Help? Wildcamping Braemar during games

[Jan & Simonne]

During our stay in Scotland we want to visit the Braemar Gathering.
As I understand so do thousands of others.
Is there a place where can we stay overnight?
How many days in advance do we have to be there?
Our dog will be staying in our campervan, so we don't want it to be far from the venue.
This is our first time in England and Scotland, we are really looking forward to it.

 

[DESCO]

From what I have seen of the Braemar area, it is very difficult to wild camp at any time.

With royal presence in the area police are very careful, and police tightly.

The pressure increases at Gathering time, for obvious reasons.


Dave :thumb::thumb:

 

[philduncan]

Braemar gathering

There is a campsite in the village but will probably fill up very early. You can wild camp at the Linn o Dee about six miles away or at the ski station at Glenshee which is about eight miles away. You could stay at Ballater which has a campsite and get the bus up, seventeen miles away,

regards
Phil

 

[e20rod]

What Phil said! The campsite will be booked up well in advance. To find a wilding spot within reasonable walking distance the weekend of the gathering will be tricky.

To be honest though, as highland games go, the Braemar one is nothing special. It just gets a lot of hype cos the there's usually royals in attendance. You can see all the same stuff at many venues throughout the highlands throughout the summer. If its royal spotting you're into then go for Braemar, or alternatively for some celeb spotting there's the Lonach gathering frequented by Billy Connolly and his chums. If its the games you want to see, have a look here... http://www.visitscotland.com/guide/see-and-do/events/highlandgames/highland-games2010. I can personally recommend the Meldrum Sports (just missed it thsi year) and the Aboyne games.

Cheers,

Rod.

 

[Jan & Simonne]

We're going to Braemar, because the date of the games fits in our schedule.
We've already booked the tickets...
Reading all this here I wonder if that was sensible...
But! I think I'll contact the police office and ask for advise.
I read on the Braemar website that one is very willing to accomodate "camper/roadside/tourists", so that maybe a good idea??
We don't mind a good walk, but I really don't want the dog to be out of reach...
And I read dogs are not allowed there.
Any other thoughts or ideas?
Txs!

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[e20rod]

There's various places you could try...

On the Linn of Dee road out of Braemar. There are a few laybys not too far out of the village.

At the end of Chapel Brae there is a large carpark and a few smaller areas of rough ground which are accessible by vehicle if you're careful. I think these may be used as car and bus parks during the games but could be worth a try. You are just parking after all!

There used to be some good spots on the road which goes past the golf club and on up to meet the Glen Shee road, but there are now ditches along both sides of the road to discourage campers due to over use and inconsiderate behaviour.

The golf club has a large car park, you could try calling them. As does the castle, about 1/2 mile down the road to Ballater.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Rod.

 

[Jan & Simonne]

There's various places you could try...

On the Linn of Dee road out of Braemar. There are a few laybys not too far out of the village.

At the end of Chapel Brae there is a large carpark and a few smaller areas of rough ground which are accessible by vehicle if you're careful. I think these may be used as car and bus parks during the games but could be worth a try. You are just parking after all!

There used to be some good spots on the road which goes past the golf club and on up to meet the Glen Shee road, but there are now ditches along both sides of the road to discourage campers due to over use and inconsiderate behaviour.

The golf club has a large car park, you could try calling them. As does the castle, about 1/2 mile down the road to Ballater.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Rod.

Isn't it a shame, that the irresponsable people ruin things for the rest of us?
I've looked up the places you mentioned at Google Earth.
I had already found the one at the one at the end of Chapel Brae, that is also a starting point for some geocaching. I like that one, it is close by the venue.
The parking space at the Braemar Castle is small, but also a good altenative. At G.E. you can see a small carpark just southeast of the castle with a photo of a VW camper clearly wildcamping!:thumb:
I also spotted a carpark across the road from the Invercauld Arms.
But it all depends on how the police will feel about us staying there.
Than again: there probably will be lots of tourists, which is good for the local economy.
We'll just take our chances.
Thanks again!
Simonne