A watercolour showing a view of a Highland landscape from Craig Gowan. Trees are shown in a valley in the foreground below Highland hills. A partial view of the River Dee is shown in the centre. Inscribed below mounted sheet: View looking down the Dee towards Abergeldie from Craig Gowan. Inscribed lower right: VR del: Sept: 21 - 1848 - A double pen and ink line border is shown around the edge of the mounted sheet. Queen Victoria visited Balmoral Castle for the first time in September 1848. The Queen was quite taken with Balmoral from her first visit. After arriving on 8 September 1848, Queen Victoria describes Balmoral in her journal as "a pretty little Castle, in the old Scotch style... In front are a nice lawn & garden, with a high wooded hill behind, & at the back, there is a wood. The hills rise all around." The Royal family originally leased the estate before buying it outright in 1851. In her journal entry of 21 September 1848, Queen Victoria describes how she "went up to the cairn [on top of Craig Gowan] & sketched".