Our trip is winding down! Our last scheduled event was an interior tour of Balmoral Castle. They only opened the doors to the public two years ago, and I had to make reservations months ago.

After showing passports several times, receiving special parking and admission, being scanned, and having our bags searched, our small group of eight was invited into the glorified royal “mud room.” Complete with muddy wellies of all sizes stacked beneath a bench (not unlike the rows of Xtratufs we see back home in Ketchikan), piles of fishing poles in one corner, and walking sticks in another, we were offered chairs and the tour began.

The first rule of Fight Club… I mean Balmoral… was that NO video or photography was allowed. The second rule of Balmoral was that no shoes could touch the carpet. Instead, we wore adorable little cloth booties over our shoes — but refer to the first rule… no photos, so I can’t show you how cute we looked. 

I tried to pay attention to everything. Everything. I couldn’t take pictures, remember?

I suppose I came away with two thoughts. The first was that if Victoria and Albert walked into Balmoral today, it would probably look remarkably similar to how it did when they lived there. The whole place felt like an homage to Victoria and Albert — and Albert in particular.

There was a creepy life-size-ish statue of him at the base of the stairs mounted on a pedestal with a handle. Apparently, Victoria ordered servants to spin it as she walked upstairs so Albert was always looking at her. 😳

I was beginning to feel frustrated because I saw almost no personality from the current royal family — until we entered what I guess you’d call the living room. It looked genuinely comfortable and cozy. There were zero family photographs around, but as Scott pointed out, you probably wouldn’t want those with the public traipsing through your house. Besides, you’d have to turn the pictures of Andrew toward the wall.

The other thing I can’t decide if I loved or hated were the roughly five million mounted deer heads staring down from the walls. Each one was mounted on a plaque listing who shot it, where they shot it, when they shot it, and how much it weighed. That part was actually kind of fascinating. There was a deer taken by little Princess Elizabeth. Others were from the King Georges, and I’m sure there were plenty of other familiar historical names mixed in there.

But I don’t know… they were always watching. Sort of like Albert.

In general, though, I really enjoyed it. The whole place had an incredibly cozy lodge feel — despite sitting on 55,000 acres. Everyone who has lived there seems to have fully embraced those acres. They hunt, fish, and trek through miles of woods as if the estate were an extension of the Highlands themselves.

The beautiful River Dee, the rolling wooded hills, and the carefully tended gardens and lawns all felt like part of the same lifestyle.

The Ralph Lauren OG.

A few final thoughts. We enjoyed touring the grounds every bit as much as the interior tour. Our guides shared how much King Charles loves to garden and pointed out many of the changes he has been making to the property. Along both sides of the lawn were rows of new-looking plantings — gorgeous trees, shrubs, and perennials.

She told us Charles had explained that he “wanted to create an autumnal avenue of color.”

Further down another path, we spotted a herd of His Royal Majesty’s Highland cattle. They were fairly photogenic… and fortunately, I was allowed to use my camera again.

As we loaded into the car and headed off toward Edinburgh, Scott said casually, “I like what Charles has done with the place.”

Me too, Scott. Me too