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Summer Season 2024

Balmoral’s Summer Season 2024 will start on the 4th May and run until 11th August 2024, with tickets available online.

Visitors this summer will be able to see the updated gardens, which are part of the Audio Guide Tour, with more access throughout the season as works finish, with the end result set to be spectacular.

In the Ballroom, His Majesty The King’s watercolour collection will be on display, comprising 22 watercolours, painted by His Majesty and depicting scenery at Balmoral, Highgrove and Sandringham. Also on display will be a collection of outfits worn by Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla, Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

Future events include … 

Great British Dog Walk on 2nd June
Theatre Day on 20th July 
Family Cinema Day on 3rd August
The Balmoral Experience available from 1st July until 4th August
The Queen's Building Restaurant opening on 1st July

The Balmoral Experience

For the first time since the Castle was completed in 1855, guests can take part in a private tour with our experienced guides; taking visitors on a historical journey through several of the beautiful rooms within Balmoral Castle. 

Visitors will learn about the origins of the Castle and how it has been loved by generations of the Royal Family; from the purchase of the Balmoral Estate by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, through to the present day, where rooms within the Castle are used today by Their Majesties The King and Queen and members of the Royal Family.

Due to the proportions of the Castle interiors, there are a limited number of tickets available.

The Queen's Building Restaurant

The Queen’s Building Restaurant is undergoing significant refurbishment and is set to open on the 1st July, serving the freshly made food from the Balmoral kitchen and using the finest locally and ethically sourced produce for visitors to enjoy.

Breeding success for raptors on East Cairngorms Moorland Partnership

The latest East Cairngorms Moorland Partnership press release is now available.

Click here to view.

Summer Opening at Balmoral

Summer Opening at Balmoral will run from Saturday 4th May until Sunday 11th August this year, with daily tickets for visitors to attend the grounds, gardens, and exhibitions at Balmoral.

The summer visitor experience will include a special exhibition of His Majesty The King’s watercolours on display in the Ballroom, as well a collection of outfits worn by Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla, Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Tickets include the audio guided tour, squirrel challenge for younger visitors, the Capercaillie and Warrant Holders exhibition. This summer, visitors will also be able to enjoy the spectacular garden development within the estate.

While work continues on the garden project, which was delayed due to the wet winter, the free entry to Balmoral has been extended until 3rd May, with the public able to continue to visit the grounds, café and shop from 23rd March until 3rd May, 7 days a week from 1000 until 1700.

Further information

• Members of the public who have purchased tickets to visit during the extended free period will be refunded.
• Paid parking is available in Crathie carpark.
• Summer Opening will be from 1000 until 1700 (last recommended admission at 1600) daily from 4th May to 11th August 2024.

Press information please email [email protected]

Sunday 2nd June 2024

The Great British Dog Walk will be held on 2 June 2024 and you can now sign up to join hundreds of others on a sponsored walk to raise funds to transform the lives of deaf adults and children.

Hearing loss is rising. This invisible disability has devastating impacts on people’s safety and mental health. Take part in this 3km or 5km sponsored dog walk, and raise funds to train more incredible hearing dogs who alert to life-saving and important sounds and break down social barriers for deaf people.

Sign up today and you’ll receive a FREE dog bandana, and every penny you raise will help deaf people to leave loneliness behind and reconnect with life.

This is a great opportunity to explore the stunning grounds at Balmoral - one of the royal residences and favourite of Queen Elizabeth II - along with other dog lovers and their four-legged friends, including parts of the estate that aren't usually open to general visitors! There will be activities to do along the routes and other fun games to enjoy before and after the walk, so get your tickets and we look forward to seeing you there!

Thursday 14th December 2023 Press Release

BALMORAL RELEASES ITS RAREST HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
- BOTTLED ON THE 75TH BIRTHDAY OF HIS MAJESTY KING CHARLES III -
AND ANNOUNCES A CELEBRATORY TREE PLANTING PROJECT ON THE ESTATE

ROYAL DEESIDE, SCOTLAND, 14th December, 2023 – Balmoral Castle & Estate, the Scottish Home of The Royal Family, will today release The King’s Birthday Edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, a single cask distilled at neighbouring Royal Lochnagar and aged 45 years.

The whisky from cask number 1838, distilled on 7th November 1978, was tasted earlier this year by The King before 253 bottles were filled and numbered by hand on 14th November 2023, in celebration of His Majesty’s 75th birthday.

This special edition will be available for sale, at £3,200 per bottle, exclusively at the Balmoral Gift Shop and www.balmoralcastle.com from 4pm today, Thursday 14th December. Three bottles will be retained by Balmoral to raise funds for charitable activity in Aberdeenshire and bottle number 75 will be placed in the Royal Lochnagar archive.

Balmoral The King’s Birthday Edition will also establish a connection with the majestic landscape of the Balmoral Estate, with every bottle supporting the planting of 75 trees – one for each of The King’s 75 years – to create a natural legacy of more than 18,000 trees that will flourish for generations.

Ewan Andrew, President of Global Supply Chain & Procurement at Diageo and Grantee of the Royal Warrant held by Royal Lochnagar, said: “The association between Balmoral and Royal Lochnagar Distillery dates back to the first Royal visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1848. Everyone at Royal Lochnagar today is proud to supply our Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky to Balmoral, and also to have welcomed His Majesty, as The Duke of Rothesay, to the distillery on several occasions.  It was an honour to select one of our rarest casks for The King’s Birthday Edition and fitting that it will generate a natural legacy in the area through the tree planting it will support on the Balmoral Estate.”

A spokesperson for Balmoral said: “His Majesty The King’s 30th birthday in November 1978 was marked with a collection of photographic portraits taken in the grounds of Balmoral Castle.  In celebration of His Majesty’s 75th birthday, we are thrilled to be releasing a whisky distilled that same month by our neighbour, Royal Lochnagar, presented in a case made with larch from the Balmoral Estate.”

Bottled at natural cask strength, 52.1% abv, Balmoral The King’s Birthday Edition is an elegant whisky in true Highland style: on the nose, a delicate interplay of fresh berries, redcurrants and citrus zest; the rich and creamy palate unfolds to reveal exquisite Royal Lochnagar signature fruit notes, candied walnuts and toffee undertones, followed by ripe berries, citrus and oak spice on the lingering finish.

The bottles feature a gold engraving of the Balmoral crest with His Majesty’s Cypher at its centre. Further rooting this special whisky on Royal Deeside, each bottle will be presented in a wooden case handcrafted from windfallen larch from the Balmoral Estate and incorporating Balmoral Tweed.  It also features an innovative material from a forest below the sea: zero-waste seaweed paper made by Notpla, a winner of The Earthshot Prize, of which Prince William, The Duke of Rothesay, is Founder and President. 

To mark The King’s birthday and launch of this limited edition, the Royal Lochnagar team gathered to plant a commemorative tree – Betula Ermanii, known as Erman’s Birch – at the distillery; this stands alongside the seven birch trees planted last year in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, for The Queen’s Green Canopy.

The King’s Birthday Edition is the latest in a highly collectible series of Scotch whiskies distilled at Royal Lochnagar and bottled by Balmoral Castle & Estate to mark special Royal occasions; previous limited releases celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

Further information on visiting Balmoral and Balmoral The King’s Birthday Edition Scotch Whisky is available at www.balmoralcastle.com.

Information on visiting Royal Lochnagar Distillery is available at www.royallochnagardistillery.com.

Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April 2024

RunBalmoral is a festival of running for people of all ages and will be held on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April.

We are excited to announce that entries for Run Balmoral 2024 opened at noon on Monday 3rd July so enter online now to avoid disappointment.

Please note that on the day of RunBalmoral up to 10,000 people will be on the estate on the Saturday. The roads around the event will be extremely busy and we operate restricted services  due to the volume of people (e.g no audio guides or Battricars). We advise this is not a good day to visit the Castle ballroom and grounds, even though, to compensate, admission on this day is free.