Did you know Scotland has a secret pyramid hidden in the Cairngorms National Park? Believe it or not, it really does!
Prince Albert Pyramid is a memorial, located on the Balmoral Castle grounds. It was erected by Victoria in 1862, after her husband, Albert sadly passed away in 1861.
The walk to and from the pyramid is open all year. However, if you would like to see some of the other memorials, and/or visit Balmoral Castle, you need to check to see if it’s open to the public or not. The Royal Family is often in residence between August and October. While they are in residence the grounds are closed to the public, except the walk to the Prince Albert Pyramid.
At the time I visited, Prince Andrew was at Balmoral Castle. Therefore, we were only allowed to walk to Prince Albert Pyramid.
The walk is a nice, short walk, up through an enchanted forest. The full route is just over 3.5 miles and if you are lucky you may even see some Highland Coo’s!
Location
Scotland’s secret pyramid is located on the Balmoral Castle grounds, next to the village of Crathie. Just 60 miles southeast from Inverness, east on the Cairngorms National Park.
Parking
There are 2 car parks in Crathie. One for cars and the other for motorhomes/buses.
The Route
Follow this map, as you walk the route, you shouldn’t get lost! Make sure your location is turned on and you should be able to see exactly where you are, on this map. Or if you prefer, download the GPX file and use it on your choice of route tracker.
1.
Starting from the car park in the village of Crathie. Head out of the car park and across the bridge, over the River Dee, towards Balmoral Castle. Follow the road round towards your left-hand side. Walk along the B976 road, until you see a road going off to your right-hand side.
2.
Take the road up the hill. Very shortly, you should see a road going off to your right-hand side. Take the road for a very short distance. Before long, you should see a lane going off to your left-hand side. Take the lane and follow it until you see a path going off to your left-hand side marked Prince Albert Pyramid.
3.
Take the footpath up through the woods, passing Princess Beatrice’s Cairn, before reaching Prince Albert Pyramid.
4.
Once you’ve reached the secret pyramid, taken all the selfies you want, start to make your way back down, retracing your steps. Head back down through the woods, passing Princess Beatrice’s Carin on your right-hand side.
5.
At the end of the footpath, turn to your right-hand side onto the lane and follow it back down towards the houses. At the road junction, turn towards your right-hand side onto the road. Follow it for a very short distance, until you meet another road. Turn towards your left-hand side, and follow the road downhill.
6.
At the bottom of the road, turn towards your left-hand side onto the B976 and follow it back towards Balmoral Castle. At the castle, follow the road round towards your right-hand side, over the bridge, and back towards the car park, where you started the route from.
Enjoyed this walk and would like to do another walk in Scotland, please check out some of my other walk guides:
For more information about the Cairngorms National Park, please check out their website:
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