Allt-na-Giusach

Photograph from an album of Allt-na-Giubhsach house on the Balmoral estate, located close to Loch Muick. Two ground floor houses stand side by side. A man holding a shotgun stands outside the building on the left, whilst the building on the right comprises a turf roof, three chimneys and a wooden lattice porch covering the entrance. Trees surround the houses wit gardens to the front.     

Allt-na-Guibsaich was used by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a private lodge where they could escape the conventions of court life at Balmoral. Originally comprising a single cottage with a sod covered roof constructed for a deer watcher, Allt-na-Guibsaich was affectionately described by Queen Victoria as 'The Hut'. In 1849, a second building was constructed that can be seen on the left. Following Albert's death in 1861, the Queen decided to discontinue use of the cottage and built Glass-Allt-Shiel on the banks of Loch Muick in 1868.