Visite de Balmoral et Royal Deeside
Description
En partant d'Aberdeen, nous remontons la rivière Dee jusqu'à Balmoral où vous pourrez marcher sur les traces de générations de royaux qui ont appelé cette maison de domaine. *Balmoral Estate est fermé du 9 août au début octobre 2026. Nous visitons le village de Braemar et le château de Braemar en option. Promenez-vous dans le charmant village victorien de Ballater, explorez le patrimoine local, la gare victorienne et la vue sur la région. Ensuite, nous visitons l'emblématique pont suspendu Cambus O'May, avant de poursuivre notre route vers le cercle de pierre de Tomnavarie. Enfin, sur le chemin du retour à Aberdeen, nous nous arrêtons aux vues préférées de la reine Victoria sur l'Aberdeenshire.
Options de l'excursion
Itinéraire
Balmoral est une maison familiale précieuse pour la famille royale depuis 1850, lorsque la reine Victoria et le prince Albert ont choisi cette belle région pour créer leur grande évasion. Un paysage avec une vue imprenable sur les collines et les montagnes, les champs de bruyère et la majestueuse rivière Dee qui le traverse. La salle de bal est uniquement ouverte aux visiteurs dans l'enceinte du château. *Balmoral Castle & Estate est fermé de la mi-août au début du 26 octobre. Cet arrêt de visite sera changé pour le château de Braemar et le village de Braemar.
Le village victorien de Ballater se trouve au cœur du Royal Deeside, à l’entrée est du parc national des Cairngorms, ce qui en fait l’un des sites touristiques les plus pittoresques d’Écosse. Une promenade dans le village révèle une gamme intéressante de boutiques spécialisées et une bonne sélection de restaurants et de cafés pour profiter de la nourriture et des boissons locales. Remarquez les magasins qui affichent des Royal Warrants sur leurs devantures, un signe certain de qualité et de soutien de la famille royale. Situé au bord de la rivière Dee et entouré de collines et de montagnes, Ballater est le paradis des amateurs de plein air. N'oubliez pas de visiter la magnifique gare victorienne et le centre d'information touristique qui contient plus d'informations sur le village. Passez devant la caserne victorienne, toujours utilisée, lorsque la famille royale séjourne à Balmoral.
Le pont suspendu Cambus O'May enjambe la rivière Dee et est un héritage de la succession d'Alexander Gordon. Construite en 1905, la passerelle mesure 50 m de long et transporte les visiteurs de l'autre côté. Le Deeside Way, un sentier suivant l'ancien chemin de fer Deeside, passe l'extrémité nord-est du pont. Des sentiers partant du pont mènent au bois de Torphantrick et à la réserve naturelle de Muir of Dinnet, des endroits prisés des visiteurs qui aiment les promenades dans les bois et les baignades sauvages dans la rivière.
Tomnaverie est un cercle de pierres couchées, une sorte de monument que l'on trouve uniquement dans le nord-est de l'Écosse. Leur trait caractéristique est une grosse pierre sur le côté, flanquée de deux pierres dressées, généralement sur l'arc sud ou sud-ouest du cercle. Le cercle de pierres entoure un cairn funéraire datant d'il y a environ 4 500 ans. On sait relativement peu de choses sur la raison pour laquelle nous avons ces structures. Il existe plusieurs théories que vous découvrirez lors de votre visite.
Juste à l'extérieur de Tarland se trouve le Queen's View, qui serait l'un des points de vue préférés de la reine Victoria sur le Howe of Cromar en direction de Lochnagar. Nous nous arrêterons pour admirer la vue et par une bonne journée, où vous pourrez voir 12 collines différentes et Munros !
Points forts
Ce qui est inclus
Avis des voyageurs
Informations importantes
- Landau ou poussette possible pour les bébés et enfants en bas âge
- Animaux d'assistance acceptés
- Condition physique moyenne requise
Avis(104)
We booked strictly to tour Balmoral Castle. We never got to see because the King was in residence. We did not know until we arrived at the meeting place for our tour. The others had received prior notice that the castle would be closed. We DID NOT receive notice. We COULD HAVE cancelled up to 24 hrs prior and we WOULD HAVE. We were put on the spot as to whether or not we were still going. I asked about the tour already being paid in full. It was a tense situation. Our guide did not commit to giving us a refund. We were put on the spot. “So are you coming???” We were holding up the group. We didn’t even have time to try to call Viator. Our Tour Guide should have called Viator. Very reluctantly, we went on the tour. We were very disappointed in the tour without seeing Balmoral Castle. THAT’S the MAIN PART OF THIS TOUR!! I would like a refund or partial refund. I did ask right away. And also, the tour is advertised with onboard WiFi. There was no WiFi.
We are sorry to see you were disappointed with the tour. In the tour description we include information regarding the Balmoral closure dates and that we substitute Braemar castle. We also sent a reminder email which was sent to you on the 11th of August at 08:59am that states Balmoral was closed. Copies of these can be found in the Viator message centre. We can appreciate you felt on the spot in the morning. We have spoken with the guide and she did offer you a partial refund prior to the tour departure. This was rejected by you and you chose to take the tour.
Alex Duncan was an excellent tour guide. We thoroughly enjoyed all the information given to us. The scenery was outstanding. Gave a great overall taste of the areas. Five star all the way!
Thank you very much for joining us and for your wonderful review.
A great day out. Jamie was our guide and he made the whole day very informative and entertaining. We travelled as a small group of seven people in a large people carrier vehicle. The small group number made it quick and easy to get everyone on and off the vehicle. It also made it a small friendly group for the day out. We visited Balmoral and had a couple of hour to walk round. Stopped at a couple of villages in the area - very nice places. Jamie was very informative and able to answer the questions asked.
Thank you for your wonderful review and enthusiastic feedback of your time with Jamie. We are glad he made you day a good one.
Jamie was an outstanding guide, as good as any we have ever had in all our years of travel. He was extremely knowledgeable, witty, and engaging. We never felt rushed on our seven and a half hour trip, and yet he brought us back to our starting point exactly on time, to the minute -- amazing!
Thank you very much for sharing your experience on tour with Jamie. We appreciate your booking and great review.
Alex Duncan was a knowledgeable, experienced, and friendly guide. I would highly recommend him by name.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review of Alex and your trip with him. We appreciate the feedback.
Excellent tour!! Alex was amazing, full of history knowledge and full of hidden and local facts that you wouldn’t get on most tours. He even gave us a ride back to our hotel since it was on his way so that we didn’t miss our dinner reservations!! 10 out of 10 recommend booking this tour!
Thank you very much for your great review of your trip with Alex. Glad to see he was able to help you out with your dinner reservations too.
Great tour of the Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire area and the Highlands. Balmoral was worth the trip even though we didn’t do the inside tour. Jacqueline was very friendly and enthusiastic - a great tour guide!
Thank you for joining us on tour and for your kind review. We are glad you enjoyed your visit to the Balmoral Estate.
Based upon the description of the tour and my own review ahead of time, this was what I expected. The time allowed was just right.
Thank you for booking a tour with us and for your kind review.
Great tour. Excellent guide - thank-you Jaqueline! Beautiful countryside and the grounds of Balmoral are outstanding.
Thank you very much for your kind words and we are delighted you enjoyed your visit to Balmoral.
Wow what a wonderful day of castles and sightseeing. Our guide was knowledgeable and very personable. She tailored the experience to our needs and made the day thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you for your great review. We are happy to see Jacqueline was able to make your day interesting and enjoyable. Thanks for booking a tour with us.
