Incredible moment cyclists bump into King Charles while on a walk near Balmoral – as he says he ‘loves walking’ in the area and recalls camping there as a child

King Charles stopped and chatted with a group of cyclists out for a ride on the Balmoral estate this summer, with the mountain bikers calling the royal family “a very nice man.”

The 74-year-old monarch was walking alone on his Scottish estate when he passed a group of mountain bikers who were filming their ride for a YouTube video.

Dressed in a jacket, flat cap and walking stick, the royal stopped and chatted with the group before telling him they were staying at the estate.

In typical British fashion, Charles chatted to the group about the weather and revealed some of his childhood memories at the estate, including camping with his late father Prince Philip and sister Princess Anne.

The video was posted to YouTube by mountain biker Andrew McAvoy, who regularly shares his McTrail Rider YouTube channel.

The 74-year-old monarch was walking alone on his Scottish estate when he passed a group of mountain bikers who were filming their ride for a YouTube video.

Andrew revealed that he and his friends were staying at the Royal Lochnagar Distillery, and they were on the way to Gelderse Shiel – known as Ernie’s Bothy or the ‘royal Bothy’ – a shelter used by hill walkers and open to the public.

‘We’ll stay at the Bothy tonight,’ he told Charles.

‘Awesome. I’m so glad it works. I think because it’s a lot of fun. We recently renovated, but I am trying to get more trees,” he added.

“Yes, it looks lush compared to what it was two years ago. Do you ever stay there?’ replied Andrew.

“No, we used to do that,” Charles added, “with my father and sister. It is now occasionally used by another generation.’

When asked if he was still on summer holiday, Charles replied: ‘Yes. It’s beautiful here.

‘The mosquitoes are terrible. It’s typical.

He added that he enjoyed walking because it was ‘good for the soul’, despite a disappointingly brisk Scottish summer this year.

Charles has continued his mother’s tradition of spending the summer at Balmoral

Wearing a coat, flat cap and walking stick, the royal then stopped and chatted with the group before they told him they were staying at the estate.

How to join The Mail’s WhatsApp channel

Scan this QR code and you will be taken to a page where you can join the channel

If you are reading this on your mobile web browser simply click on this invitation link.

If you are reading this in our Daily Mail app – go to the App Store > download or update WhatsApp > tap the ‘Updates’ tab > press + in the ‘Channels’ section > search for ‘Daily Mail’ > press + to follow.

If you continue reading this desktop You can use your phone to scan the QR code. You will then be taken to a page where you can join the channel.

If you can’t see Channels, try updating WhatsApp through your app store.

Then you need to close WhatsApp and reopen it.

Once you join The Mail’s channel, Make sure you tap the bell icon at the top of the screen to receive notifications.

Once you’ve joined The Mail’s channel, make sure to tap the bell icon at the top of the screen to receive notifications

The king showed his sense of humor and then added: “Be careful, don’t fall off.”

Before leaving, Andrew joked: “I think Charlie’s here because there’s guards down there with big assault rifles and stuff like that – it looks pretty cool.”

“They probably wouldn’t do that if there was no one important.”

Seeing Charles in the distance, he added, “I think this is a little royal.”

But after meeting him, Andrew and his friends couldn’t help but comment on ‘what a nice man’ Charles was.

‘Dear man had time for us. Nice. I’m annoyed because I didn’t care, but that was fun.

‘He’s a nice man. Walking and he walks while everyone else drives,” he added.

‘I’m just perplexed. It would be one thing to see the king with everyone. He was just walking down the path by himself.”

Gelder Shiel Bothy was built after Queen Victoria bought the house in Scotland in the late 19th century.

It is used as a bunkhouse for mountain hikers and was renovated in 2015 to have running water and a toilet.

While his late mother often went to her Scottish hometown for the entire summer, Charles waited until the last week of August before going to the estate.

Although it is known that the King and Queen Camilla prefer to stay at Birkhall, their private home on the Aberdeenshire estate, he has abandoned his preference for tradition in honor of his late mother.

He stayed in a Scottish residence for three weeks, including on the anniversary of the Queen’s death.