Aberdeenshire

Ballater

A granite village on the River Dee in Royal Deeside, planned in the late 1700s for the spa at Pannanich Wells, eight miles east of Balmoral.

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Welcome

Ballater is a granite village set out round its church on the green, with the oak woods of Craigendarroch rising straight up behind the roofs.

It was laid out in the late 1700s for visitors taking the waters at Pannanich Wells, and it grew prosperous once Queen Victoria came to Balmoral, eight miles up the road.

Bridge Street runs down past delis, cafés and independent shops to the granite bridge over the Dee. Along the river lies the golf course, eighteen holes of heathland with Lochnagar to the west, where James Braid and Harry Vardon played an exhibition match in 1906. Waymarked walks start in the middle of the village, from the riverside path to the steep climb up Craigendarroch.

Darroch Learg stands in its own wooded grounds on the slopes of Craigendarroch, a house of 1888 that the Franks family has run as a hotel since 1961, with views across the Dee to the hills around Glen Muick. Parking by the church is free.

Ballater from the air at an autumn sunset, its grey granite streets and the church on its green below the wooded hill of Craigendarroch, the hills of Deeside beyond.

Ballater from the air at an autumn sunset, the church on its green and Craigendarroch behind.Press a mark to look closer.

The walk

A steep climb from the village to the top of Craigendarroch, for the view to Lochnagar.

Distance: 2 miles (3.2 km), from Station Square.
Time: Allow two hours.
The path: Mostly narrow and earthy, steep and rocky.
The easy way: A path of 2¼ miles round the hill, under old oaks, Scots pine and birch, also about two hours.
Signs: Waymarked and signposted from Station Square, like six other walks from the village.

Before you go

Ballater is on the A93, about 40 miles west of Aberdeen, and everything in the village is within an easy walk of the church.

Parking: Free in Church Square, by the church, and in two car parks on Station Square. A voluntary charge can be paid by phone.
By bus: Stagecoach's 201 from Union Square in Aberdeen, through Banchory and Aboyne, about once an hour and about an hour and 40 minutes; some buses go on to Braemar. The double-deckers carry two bikes.
By train: The nearest station is Aberdeen, at Union Square, where the 201 starts.
Toilets: In the Square, with baby changing and disabled access: 8am to 8pm from April to September, 8am to 6pm from October to March.
The station: The Old Royal Station on Station Square holds the library, the Rothesay Rooms café and a replica of a Victorian royal carriage.
On foot or bike: The Deeside Way, 41 miles for walking and cycling from Aberdeen, ends in Ballater, and from Aboyne it follows the old railway line.
In August: The Highland Games, held since 1864, on the second Thursday of August in Monaltrie Park.

Did you know

The River Dee winds through a wooded valley near Ballater, autumn colour along the banks

Did you know

A cure at the wells made the village.

By 1745 an old woman, Elspet Michie, was said to have been cured of scrofula by bathing in and drinking the water at Pannanich, across the Dee. It became a spa in 1760, and John Brown, later Queen Victoria's servant, worked there as an ostler.

Ballater's high street runs past the Alexandra Hotel towards a church spire beneath wooded hills

Did you know

Laid out round its church.

So many came to Pannanich that its inn could not hold them. Francis Farquharson of Monaltrie, and later his brother William, planned a village across the river in the late 1700s, on a grid with the church at its centre.

A church spire rises above Ballater's high street, shoppers walking past parked cars and hillside beyond

Did you know

A grander church for a richer town.

The first church on the green, consecrated in 1800, had a wooden steeple. After the railway came in 1866 the village grew from 362 people to 1,256 by 1901, and the old church was thought out of keeping with it. J. Russell Mackenzie of Aberdeen built the present one in 1873 and 1874.

Ballater from the air, the River Dee curving past the town, the hills of Deeside under heavy cloud.

Did you know

Four bridges over the Dee.

The first bridge, of 1783, was carried off by a flood, and Thomas Telford's of 1809 went in the Muckle Spate of 1829. A wooden bridge followed in 1834, and Queen Victoria opened the granite one you cross today in 1885.

Pedestrians cross Ballater's high street as a bus passes beneath a church spire and wooded hills

Did you know

The end of the line, by royal wish.

The railway reached Ballater in 1866 and was meant to run on to Braemar, but the royal family objected, so the line stopped here and royals stepped off for Balmoral. The station was painted black and gold for Tsar Nicholas II in 1896. The line closed in 1966.