Balmoral Estate
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-> Balmoral Estate
Originally a sixteenth-century tower house built for the powerful Gordon family, Balmoral Castle (mid-April to July daily 10am-5pm; £4.50) has been a royal residence since 1852, when it was converted to the Scottish Baronial mansion that stands today. The Royal Family traditionally spend their summer holidays here, but despite its fame it can be something of a disappointment even for a dedicated royalist. For the three months when the doors are nudged open, the general riffraff are permitted to view only the ballroom and the grounds; for the rest of the year it is not even visible to the paparazzi who converge en masse when the royals are in residence here in August.
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