Relaxing Day in Braemar

Today was a wonderfully relaxing day beginning with lazing around the townhouse until after 10AM. We had no place special to be so we decided to take our time getting going. The day started cold, only about 39 degrees, but quickly started warming up and the sun started shining. After breakfast I went for a short walk to explore the grounds. This is a beautiful resort.

A little after 10 we decided to head west a few miles to the Royal Lochnagar Distillery for a tour of how they make their single malt Scotch Whiskey, but they were sold out for the entire day. It wasn’t a totally wasted trip because on our way we drove past the gate to Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s residence. As I mentioned yesterday, since she is in the Castle it is closed to tours. The Castle is set back too far to see from the road but it was still cool to see the gates and know she was just down the street.

Royal Lochnagar Distillery has been around since the 1850s when Queen Victoria visited from nearby Balmoral Castle (only about a mile away) and gave it a Royal Warrant, which means it is a place of business that provides services or goods to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and/or the Prince of Wales. It’s a really big deal here.

So, we headed another 20 minutes west to the Braemar (pronounced Bray-mar; with the accent on the last syllable) Golf Club. I tried to get a tee time at a different club but, while they had open times, they didn’t have a buggy for us to use while we played. This Club was very gracious about us dropping by to play 9 holes and only requiring us to rent one set of golf clubs. Most Clubs require each golfer to have his/her own set of clubs but these guys were cool with Peter and I sharing.

Since we live in a desert, we’re used to a course that contains mostly rock and is as flat as a pancake. This course was just the opposite, very hilly and green. In fact, the Braemar Golf Club is the highest 9-hole golf course in Scotland. It was beautiful.

#1 Tee Box.

The River Dee runs through the entire region and empties into the North Sea to the east. It also runs through this golf course.

We crossed the River Dee on the hole #1. Luckily both of our shots made it over the river.
If you look closely at the mountain in the distance, you can see the heather on the hillside. There’s no fragrance to it unless it rains.
Look at the middle of the photo and you’ll see a stone retention wall. That’s where the tee box was on this hole. We had to hit from down to where I’m standing to take the picture which is where Peter’s ball landed. My shot went a little further, not as far as I thought, but it looked beautiful sailing through the air from the high tee box.
Bridge crossing over a little brook that branches off from the River. We lost a couple of balls in there.

After our 9 holes and buying a souvenir golf ball for my collection, we headed into the town of Braemar to find a picnic spot for our lunch. We found a bench in a spot right by the river and their War Memorial.

War Memorial dedicated to those lost in both world wars.
A propeller from a WWII plane that was shot down just out of town. The pilot was a local man who died in the crash. They turned the propeller from his plane into a memorial.
The clouds had just rolled in but within 10 minutes they were gone and it was sunny again.

Looking from the other side of the bridge. I think the stone building is someone’s house.

After walking around town for a few minutes, we headed back home. All in all, it was a wonderful day with beautiful weather. Tomorrow, we head out to Inverness, stopping at a few places along the way. But for now, we’re just relaxing in our townhouse doing another load of laundry. Have a great night everyone.

4 thoughts on “Relaxing Day in Braemar”

  1. I would guess that there are plenty of golf balls floating around in the Dee River! Glad you had a lovely, relaxing day although it sounds awfully cold there!!!!

    Reply

    1. It actually wasn’t bad when the sun came out. Got up to mid-upper 60s. Pretty nice weather for Scotland. At least that’s what the locals tell us. It really is a beautiful country. So glad I finally made it here.

      Reply

    1. Yes, in spite of the mishap last week it has been incredible and we still have 3 more months to go! Glad you’re enjoying the blog. Thanks for following us on our adventures.

      Reply

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