Braemar

Braemar lies in the upper valley of the River Dee, among the mountains of the eastern Highlands. The Earls of Mar held lands here, and Braemar Castle was built for the family in 1628. Their great hunting gatherings brought Highland nobles and their followers together in the surrounding hills. In September 1715 John Erskine, Earl of Mar, used such a gathering to raise the Stuart standard at Braemar. His action began a Jacobite rising against George I. The rising failed, and Mar's estates, including the castle, were forfeited. The castle later served government troops, a reminder of the Crown's determination to secure the Highlands.