Campers slammed after leaving tents on Queen's Balmoral estate

Rangers at the Queen’s Balmoral estate have criticised campers who left their tents abandoned by a loch after a trip to the country spot.

It comes about six weeks after rangers had to remind visitors to the Scottish estate not to leave baby wipes lying around as they revealed people used the grounds as a toilet.

Over the weekend, the Balmoral estate account tweeted about “three abandoned tents at Lock Muick”, along with pictures of the discarded canvases.

They also thanked another camper, named as George from Edinburgh, for helping with the tidy-up operation.

The Queen is in Balmoral for her annual summer break, having travelled up in early August with Prince Philip.

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The pictures also showed discarded waste and sleeping bags strewn along the ground against an idyllic backdrop.

Rangers have also used the Twitter account to ask campers to avoid building fires if they can’t clean afterwards, and warned small mammals were getting caught up in litter left by visitors.

The Queen’s estate is in Aberdeenshire, but is not currently part of the extra regulations in effect in Aberdeen city itself following a spike in coronavirus cases.

Balmoral Castle is a royal home owned directly by the family, rather than by the Crown in the same manner as Buckingham Palace. It’s been where the royals have spent their summers for decades and it’s thought members of the family will go to visit the Queen and Philip this year in line with government guidelines.

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Normally during her stay the Queen would go to the Highland Games at Braemar, but they have been cancelled. She would also attend church at Crathie Kirk, but will be avoiding that too as she endeavours to stop crowds gathering.

Wild camping is popular around the estate, but those who prefer an element of luxury when they visit can stay in holiday cottages or in the Queen’s Buildings, as well as on a nearby caravan site.