Enjoy a champagne day out at Balmoral – yours for only £250 a head

IT is a favourite pastime of the Royals when they holiday in Scotland.

But now anyone who is prepared to stump up will be able to enjoy a luxury picnic in the grounds of Balmoral.

The Queen is offering for the first time a £250-a-head safari for paying guests at her 50,000-acre Deeside estate.

Chauffeured in a luxury 4x4, a party of up to six people at a time will be given an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at her Majesty’s Highland bolthole this month. And they will be served a lavish four-course picnic lunch in the stunning scenery of the Cairngorms. But the drink may not quite live up to the occasion, as only non-vintage champagne is being served.

Gary Marsden, visitor enterprise manager at Balmoral, said: ‘What we are doing is giving people a whole day touring Balmoral. We will provide a champagne lunch in the middle, we get to go on quite a few estate roads, and with time you can stop for a bit longer looking for the wildlife – settle down with the binoculars for half an hour to watch at an area where potentially you might see something out of the ordinary.

‘We will basically tailor it to what the person is looking for.’

From this month, guided by head ranger Glyn Jones and his team, the VIP guests will take to the hills in a £35,000 off-roader.

They can expect to see golden eagles, osprey, black grouse, capercaillie and both roe and red deer.

Mr Marsden added: ‘We are offering what at the end of the day is a very nice occasion. It will be champagne – but I suspect it will be a non-vintage.

‘Otherwise our pricing would have to alter accordingly.’