As it was late, we soon retired to rest. Mary and
Maxted (Lady Churchill's maid) had been dining below with Grant, Brown,
and Stewart (who came the same as last time, with the maids) in the
"commercial room" at the foot of the stairs. They had only the remnants of
our two starved chickens!'
The ascent of the hill of Tulloch on a pony, the Queen wrote, was 'the
most delightful, the most romantic ride and walk I ever had.' The quiet,
the liberty, the Highlanders, and the hills were all thoroughly enjoyed by
the Queen, and when she returned to the Lowlands it made her sad to see
the country becoming 'flatter and flatter,' while the English coast
appeared 'terribly flat.' Again the Queen and Prince-Consort were in the
West Highlands in 1847, but had dreadful weather at Ardverikie, on Loch
Laggan.
Not even Osborne, Windsor, or Buckingham Palace proved happier residences
than their holiday home at Balmoral. The fine air of the north of Scotland
had been so beneficial to the royal family, that they were advised to
purchase a house in Aberdeenshire.
The Queen and prince took up their autumn residence at Balmoral in
September 1848. A few years later, the house was much improved and
enlarged from designs by the Prince-Consort. It was soothing to retire
thither after a year of the bustle of London. 'It was so calm and so
solitary, it did one good as one gazed around; and the pure mountain air
was most refreshing.
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