Pannanich Wells Hotel and Piggies Restaurant, Ballater

This review of the Pannanich Wells Hotel is a more brief history of the place than a review. I know the owners & it wouldn’t be an impartial review if I was to write about the hotel.
The history of the place is interesting as is the location of the nearest town called Ballater.

PANNANICH WELLS HOTEL

Ballater has become famous for its royal connections (more about that later) but long before Queen Victoria came ...
...still runs today from the Pannanich Wells on the east side, south of the River Dee.

It’s now bottled as Deeside water & sold around the world including in supermarkets such as Tesco & Sainsbury’s. It has become very popular recently after two independent tests confirmed that it really does have healing properties in particular with cancer.

Not only is the water got an interesting history but so has the Pannanich Wells ... more

This review of the Pannanich Wells Hotel is a more brief history of the place than a review. I know the owners & it wouldn’t be an impartial review if I was to write about the hotel.
The history of the place is interesting as is the location of the nearest town called Ballater.

PANNANICH WELLS HOTEL

Ballater has become famous for its royal connections (more about that later) but long before Queen Victoria came to the area it was made famous as being another British spa town, providing water that healed. It still runs today from the Pannanich Wells on the east side, south of the River Dee.

It’s now bottled as Deeside water & sold around the world including in supermarkets such as Tesco & Sainsbury’s. It has become very popular recently after two independent tests confirmed that it really does have healing properties in particular with cancer.

Not only is the water got an interesting history but so has the Pannanich Wells Hotel. This small hotel / guest house is located south of the main River Dee on the South Deeside Road a short distance from the town of Ballater. It is located beside where the healing water still flows & close to the house itself is where Queen Victoria kept her horses during her reign. Her holiday home was Balmoral Castle which is just a short distance away.

The old stable block which is now used as a store was where Queen Victoria & John Brown (her gillie) used to come everyday to pick up their horses & go riding. On many occasions the Prime Ministers of the day would also come along for the ride.

In the front room of the same hotel / guest house the poet Lord Byron wrote a number of his most famous poems. All this information has now been confirmed with historians & has quite understandably sent the value of this place into orbit.

VISITING THE AREA

Look on a Scottish map; find the city of Aberdeen on the north east coast & about 45 miles west you’ll come across the small town of Ballater.
Despite its small population of only 1650 humans, the odd dog, cat & hamster, this place pulls in tourists from all over the world.

What do they come for? The scenery is certainly stunning; Ballater is situated in the Cairngorm National Park & surrounded by outstanding natural beauty & the crystal clear waters of the River Dee.
There is plenty to do, in winter there is skiing in the nearby slopes at the Lecht & at Glenshee. You can fish (with permission) in the River Dee famous for its rich salmon, there are plenty of places to hill walk & if your into gliding there is an airfield not that far away.

However, the biggest attraction to Ballater is the Royal connections. About six miles west of Ballater is a little holiday home called Balmoral Castle used by a elderly couple from London called Phil & Liz, better known as the Queen & Prince Phillip.

In the middle of the 19th century, the reining monarch, Queen Victoria fell in love with the area after her first visit. Her husband Prince Albert purchased the Balmoral estate for £30.000, which sounds like a real bargain in these modern times! He had it demolished & rebuilt a new one for his wife, Balmoral castle would become their holiday home in summer (well it beats a caravan anyday!).

Sadly, Prince Albert died of typhoid in 1862 & Victoria spent extraordinary amounts of time there for many years later, much to the resentment of her immediate family & close advisers.

The castle has remained a royal favourite ever since & during the months of August & September the Queen & her family spend their days on this gorgeous estate.

Ballater is the nearest town to the castle & as you can imagine attracts many visitors far & wide hoping for a glimpse of the royal family.
At one time that was possible as they walked around the main street of Ballater visiting the shops & speaking to the shop keepers who supply the castle. However, in recent years security has been stepped up & the only time you see them is attending the nearby Crathes Church on a Sunday morning or attending functions in the area in their cars.

Ballater used to be the end of the railway line from Aberdeen to the Highlands. There were plans to extend it in the 19th century past the Balmoral estate but old Victoria put a stop to that, she wasn’t amused at the thought of her peace & solitude being interrupted by the 5.15pm express from Aberdeen thundering by.

The line closed in 1966, axed with so many others around the country. It was one of the most scenic runs in the UK & can still be walked in parts today.
Just outside Ballater in a place called Cambus O’May it is often considered the most beautiful railway station in the UK. It still survives as someone’s home, picture # 1 shows the station & picture # 2 is the view from the station.
It’s little wonder that when the railway company had regular meetings, they would be held in a carriage on a siding at this station over looking the scenic views.

In Ballater the old station has recently been restored & opened to the public, picture # 3 is the outside. To the left is a restaurant, to the right is a tourist office & behind in the platform is the actual royal carriage that Victoria used in the 19th century.
You pay £1.00 to visit the platform & you’ll see wax models of Queen Victoria, her gillie John Brown, (picture # 4) some poor sod of a porter struggling with her luggage (picture # 5) & her pet dog coming out of the train. You can walk into the carriage & see the opulent fittings inside (picture # 6) including the quilted & padded roof (picture # 7).

You can visit Victoria’s waiting room, a bit like most modern train stations with servants, table & table cloth with china cups of tea, a wooden WC for those important moments & an opulent washing bowl. Some things never change!!
I wouldn’t imagine she wouldn’t wait very long in here but picture # 8 shows what like it used to be. From here she would have been transported to the castle by horse & coach, in later years other members of the family would have been driven by car until the line was last used by royalty in October 1965, the station is worth a visit & takes about 30 minutes to tour.

The main street of Ballater is about half a mile long & full of good quality shops selling clothing, art, books, gifts, food & much more. Many have the royal crest above the doors as they supply the royal family at Balmoral. The main street features two small grass areas in between, ideal for hot summer days for lying or sitting around in the sun.
You can park for free in the large car park in the centre of the town but you pay 20p for using the toilets which I have to say were sparkling clean the last time I used them.

For such a small town it has a large number of awarding winning restaurants, some are stand alone & some are part of the hotels.
Ballater has 9 hotels, 8 guest houses, 9 B&Bs, 25 self catering sites, 2 campsites, 2 caravan sites but no hostels. You could always phone her majesty if you get stuck, I’m sure she’d have a spare room at Balmoral to ‘shack up’!!

Although it can get cold here in the winter, in summer the Cairngorm mountains shelter Ballater & give it a rather pleasant climate.

Ballater has 17 restaurants; some are listed below, one bank with an ATM, one Post Office & a medical centre.
The biggest events in Ballater include Victoria week, Ballater Highland Games (The Queen attends the Breamar games in September) & Royal Deeside walking week.

RESTAURANTS INCLUDE:

La Mangiatoia, rustic Italian restaurant open daily, tel 01339 755999.

The Auld Kirk, stylish restaurant open daily, tel 01339 755762, www.theauldkirk.com

The Darroch Learg Hotel, country house retreat on the edge of the town, tel 01339 755443, www.darrochlearg.co.uk

Lui Restaurant at Glen Lui, Fresh local food open all year, tel 01339 755402, www.glen-lui-hotel.co.uk

The Prince of Wales, good Scottish fare & seafood, tel 01339 755877.

The Station restaurant, at the old station listed above, open 10am-3pm, tel 01339 755050.

The Victoria restaurant, the first restaurant in the highlands situated in Dinnet outside Ballater, tel 01339 885337, www.victoriarestaurant.co.uk

Ballater is great as a base for outdoor events or touring around. It can be accessed from the south via Perth, Glenshee, Breamar. From the east, Aberdeen to Ballater can be accessed either by the North Deeside Road (most scenic) or South
Deeside road (less traffic). From the north you enter the North Deeside road a few miles east of Ballater. Watch out there is a bypass which misses the town completely.

If you just want to visit the place, set aside the good part of the day & enjoy a small town which has proved so popular with tourists as well as royalty for so many years.
 

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