Braemar

The road rises to 1100ft above sea level in the upper part of Deeside and the village of BRAEMAR, situated where three passes meet and overlooked by an unremarkable castle (July & Aug daily 9.30am-5.30pm; Easter-June, Sept & Oct closed Fri; £3). This is an invigorating, outdoor kind of place, well patronized by committed hikers, but probably best known for its Highland Games, the annual Braemar Gathering, on the first Saturday of September (www.braemargathering.org). Games were first held here in the eleventh century, when Malcolm Canmore set contests for the local clans in order to pick the bravest and strongest for his army. Since Queen Victoria's day, successive generations of royals have attended, and the world's most famous Highland Games have become rather an overcrowded, overblown event. You're not guaranteed to get in if you just turn up; the website has details of how to book tickets in advance.

Braemar's tourist office is in the modern building known as the Mews in the middle of the village on Mar Road (July & Aug daily 9am-7pm; June & Sept daily 10am-6pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 10am-1pm & 2-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; tel 013397/41600). Accommodation is scarce in Braemar in the lead-up to the Games, but at other times there's a wide choice. Clunie Lodge Guest House, Clunie Bank Road (tel 013397/41330, clunielodge@msn.com; £40-50), on the edge of town, is a good B&B with lovely views up Clunie Glen, and there's a large SYHA hostel at Corrie Feragie, 21 Glenshee Rd (tel 013397/41659, www.syha.org.uk; Jan-Oct). The cheery Rucksacks, an easy-going bunkhouse well equipped for walkers and backpackers, is just behind the Mews complex (tel 013397/41517). The Invercauld Caravan Club Park (tel 013397/41373), just south of the village off Glenshee Road, has fifteen camping pitches.