gardens are impressive. The castle is a but smaller than you think. We were disappointed that only The Ballroom was open to the paying public. They had a computer image of rooms, but it would have been nice to see the actual rooms. Apart from that we had a great visit. The Cafe is well worth a visit.
What an amazing visit. I can certainly see why our wonderful Queen and family love it so much. What an amazingly peaceful location. Wouldv'e loved to see more rooms inside the Castle but guess I will just have to marry Harry to do that maybe� A perfect visit.
We were amazed that the public are allowed into the grounds of Balmoral, thank you to her majesty. It was interesting learning about its history and looking at so many pictures of the royal family. The gardens are beautiful, the cafe has a good choice of decent food, the shop has some local treats and good quality souvenirs. We spent four hours there, didn't see everything.
We took relatives from Canada to visit Balmoral Castle & Estate yesterday having never been before, we were not disappointed. We spent a good 2 and a half hours doing the Audio tour and corgi challenge with my daughters 10 & 7. There were 3 seniors, myself and 2 children and we all loved it. the weather was stunning as were the grounds and we all very much enjoyed the informative and interesting tour. We will defiantly be visiting again. Thanks for a lovely family day out l.
We had a lovely two hour walking tour of the estate grounds- our guide Kathleen was absolutely fabulous! She intermingled facts with personal stories of growing up in and around Balmoral. And the view from the top of the hill made the tiring climb well worth the effort! The grounds and castle are beautiful and the history of Balmoral is very interesting. It was an enjoyable afternoon!
We enjoyed a fabulous day in truly beautiful surroundings, with delicious venison for lunch which we were lucky enough to follow with a 2 hour tour of the estate conducted by the Head Ranger himself . Thouroughly recommended for a day if the vicinity of the Cairngorms. Full 5 stars from me.
We are staying in Rhebreck Lodge and it's a fantastic place. I feel so much at home, and don't want to leave this magical winter wonderland, I'd like to be back to see spring, summer and autumn at Balmoral. Thank you.
Played on the estate golf course and it was a great experience.course was in great condition.the catering team(ellouise & her sister) looking after us were excellent, giving us a first class service with lovely food and drink.
Lovely visit here last week all the staff were lovely especially Bill who drove the people trailer and the staff in the shops. I also was very lucky that I lost my watch near the castle and someone handed it in and the staff were exceptionally nice dealing with this and I’m thankful to everyone who helped me during that time a credit to Scotland and the Queen.
Lovely place to visit, the grounds are beautiful. The luxury Land Rover Safari was a fantastic way to see the large estate and beautiful surroundings.
Lovely afternoon out. Staff were friendly and welcoming. Grounds are lovely and yes you do only get access to one room but what you see is well presented and with good information. Lovely tea room with lovely staff. We had our 1 year old grandson with us and he was given some foamed milk with chocolate sprinkled on top no charge. Could have spent longer. Audio guides very good.
It’s a lovely place to visit and very peaceful too xxx
It was such a beautiful day I enjoyed every minute of it.
We had lunch, very nice, we went for a stroll around the estate so relaxed and so beautiful. I’m not surprised that the royal family love it.�����
I found the grounds and atmosphere of this place purely magical. If you are big fan of the royals and it's history, a visit here is a must. Some people have moaned about the disappointment of only seeing one room, and whilst it may have been nice to see more, I went there, well aware that it is actually her private family home, and I guess she wants to keep at least one part slightly private - given that we actually saw Her Majesty leave for church and return whilst we were there on Sunday, I was more than happy to respect her limited private life whilst strolling through her magnificent grounds and gardens and even felt honoured she would allow us in at all!!! Thank you to all the very friendly & accommodating Balmoral staff for a lovely experience....
Fantastic day out, beautiful gardens and castle. Staff are very helpful, nothing was to much trouble. A little disappointed with only being able to access one room of the castle....but I guess it is the queens private residence.
Beautiful place to visit , steeped in history , the children loved it . You can see why the royals love to holiday here , it’s just stunning scenery and the drive through the highland moors is well worth it . The cafe was nice and my daughter and husband were thrilled with their cheese scones .
We pre bought our tickets on line and this was easy . The staff we met around the estate were all friendly and welcoming . We will definitely return ... when the queen has finished her holidays of course .
Beautiful castle, only one room open for visits would have loved to see more but overall had a lovely time there. Gardens stunning.Little cafe serves homemade cakes and main meals well worth a try. Gift shop is reasonably priced.
Although we had a 3 hour drive it was amazing, great food and service and great for the kids and great pictures of our family day at this amazing place
The castle and grounds where stunning ! Would only visit on a fine dry day though as only allowed access to the ballroom in the castle , which was a wee bit disappointing ..�...I suppose I expected gold guilt walls and ceilings and marble floors ! ...the outside of the castle and the gardens were worth the visit though and the dry sunny day was perfect , the tearoom was lovely staff very polite and friendly all round the castle , scones a bit small �...the museums at start of tour where very nice and informative lots of good pictures and artifacts, �...colette and Jim ....�
Having visited Balmoral and surrounding areas all our lives. My husband and I decided to pay the entrance fee and visit the castle. The grounds and gardens are impressive. The castle is a but smaller than you think. We were disappointed that only The Ballroom was open to the paying public. They had a computer image of rooms, but it would have been nice to see the actual rooms. Apart from that we had a great visit. The Cafe is well worth a visit.