Cambus o' May – A Picnic by the White Bridge
A few hours.
The route
At Cambus o' May, between Ballater and Dinnet, a picnic table stands on the bank of the Dee at the end of a white suspension footbridge, with birch and pine along both sides of the river.
It makes a simple family outing on Deeside. Buy the food in Ballater, leave the car at the forest car park and walk the level old railway line to the bridge, which takes about 25 minutes. Then eat by the water and watch people cross the bridge while the children try the turnstiles.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
First
Pick up the picnic
Ballater is six minutes' drive west of the car park along the A93, so the picnic can be picked up in the village on the way.
- A deli
- Deeside Deli & Garden Shop on Bridge Street in Ballater
- A butcher
- Sheridan's the Butcher on Bridge Street in Ballater
- The supermarket
- The Co-op on Golf Road in Ballater
The day
Cambus o' May
Pick up the picnic in Ballater, then carry it along the old railway line to the table beside the white bridge.
About two hoursAbout 2.5 miles on foot
Cambus o’ May Suspension Bridge
An attraction
Leave the car at the forest car park on the north side of the A93 and walk the Deeside Way, the old railway line, to the white footbridge over the Dee. It's about 25 minutes, wide and level, and fine with a pushchair. The picnic table stands on the bank at the end of the bridge, with the river just below. Bring a rug in case the table is taken. Children can cross the bridge and come back while the food is laid out. The bridge has a turnstile at each end, so a pushchair stays on this side. There are no toilets here, so use the ones in Ballater before setting out. Keep small children close by the river and dogs on a lead. Fires and barbecues are banned from April to September. If there's energy left afterwards, the Lochside Trail from the same car park is a loop of about a quarter of an hour round a lochan in the pines.
If it rains
The table is out in the open and the walk to it has no shelter: in steady rain, keep the picnic for a drier day.