Overview of Ballater

A small resort town in the Royal Deeside parish of Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn, W Aberdeenshire, Ballater lies on the River Dee 43 miles (69 km) west of Aberdeen. It developed as a spa resort, first in the 1770s to accommodate visitors to the Pananich Mineral Wells, and later after the arrival of the railway in 1866. Ballater remained the western terminus of the Deeside Railway until it closed in 1966 and the station regularly received royal parties en route to Balmoral Castle. As the nearest significant settlement to Balmoral, Ballater became known as the 'Royal Warrant Village' because many of its businesses have supplied the royal houshold.

Largely built of reddish granite, its houses are laid out in a regular pattern around a central church green. The town lies amidst dramatic mountain and forest scenery at an altitude of 213m (700 feet) above sea-level and is today a centre for wayfaring and orienteering with tourist and sporting facilities that include an 18-hole golf course. The Pass of Ballater to the north of the town is an ice-worn ravine linking Milton of Tullich in the east to Bridge of Gairn.

In 2012, a cairn was unveiled in the centre of the village to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, constructed by local people from stones gathered from the hills surrounding the Balmoral Estate.