Ballater community paths leaflet

Wel­come to Bal­later Bal­later, renowned for its Roy­al con­nec­tions, lies on a meander of the River Dee under the shel­ter of Crai­gendar­roch. Bal­later is a very attract­ive vil­lage that has helped put the ​‘Roy­al’ into Roy­al Deeside. Bal­later is the nearest set­tle­ment to, and was the rail­head for, Bal­mor­al Castle, which lies eight miles along the River Dee to the west.

The Old Roy­al Station

Cairngorms Paths Bal­later Paths

The coun­tryside around Bal­later offers a wide vari­ety of paths with fine views, a rich loc­al his­tory and abund­ant wild­life. This leaf­let focuses on sev­en mainly low-level routes that are way­marked and sign­posted from Sta­tion Square in the heart of the vil­lage. Dis­tances are from Sta­tion Square.

Just 3 miles east of Bal­later off the A93 are the Cam­bus o’ May forest walks. Altern­at­ively, a 6‑mile drive east (along A93 then B9119) brings you to the Burn o’ Vat vis­it­or centre in the Muir of Din­net Nation­al Nature Reserve — the start­ing point for sev­er­al way­marked trails.

For inform­a­tion on paths, loc­al events, facil­it­ies and accom­mod­a­tion: Bal­later iCentre: t. 01339 755 306 (open all year) e. ballater@​visitscotland.​com

Use­ful web­sites: vis​it​bal​later​.com vis​it​abdn​.com deeside​way​.org vis​it​cairngorms​.com cairngorms​.co​.uk

If you enjoyed Bal­later Paths then look out for oth­er Com­munity Path Leaf­lets to help you explore more of the Cairngorms Nation­al Park.

Cam­bus o’ May Cir­cu­lar Fol­lowed clock­wise, this route takes you along the Deeside Way and across the his­tor­ic Cam­bus o’ May sus­pen­sion bridge, before return­ing through attract­ive wood­land on the oppos­ite river bank.

Deeside Way sec­tion Easy — wide, level firm path. 8 miles / 12.5 km Return route Allow through wood­land easy ⁴⁄₂ hours mod­er­ate nar­row and rough in places. Cross­ing the bridge includes steps and turn­stile. moderate

Deeside Way The Deeside Way runs from Aber­deen to Bal­later and is suit­able for walk­ing and cyc­ling. Between Aboyne and Bal­later it fol­lows the line of the old Roy­al Deeside Rail­way offer­ing fine views of the River Dee and sur­round­ing hills.

The rail­way com­pany had wanted to build the line through to Brae­mar but Queen Vic­tor­ia was ​‘not amused’ and said no! So it ended in Bal­later, but a stretch of trackbed west of the vil­lage is a remind­er of the ori­gin­al plan.

Cam­bus o’ May Sus­pen­sion Bridge This pic­tur­esque sus­pen­sion bridge over the River Dee lies 4 miles (6km) east of Bal­later and has won­der­ful views up and down the river.

It can be reached by walk­ing or cyc­ling along the Deeside Way or by a short walk from the small car park just off the A93.

The lis­ted bridge retains its ori­gin­al turn­stiles at either end which can make access dif­fi­cult for the dis­abled and those with prams or cycles. There are also steps on the right (south) bank.

Bal­later Paths The source of the River Dee is about 4,000 feet high on Braeriach, one of the highest of the Cairngorm Moun­tains. Fam­ous as a great sal­mon river, the Dee tumbles past Bal­later en route to Aber­deen giv­ing the river a total length of 85 miles. All of the paths in this leafet either pass close to the river or give you more dis­tant views.

This leaf­let has been developed in part­ner­ship with the Bal­later Paths and Bridges Group and Bal­later (Roy­al Deeside) Ltd — the loc­al devel­op­ment trust. Please report any prob­lems with paths or sig­nage to info@​royal-​deeside.​org.​uk

Sev­en Bridges Walk Fol­low this cir­cu­lar walk in either dir­ec­tion to enjoy wood­land, river and moun­tain views, and the old rail­way line to Bridge of Gairn. Bal­later Roy­al Bridge and Pol­hol­lick Bridge will take you across the River Dee. Mostly earthy and sur­faced paths with some sec­tions of nar­row rough and rocky paths, steps and bridges. A short sec­tion of road and road cross­ings. ⁵⁄₂ miles / 9 km Allow mod­er­ate ³⁄₄ hours

River­side Walk A beau­ti­ful river­side walk along the banks of the River Dee. Mostly wide earthy paths with some sec­tions of nar­row rough and rocky paths, one sec­tion of steep uneven path. 214 miles / 3.7 km Allow mod­er­ate ¹⁄₂ hours

Crai­gendar­roch Cir­cu­lar The path con­tours around Crai­gendar­roch hill beneath a can­opy of ancient oaks, Scots pine and birch with lovely views of the sur­round­ing coun­tryside. ²¹⁄₄ miles / 3.5 km Allow Mostly earthy paths with some sec­tions of nar­row rough and rocky paths. strenu­ous 2 hours

Crai­gendar­roch Sum­mit The steep climb to the top of Crai­gendar­roch, ​‘rocky hill of the oaks’, is worth it for the reward­ing views to Loch­nagar and the vil­lage below. Mostly nar­row, earthy paths, steep and rocky. 2 miles / 3.2 km Allow strenu­ous 2 hours

Pan­nanich Woods Cir­cu­lar A loop through wood­land past the site of a his­tor­ic Cana­dian log­gers’ camp. Mostly wide forest track and pave­ment, with short sec­tion of mod­er­ate slope with firm earth path that can be muddy after heavy rain. 2 miles / 3.2 km Allow mod­er­ate ¹⁄₄ hours

Mack­en­zie Memori­al Walk A short loop through wood­land, passing old curl­ing and skat­ing ponds and the Mack­en­zie memori­al. Mostly wide firm stone ¹⁄₂ miles / path and forest track 2.3 km with one short sec­tion of Allow nar­row, rough, earth path. mod­er­ate | hour

Cam­bus o’ May Cir­cu­lar Fol­low the Deeside Way out to the Cam­bus o’ May sus­pen­sion bridge (details overleaf).