Queen Victoria’s deep affection for Scotland shaped not only her own life but also the way the Highlands were viewed by the wider world. Her journeys north from the 1840s onward brought royal attention to landscapes and estates that became enduring symbols of Scottish beauty and heritage. Among the many places she visited, Drummond Castle, Queen’s View, and Balmoral Castle hold special places in her story.
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Drummond Castle, near Crieff in Perthshire, was one of the first great houses Victoria visited during her early tours of Scotland. The castle, dating to the 15th century, is famous for its terraced Italianate gardens—among the finest in Europe. When Victoria and Prince Albert visited in 1842, they were struck by the symmetry and grandeur of the gardens, designed to evoke both Renaissance formality and Highland romance. The queen described it as “one of the finest pieces of scenery in the world.” The couple’s presence there helped popularize Drummond Castle as a model of Scottish aristocratic taste, blending cultivated order with natural splendour. The royal visit cemented the estate’s reputation, and its gardens have remained an enduring attraction for visitors tracing Victoria’s footsteps.
Another of Victoria’s favourite viewpoints, and one that still bears her name, is Queen’s View, overlooking Loch Tummel near Pitlochry. When the queen visited in 1866, she was enchanted by the sweeping panorama of loch, forest, and mountain—particularly the distant Schiehallion, whose pyramid shape dominates the skyline. Legend has it she believed the spot was named in her honour, though it likely predates her and was originally associated with Queen Isabella, wife of Robert the Bruce. Nonetheless, her enthusiasm immortalised the location in the Victorian imagination. Today, Queen’s View remains one of the most photographed scenes in Perthshire, a quintessential vision of the romantic Highlands that Victoria helped to popularize.
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The heart of Victoria’s Scottish world, however, was Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire. She first visited the area in 1848, renting the original Balmoral estate house before purchasing it the following year. Finding the existing building too small, Victoria and Albert commissioned a new castle nearby, designed in Scottish Baronial style by architect William Smith and completed in 1856. Balmoral became their private retreat, far from the formality of London or Windsor. There, the royal family rode horses, sketched, walked the hills, and mingled with local tenants. Victoria felt a deep connection to the landscape, writing in her journals of the “dear mountains” and “pure Highland air.” After Albert’s death in 1861, Balmoral became her sanctuary of mourning, where she spent long summers surrounded by trusted servants and the tranquil hills he had loved.
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Through her affection for places like Drummond Castle, Queen’s View, and Balmoral, Queen Victoria reshaped how Scotland was perceived. Her visits inspired artists, travellers, and writers to see the Highlands not as remote wilderness but as a realm of romance, dignity, and natural beauty. The “Victorian Highlands” became both a royal refuge and a symbol of the nation’s enduring spirit.
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