Braemar


Aberdeenshire

Invercauld Arms Hotel, Braemar
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Invercauld Arms Hotel, Braemar

A settlement in Upper Deeside, W Aberdeenshire, Braemar is situated at an altitude of 335m (1100 feet) above sea-level, 59 miles (95 km) west of Aberdeen and 50 miles (80.5 km) north of Perth. It comprises the villages of Castleton of Braemar and Auchendryne on either side of the Clunie Water which joins the River Dee immediately to the north. The village is a winter sports and tourist centre giving access to some of Scotland's finest mountain scenery and plays host to the annual Braemar Gathering in September, an event held in the Princess Royal Park. This is perhaps the most famous of Scotland's Highland Games, attracting more than 10,000 spectators. This event was first attended by Queen Victoria in 1838 and members of the Royal Family actively support the Gathering to the present day.

The original castle of Braemar, known as Kindrochit or Bridge-head, was a hunting lodge of King Robert II during the late 14th Century. The present castle was built in 1628 by the Earl of Mar to check the rising power of the Farquharsons who later came to own the building in 1732. Following the second Jacobite Rising it was restored as a Hanoverian garrison by the architect John Adam. In 1715 the Earl of Mar raised the Jacobite standard on a mound where the Invercauld Hotel now stands and in 1881 Robert Louis Stevenson wrote 'Treasure Island' while staying in a cottage in Braemar.

The modern development of Braemar as a resort dates from 1852 when Prince Albert purchased the nearby Balmoral Estate from the Earl of Fife. Queen Victoria's frequent visits to Deeside and the eventual penetration of Upper Deeside by a railway drew large numbers of visitors to this scenic location with its dry and bracing climate.

Braemar holds the record as the coldest place in Britain with a temperature of -27.2°C having occurred twice; on the 11th February 1895 and the 10th January 1982. This record low was equalled by Altnaharra (Sutherland) on the 30th December 1995.


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