The Duchess of Cornwall’s favourite view: Lochnagar from Bovaglie

For her guest edit special issue of Country Life, The Duchess of Cornwall chose her favourite view in the world, this classic vista across to Lochnagar. Photograph by Steven Rennie.


This article appears in the 13th July 2022 special issue of Country Life, guest-edited by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. See what else is inside and find out how to get your copy. 


England! thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved on the mountains afar:
Oh for the crags that are wild and majestic!
The steep frowning glories of dark Loch na Garr!
                — Lord Byron, ‘Lachin Y Gair (Dark Lochnagar)’ 

Lord Byron got it right. For this is truly the most wild and majestic of sights. In summer, the heather is purple as far as the eye can see. And, on a perfect day, when the sun is shining and the sky a cobalt blue, Loch na Garr, to quote Lord Byron once more, very much ‘walks in beauty’. But, in the Highlands, things change fast, as the storm approaches and great swollen cumulus clouds gather with ominous pace. Then, this view takes on a rather more tumultuous tone. These mountains can still wear snow as late as June.

Yet, whatever the weather, the sight never ceases to lift the spirits and soothe the soul. And, sitting on a convenient granite boulder, near the run-down steadings at Bovaglie, lungs filled with that clean Highland air, there are few sights more stirring or beautiful. Somehow, the worries of the day-to-day world melt away, such is the power of this magnificent view.


The Duchess of Cornwall, as photographed by The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life

The upcoming 13 July 2022 issue of Country Life is being guest-edited by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall — and