The Mackenzie Memorial – An Hour in the Woods at Ballater
About 1.4 miles on foot.
A waymarked loop from Station Square in Ballater goes through the woods to a granite memorial of 1906 and the ponds where the village used to curl and skate.
It takes an hour, and the Rothesay Rooms is on the square when you get back.
- Time
- About an hour: a waymarked woodland loop of about a mile and a half (2.3 km) from Station Square.
- The path
- Mostly wide, firm stone path and forest track, with one short stretch of narrow, rough earth path.
- Where to start
- The council's free car parks on Station Square and Church Square in Ballater, where a voluntary charge is asked by RingGo or PayByPhone.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From mid October to March the forest track can be icy and the light goes by late afternoon. The Rothesay Rooms shuts on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Dogs
- On a lead or close at heel.
- Children
- A short, easy loop for any age that can manage a rough stretch of path.
- Toilets
- Public toilets on Station Square, open 8am to 6pm from October to March.
- Before you set out
- The National Park's notice, read on 9 October 2026, closes part of the riverside on the Seven Bridges Walk after flood damage. That is a different walk from the same square, and nothing is listed for this one.
The walk
This is one of the waymarked walks that start from Station Square in Ballater, and a short one: a loop of about a mile and a half through woodland, back where it began within the hour. Its landmark is the memorial to Sir Allan Russell Mackenzie, built in 1906. It's a curved wall of rough pink granite with a taller centrepiece and a plaque, standing on its own platform among the birches.
Further round are Ballater's old curling and skating ponds, quiet now among the trees. Most of the way is on wide, firm stone path and forest track, and there is one short stretch of narrow, rough earth path. Keep dogs on a lead or close at heel.
Ballater grew up at the end of the Deeside railway. The company wanted to carry the line on to Braemar, and Queen Victoria would not have it, so the trains stopped here.
If it rains
A short loop, mostly on firm path under trees: fine between showers, and the old station is on the square when the rain comes on.
Afterwards
The Rothesay Rooms
Lunch
Lunch is at the Rothesay Rooms, in the Old Royal Station on the square where the walk ends. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with mains from noon to 3.30pm and a children's menu, and it shuts on Mondays and Tuesdays. Book on 01339 753816 for a weekend lunch. If it's full, the Ghillies Bar at the Balmoral Arms in the village serves lunch from noon to 3pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
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 a table at the Rothesay Rooms on 01339 753816 for a weekend lunch; it opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Amy Muir via Google