Balmoral Castle, the private Scottish residence of King Charles, has been forced to close to visitors due to the arrival of Storm Floris. In a statement issued on Monday morning, the Estate urged would‑be tourists to “please do not travel to the Estate” and confirmed that refunds would be issued for all tickets set for today’s visits.
The Met Office has placed much of Scotland under an amber “danger to life” wind warning from 10:00 to 22:00 BST, with gusts expected to reach 80–90 mph along exposed coasts, hills and bridges. A broader yellow warning for wind remains in force across northern England, Northern Ireland and North Wales from 06:00 to midnight.
In a statement, the estate urged people to stay away, saying: “Balmoral will be closed to the public today, Monday 4th August, due to Storm Floris. Please do not travel to the Estate. We will be issuing refunds for tickets to visit today. Stay safe everyone.”
Across Scotland, rail services face cancellations and speed restrictions of 50 mph, especially on routes from Edinburgh to Fife, Perth to Dundee and Aberdeen to Inverness. ScotRail has advised passengers to avoid travel today where possible. Ferry operator CalMac has suspended many services along the west coast, and Loganair has cancelled multiple flights to island destinations including Orkney, Stornaway, Tiree and Barra.
Balmoral Castle, located on the royal estate in Aberdeenshire, customarily opens to the public from early April through early August, offering audio-guided tours of the ballroom, gardens, exhibitions and a visitor centre with gift shop and café. The royal residence is privately owned by the monarch, separate from Crown properties like Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace.
Usually, visitors can explore the grounds, audio-tour the interior in multiple languages, and spend time in the on-site café and shop. Due to the storm, however, these facilities remain closed and all scheduled tours cancelled.
The King is expected to take up residence at Balmoral in the coming days.
Storm Floris is the sixth named storm of the 2024–25 season, and the first to impact Britain since Storm Éowyn in January. Although storms are more typical in autumn and winter, summer occurrences – such as Floris – can be especially disruptive due to unprepared infrastructure and full leaf coverage on trees, increasing risk of toppling branches.
Authorities advise residents and visitors in the amber warning area to stay indoors if possible, secure loose outdoor items, avoid coastal regions and refrain from non-essential travel.
