Braemar and Ballater: Royal Deeside

Royal Deeside is the Cairngorms for connoisseurs. The magnificent pinewoods may be less extensive than their northern counterparts, but from this side the Cairngorms seem more like individual peaks rather than the wide plateau of the north, and require long approach treks.

One of Scotland's fastest flowing rivers, the Dee flows past the Devil's Point out of the High Cairngorms to carve its beautiful course down through Braemar and past Balmoral Castle to Ballater and beyond. On its south side is are the Mounth, a range of mountains almost as extensive as the Cairngorms themselves, and presided over by the grand peak of Lochnagar.