By: Alonso Ruvalcaba
To live like princes you need not belong to the Royal Family; you simply have to know what to look for in the forest of Scotland.
There is a wonderful moment in the Stephen Frears film The Queen
To live like princes you need not belong to the Royal Family; you simply have to know what to look for in the forest of Scotland.
There is a wonderful moment in the Stephen Frears film The Queen
(2006).
It is summertime, and elizabeth II of England is in the forests of the Scottish highland, a sea of undulating green. Small and large misfortunes seem to accumulate: Diana, her daughter-in-law, has just been killed a few days earlier; London and the rest of the United Kingdom have let out a cry not just of grief but also of outrage at elizabeth's decision to remain at her Scottish retreat during this time of mourning; her Land rover has broken down in the middle of the forest, and the radios are malfuntioning. "Bugger!" yells the firm woman. Suddenly she sees a beautiful stag nearby, which she knows is being hunted by her son and grandsons.
She hears a gunshot in the distance and shoos the animal away, unging it to run for its life.
A few days later, back at the castle, she sees the same stag dead on the worktable, crudely skinned. What does this dead animal symbolize?... Diana?... The English Monarchy?... Who knows.
What we do know is that the landscape where this takes place is Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire (in northeastern Scotland, near the city of Aberdeen), an estate that has been in the Royal Family since Queen Victoria and serves as the family's summer home for a few weeks each year.
The good thing is that for the rest of the year we commoners are allowed to visit and enjoy.
Or almost impossible... nearby is another castle, noy royal but still noble. Its nickname is Invercauld, and fortunately it can be visited all year round; its rooms are open to the public, and it functions almost like a hotel. It has been there since the 13th century, although its current structure (several wings and a fantastic tower) dates back to a renovation during the 18th century, which also included the planting of 18 million trees on the estate.
If you have seen a film with Scottish landscapes in it (even Braveheart counts), you know what to expect when you visit the area, full of munros, or medium-size green hills, lakes (lochs and glens, depending on the size), rivers, fog and fauna that maybe hunted or fished (the deer, pheasant and salmon are sensational, as evidenced by Invercauld's cuisine).
Inside, the castle can accomodate as many as 20 people in rooms ranging from relatively modest (belive me when I say "relatively") to the hallucinatorily aristocratic Prince's Room, which was Queen Victoria's when she stayed here (it is well known that around here these stories are told with a delight that escapes us): enormous, well decorated and still containing perios furniture.
It is summertime, and elizabeth II of England is in the forests of the Scottish highland, a sea of undulating green. Small and large misfortunes seem to accumulate: Diana, her daughter-in-law, has just been killed a few days earlier; London and the rest of the United Kingdom have let out a cry not just of grief but also of outrage at elizabeth's decision to remain at her Scottish retreat during this time of mourning; her Land rover has broken down in the middle of the forest, and the radios are malfuntioning. "Bugger!" yells the firm woman. Suddenly she sees a beautiful stag nearby, which she knows is being hunted by her son and grandsons.
She hears a gunshot in the distance and shoos the animal away, unging it to run for its life.
A few days later, back at the castle, she sees the same stag dead on the worktable, crudely skinned. What does this dead animal symbolize?... Diana?... The English Monarchy?... Who knows.
What we do know is that the landscape where this takes place is Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire (in northeastern Scotland, near the city of Aberdeen), an estate that has been in the Royal Family since Queen Victoria and serves as the family's summer home for a few weeks each year.
The good thing is that for the rest of the year we commoners are allowed to visit and enjoy.
Or almost impossible... nearby is another castle, noy royal but still noble. Its nickname is Invercauld, and fortunately it can be visited all year round; its rooms are open to the public, and it functions almost like a hotel. It has been there since the 13th century, although its current structure (several wings and a fantastic tower) dates back to a renovation during the 18th century, which also included the planting of 18 million trees on the estate.
If you have seen a film with Scottish landscapes in it (even Braveheart counts), you know what to expect when you visit the area, full of munros, or medium-size green hills, lakes (lochs and glens, depending on the size), rivers, fog and fauna that maybe hunted or fished (the deer, pheasant and salmon are sensational, as evidenced by Invercauld's cuisine).Inside, the castle can accomodate as many as 20 people in rooms ranging from relatively modest (belive me when I say "relatively") to the hallucinatorily aristocratic Prince's Room, which was Queen Victoria's when she stayed here (it is well known that around here these stories are told with a delight that escapes us): enormous, well decorated and still containing perios furniture.
In every room the bathrooms are scrumptious: huge bathtubs, cozy showers and fire-places.Downstairs in the common area is a dining hall that reportedly has not changed in 250 years a tea room and a fully stocked library (with an enviably complete collection of the Edimburg Review, 1802 - 1929)... You'll never wanto to leave!!!
Let Mexicana take you there!!!
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