Ballater – A Village Wander and Tea in the Conservatory
A few hours.
The route
Ballater is a granite village built round its green, with the station where Queen Victoria arrived for Balmoral, shops wearing Royal Warrants over their doors, and a gallery or two on the way out of town.
Spend an hour wandering it, then walk up Braemar Road to Darroch Learg, a country house hotel on the wooded slope above the village, for afternoon tea in its conservatory, with the golf course, the river and the hills below.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Darroch Learg in Ballater.
Book afternoon tea at Darroch Learg at least two days ahead on 01339 755443, for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday from 2pm, and ask the price when you ring.
The day
Ballater
A slow hour round the village on foot, from the old station along Bridge Street and out along Braemar Road, ending with tea and cake looking over the Dee.
About three hours
Ballater
Start at the Old Royal Station on Station Square, rebuilt after a fire in 2015, where Queen Victoria stepped off the train for Balmoral. Walk down Bridge Street and look up at the shop fronts: several carry Royal Warrant crests, and Sheridan's the butcher has held its warrants since 1987. The Strong Water Co. at number 2 is a whisky shop lined floor to ceiling with bottles, open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and Sunday, 11am to 4pm. Then head west out of the village along Braemar Road, where Larks Gallery at number 10 shows contemporary art, Thursday to Monday.
15 min on foot
Darroch Learg
Afternoon tea
It's 15 minutes' walk along Braemar Road to Darroch Learg at number 56, a country house hotel on the slope above the road. Afternoon tea is served in its conservatory restaurant on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm, and the hotel looks south over the golf course and the Dee to the hills. Book at least two days ahead on 01339 755443, and ask the price when you ring. It's step-free, with a lift. If it's full, the Balmoral Arms back in the village serves afternoon tea by its open fire every day, noon to 4pm, from £32 a head.
If it rains
On a wet afternoon, keep the wander short: the Strong Water Co. and Larks Gallery are both indoors, and tea is in the conservatory.
