The Parish of Braemar

The parish of Braemar and Crathie has been a playground of kings, nobles and the great ones of the land since the dawn of Scottish history. In the heart of the village lie the ruins of the great castle of Kindrochaide ('the head of the bridge'). Nearly a thousand years ago it commanded all the glens leading in and out of the area - Glenshee to the South, Aberdeen to the East, Lairig Ghru and Lairig an Laoigh to the North and Glen Tilt and Glen Feshie to the West. It was around this strategic bridgehead that the little village grew. 

 Over a hundred years ago Queen Victoria chose Deeside as her holiday centre, and successive generations of the Royal Family have followed her example. So too have generations of holiday makers, discovering for themselves the health-giving air, the majestic scenery of mountain and river, and the many and varied sporting activities for today's' visitors. 

Braemar is most frequently reached from Aberdeen and Deeside in the East, or from Perth in the South. It stands at 1100 feet (330 m) above sea level at a point where the excellent Aberdeen to Perth (A93) road turns South to wend its way through the Cairnwell Pass to Glenshee and Blairgowrie. A regular bus service from Aberdeen does the journey to Braemar in just over two hours, and the increasingly Highland character of the scenery as one travels westwards gives vistas of breath-taking beauty. The nearest railway termini are at Aberdeen and Perth and the nearest port and airport are at Aberdeen.
Dominating the entrance to the village is the Invercauld Arms Hotel which stands on the site where the Earl of Mar raised the standard for 'the Old Pretender' at the start of the 1715 rising. Opposite the hotel stands a stone monument to the event and behind that stands the Old Parish Church, now converted to flats but still retaining its striking murals depicting scenes from the history of Braemar. Already, it is clear that you have entered a delightful village whose roads turn and climb to match the undulations of the ground and whose buildings are made with grey granite stone to traditional Highland design. Here time has not stood still but it is easy to believe it has.

On the left as you enter Braemar is the Meteorological Observatory set up by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort in 1855. Braemar holds the record for the lowest temperatures, -27.2, in Britain. Heading down into the village past a succession of pretty shops one comes to the bridge over the Clunie Water. This beautiful stream divides the village both geographically and historically for Braemar is the relatively modern name for what was originally two villages. On the right side of the river is Castleton (of Braemar) and crossing the bridge we arrive in Auchendryne. Though they are now one village the two halves still retain their own characteristics.
The village of Auchendryne, though of more modern growth than Castleton, now forms the larger portion of Braemar. On entering this part of the village you pass the 'wishing well' on the banks of the river the river. Above it is the Braemar War Memorial with its Celtic Cross formed of granite from the Inver quarry, whence also came the stone for the monument to the 51st Highland Division at Saint Valery. The memorial commemorates 31 sons of the village, many representing families who had lived there for centuries. To the right of the road stands the other of the large hotels in Braemar, the Fife Arms Hotel. Like its neighbour the Invercauld Arms it is a fine Victorian stone building. (Hotels in the Highlands with 'Arms' in their title are usually grand hotels linked to the estate, or the estate's owner, on whose land they were built. Thus the Invercauld Arms bears the estate name while the Fife Arms bears the name of the Duke of Fife, then owner of the Mar Estate.) Opposite the Fife Arms the former hotel mews has been converted into shops, a Highland Heritage Centre and a Tourist Information Centre. Behind the Mews rises the spire of The Braemar Parish Church of Scotland one of three churches in regular use within the village.

 

 At Auchendryne Square the road splits. To the right the road leads out of the village to Inverey, Mar Lodge and the Linn of Dee. To the left, around the Park, many attractive houses have been built. They line both sides of Chapel Brae as it heads up the slopes of Morrone towards Pol-na-Ceire - more commonly known to visitors as the Duck Pond - the name meaning pools of wax refers to the way heather oils colour the water's surface. The track goes on past to the farm of Tomintoul, which at a height of 1438 feet (430 m) is thought to be the highest cultivated land in Scotland. At about this level, on an open mound, stands the hill indicator placed there by the Deeside Field Club in 1960. This commands a fine view of the surrounding hills, although some of those shown are only visible by going a little further up Morrone at which point also the village can be clearly seen nestling below. Here on these slopes is the Morrone Birkwood, a fine nature reserve maintained by Scottish Natural Heritage. On the Glenshee road stands the cottage where Robert Louis Stevenson spent the summer of 1881 and began to write the classic adventure story 'Treasure Island'. It is believed that some of the characters were based on local people (A John Silver lived in Chapel Brae but it is not known if he had a peg leg or a parrot)!