Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms

Route description

Leave Edinburgh northwards over the Queensferry Crossing and follow the M90 to Perth on the River Tay. Just outside the town, Scone Palace was the crowning place of Scottish kings.

The A93 heads north via Blairgowrie into Glenshee and climbs to the Cairnwell Pass, the highest main road in Britain, before dropping to Braemar. Braemar is a Highland village in the Cairngorms National Park, best known for its Highland Gathering in early September.

Follow the River Dee east on the A93 past Balmoral Castle and Ballater through Royal Deeside, a valley of pine woods and grand estates, to Aberdeen, the granite city on the North Sea. From there the A90 runs south to the harbour town of Stonehaven.

Dunnottar Castle stands on a rock almost cut off from the mainland, reached by a steep path and many steps. The Glenshee road can be closed by snow in winter, and deer often cross the Highland roads at dusk.