Ballater Station

The temperature on the thermometer said 2 degrees, it felt colder. The sky was crystal clear, a hint of snow in the air.

I may have been on the Christmas shopping hunt, close to where Prince Albert used to engage in a hunt of a different sort.

Before Dr Beeching's axe fell this was the station close to Balmoral, and Queen Victoria used to come here on the Royal train. The line closed in 1966, but the station remains. There is now a replica of Queen Victoria's carriage, and the Royal waiting room remains. The main waiting room is now a restaurant, and the ticket hall is the Tourist Office. The picture shows the entrance to the ticket hall, I think the room on the left is the Royal waiting room.

There is snow on the hills, and it was definitely a day for wrapping up warm. A few more stocking fillers acquired, but a bit more shopping to do. The first Christmas card arrived yesterday. I think I must be running behind schedule, which brings me back to British Railways...