rampian has a fertile coastal plain and an inland area of plains and steep mountains. The ports of Aberdeen and Peterhead on the eastern coast are major service points for the North Sea petroleum industry. Inland, the valley of the River Dee is clad in forests of birchwood and Scots pine. The castles of Drum and Crathes are located here, and further west stands Balmoral Castle, a summer residence built by Queen Victoria in the 1850s. Rising north of the Dee, the untamed, heathery hills of the Grampians are home to seven famous whisky distilleries, all of which welcome visitors.