About Braemar and Royal Deeside

Braemar

Discover the best Scotland has to offer - Highland scenery, land of castles, royal residences, abundant wildlife, historic village, rivers rushing over ancient rocks, hills of heather, mountains reflecting purple in the distance, and of course our national drink, Scotch Whisky - Uisge Beatha - the water of life! The beauty of the Scottish countryside surrounds Braemar and there is much to revel in.

Braemar Facts

• Braemar is translated from Braigh Mharr in Gaelic
• It is the highest and most mountainous area in the UK, with each of its 182,000 acres being more than 1000ft above sea level (the village centre is 1110ft)
• The area contains some 24 Munros, or mountains over 3,000ft, with three over 4,000ft.
• It has the highest 18-hole golf course in the country
• The Cairnwell Pass, at 2,100ft is the highest road in the country, which on the Braemar side passes through the Glenshee Ski Centre.
• Over a hundred years ago Queen Victoria chose Deeside for her holidays, and successive generations of the Royal Family have followed her example
• The world-famous River Dee starts in the Linn of Dee valley adjacent to Braemar, meandering some 80 miles through the beautiful Dee Valley ending up in Aberdeen

Braemar History

Braemar is full of history. It was the site of the Jacobite Rising of 1715 where the standard was raised to put the house of Stuart back on the British throne. The actual spot is now the Invercauld Arms Hotel. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the first part of Treasure Island in a Braemar cottage in August, 1881.

Two castles add to the atmosphere of the village. Kindrochit Castle, built in 1390 and now a ruin, stands in the centre of the village. Braemar Castle, ½ mile to the north, is an L-plan tower house built as a hunting seat by the Earl of Mar in 1628. It burned 60 years later and was rebuilt with turrets and crenellations surrounding the original tower house.

Amenities

The centre of Braemar is a bustling place and a popular halt for bus tours. There is a variety of shops and, in the centre, the Highland Heritage Centre with displays on Braemar's royal connections and the Highland Gathering. This is housed in a building which is also home to the Tourist Information Centre.

Churches

Behind the Heritage Centre is Braemar Parish Church, with its distinctive spire: just one of four churches in the village, three of which are still active.

Climate

Although Braemar is officially the coldest place in Britain, the winter temperatures when compared to other places of the same latitude - such as Moscow - are relatively warm. This is because much of Britain's weather is controlled by the Gulf Stream. These warm wet winds act to keep Scotland cool in summer and warm in winter. They also bring most of the rainfall on westerly/ south westerly winds. Braemar and Royal Deeside are protected from much of the wet weather by being in shelter of the Cairngorm Mountains. Moreover, at an altitude of 1100 feet Braemar does not suffer the sea mists of eastern Britain. Overall, despite its relative coolness there is much to recommend about the climate here.

The amount of sunshine recorded in Braemar is greatly affected by the hills surrounding the village. It is likely that (observed from the village) on sunny days the sun rises about an hour later and sets about an hour earlier because of the hills.

Because much of the rain affecting Scotland come from Westerly and South-Westerly winds blowing off the Atlantic and because of the hills protecting Braemar, the rainfall is not as great as would be expected for a town further to the west of Scotland. Total rainfall averages 890mm (35in) with the winter months being somewhat wetter than the summer months.

Of course, in winter some of the precipitation comes in the form of snow. Braemar, in fact, sits between two of Scotland's ski resorts, Glenshee 8 miles (13km) to the south and the Lecht 24 miles (39km) to the north. Snowfalls can be expected in the village anytime between about the start of November and the end of April but, except during the months of January through to March, the snow would not normally stay for more than about a few hours. The ski slopes, being somewhat higher than Braemar, can usually offer skiing from mid-January through to mid-March although the length and quality of the ski seasons vary markedly from year to year.