The Deeside Railway was a line that travelled from Aberdeen to Ballater as a stretch of the Great North of Scotland Railway, it closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching cuts. Its tracks have since been removed, except for a small one-mile section used as the Royal Deeside heritage railway, and the path opened to the public on the former route. While in operation, the railway was used by the British Royal Family during travel to their Scottish retreat at Balmoral, hence the local name the "Royal Deeside Line".