Fancy a cuppa round at Prince Charles’ place?
IT is where he seems most at home and where he makes for at times of crisis.
So when a fire at a former railway station near Balmoral was followed by severe flooding in nearby Ballater, Prince Charles led a fundraising drive to get the village back on its feet.
Now the Duke of Rothesay is to set up a bistro and tearoom in the Old Royal Station in Ballater, used by generations of royals when visiting Balmoral.
The Ballater Station Bistro and Tearoom is due to open in summer next year as part of an outreach programme by the Prince’s Dumfries House Trust.
The station where Queen Victoria would arrive in the royal carriage on her annual visit to Scotland is being restored by Aberdeenshire Council following the fire in 2015. The prince had been spending the festive season at Balmoral when the River Dee burst its banks and sent a torrent of destruction through Ballater on December 30, 2015.
Just a day after the flood waters receded, he visited the village to assess the damage.
His other ventures to boost local tourism have included Ballater’s Rothesay Rooms restaurant and Highgrove Shop.
Dumfries House Trust executive director Kenneth Dunsmuir said: ‘By playing our part in the restoration of the Old Royal Station, we are aiming to bring the village back to its former glory and give tourists another reason to visit Royal Deeside.’