Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Stone

There's a modest stone marker just outside Ballater that commemorates Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee - the sort of thing you'd walk straight past if you didn't know what you were looking at. It's not a grand monument or a visitor attraction with admission fees and gift shops. It's simply a stone, placed to mark 60 years on the throne, quietly sitting in the landscape of Aberdeenshire.

You're not going to spend hours here, and you're certainly not planning a trip around it alone. But if you're staying at one of the caravan parks nearby - Ballater Caravan Park is practically on your doorstep at just a tenth of a mile away - it's worth a five-minute detour while exploring the wider area. Walkers heading into the Cairngorms or families doing a circuit of Ballater might find it a pleasant historical footnote to their day rather than a destination in itself.

The real draw around here is Ballater itself, a Victorian spa town, and the access to the Royal Deeside walks. The Diamond Jubilee Stone serves as a quiet reminder of the monarchy's connection to the region. If you're staying at Howe of Torbeg or Firbank Park, both a few miles out, you've got easy access to check it off before heading to more substantial attractions in the Highlands. It's the sort of thing locals pass without thinking, but visitors often find a bit of charm in these understated commemorations.