SECRETS OF HIDEWAWAYS IN REMOTE PARTS OF THE HIGHLANDS
30 Sunday Mail It’s not a sight you expect to see every day... Prince Philip behind the barbecue, grilling up a tasty supper for the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.
But when Geoff Allan peeked out the window of the bothy he was visiting near Bal later, in Aberdeenshire, that was the sight which greeted him.
Geoff, who has written two books on Scotland’s bothies, was visiting Gelder Shiel Stable bothy on a warm summer evening when a convoy of Range Rovers turned up unexpectedly.
As staff from the nearby Balmoral Estate hastily laid a picnic table – that included silver candlesticks – Prince Philip got to work firing up the barbecue.
He cooked dinner for the royal party that included the Queen, their grandaughter Zara, her husband Mike Tindall and a number of children Geoff presumes were the monarch’s great-grandchildren.
The royals remained at the hunting lodge beside the public bothy for a couple of hours before heading back into one of the Range Rovers and being driven away by the Queen herself.
And while Geoff never got a chance to speak to the
Queen or Prince Philip, he says crossing paths with them and the hundreds of others he has met while visiting Scotland’s bothies is one of the highlights of seeking out these remote retreats.
Geoff, 50, who lives in
Temple, Midlothian, said:
“One of the beauties of bothies is not knowing who you might meet whi le visiting them. I’ve met so many fascinating people from estate workers to interesting families, a
recovering heroin addict who was f inding it therapeutic visiting bothies, to the Queen.”
Geoff was visiting Gelder Shiel Stable bothy with his sister in August 2015 when the Queen and Prince Philip arrived at a small shooting lodge close by.
He said: “The first inkling something was up was when a brand new Land Rover
Discovery pulled into the grass area beside the lodge, and three bu r ly gent lemen stepped out of the vehicle.
“At first, my sister and
I didn’t think much of it. It was only when one of the smartly dressed figures knocked on the bothy door that we really starting thinking this wasn’t going to be the average bothy evening. He asked about the bothy, said he had never been in one and stepped inside to satisfy his curiosity.
“He wanted to know whether we were staying the night, then casually mentioned that a small party of diners was going to roll up in the next hour or so. He asked if we would be discreet and, if possible, remain in the bothy until the event was over. “Within 45 minutes, some staff arrived and proceeded to fire up a barbecue barrel.
“As we spied through the small bothy door windows, we could see a figure that looked surpr isingly l i ke Prince Philip fiddling about with the coals.
“Then we had the dawning realisation it actually was Prince Philip, looking very sprightly for his age.
“A convoy of Range Rovers soon rumbled up the track, parked up, and out popped the Queen, along with a small entourage of what must have been great-grandchildren. Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall were also there. I didn’t recognise anyone else.
“For the rest of the evening, we tried not to get too preoccupied by our nearby guests but we couldn’t resist getting up every once in a while and peeking over to see what was happening.” Geoff said it was a f ter 10. 30pm before the royal par t y lef t for Balmoral.
He said: “I had hoped the Queen might