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Balmoral is a 50,000 acre estate and the private Scottish home of the British Royal Family. It was purchased from the Farquharson family by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in 1852, close to the Highlands they both loved.  The current castle, a classic example of Scottish baronial architecture, is new - Victoria and Albert had it constructed between 1853 and 1856; the old castle was then demolished. There is limited public access to the grounds, gardens and exhibitions (including access to the castle ballroom only) between spring and early summer, when the Royal Family is not in residence. Apart from the ballroom, the castle is not open to the public.  Cottages in the grounds can also be hired.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral on 8 September 2022.  She had habitually spent her summers there, with her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (until his death in 2021) and family.  The Queen and the Prince spent their last, 73rd, wedding anniversary there in 2020.  It was a place of happy memories for the Queen, from the time she first visited her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, there when she was a small child.

The Queen accepted Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation and invited his successor, Liz Truss, to form a government at Balmoral on 6 September 2022, just two days before Her Majesty’s death.

The Royal family often worship at nearby Crathie Kirk and are familiar faces in the village of Ballater.

This is where the English Parliament executed the King of Great Britain and established a republic in England and Wales.  It was also a place of extravagant Jacobean entertainment.  Banqueting House is a surviving relic of the great Palace of Whitehall, which was originally the medieval London home of the Archbishops of York and known as York Place. When the once powerful Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop of York, fell from grace, King Henry VIII grabbed his London home, enlarged it, renamed it Whitehall, and it became a favourite of subsequent Tudor, and Stuart, monarchs.  The current, spectacular, Banqueting House (there were predecessors) was designed by Inigo Jones, completed in 1622 and provided a venue for excessive celebration. Underneath it is a vaulted drinking den, used by James I for decadent goings-on.  Banqueting House has a breathtaking ceiling, probably commissioned by King Charles I in 1629-30 and the only surviving in-situ ceiling painting by Flemish artist, Sir Peter Paul Rubens.  It would have been one of the King's final sights on 30 January 1649, before stepping outside to meet his end on a scaffold that had been specially erected so that everyone could see their king die.

The Bat and Ball, Hambledon, sits on a junction between the villages of Hambledon and Clanfield, though is marginally closer to the latter. It is a wonderful location and the pub, as well as serving excellent ale, is famous as being 'the cradle of English cricket'. This is the place where the modern rules of the game were drawn up by Hambledon Cricket Club, which played on Broadhalfpenny Down, opposite the pub, in the 18th C. The captain of HCC was one Richard Nyren (1734-97), who was also landlord of the pub. 'Tis said that the 'formidable' Hambledon team played All England elevens on 51 occasions, winning 29 of the matches. I wonder how they'd have got on against Australia?

Photo: Courtesy of The Bat and Ball.

“Who can ever be tired of Bath?” Jane Austen enquired. Apart from being a favourite of one of England’s most-loved novelists, Bath is probably most famed for its Roman and Regency heritage. The Romans built extensive baths there and called the town Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sul, a local Celtic deity similar to Minerva). The remains of the complex were discovered in the 18th C, by which time the healing waters of Bath had again become fashionable, with the help of the dandy, Beau Nash, and the town evolved into a go-to Regency place. Thus Bath is also loved for its surviving honey-coloured Georgian architecture, not least its elegant Royal Crescent and unusual Pulteney Bridge over the Avon, designed by Robert Adam and containing shops built across its full span.  Among Bath’s many other attractions is the Gothic 15th C Abbey, where a monastery was founded in the 7th century. Bath is a World Heritage Site, one of Britain’s tourist magnets and features heavily on overseas visitors’ itineraries, as well as being a desirable romantic weekend destination.

The Battle of Bannockburn took place over the 23rd and 24th June 1314 between the Scots, under Robert the Bruce, and a significantly larger army under Edward II of England. The English were under siege by the Scots at Stirling Castle and Edward's army was intended to relieve the siege. Instead, Bruce inflicted a massive defeat. This ultimately led to the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

Much of the probable site of the battle is now built over. However, the National Trust for Scotland operates a visitor centre that offers a hi-tech battle experience (ticket only), a shop and a cafe. There is memorial to the battle on the site as well as a statue of Robert the Bruce. Note - there is no museum or exhibition.