Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES
Tourist o
ce
In The Mews, in the middle of the village on
Mar Road (daily: April-June & Sept-Oct 9.30am-5pm;
July & Aug 9.30am-6pm; Nov-March 9.30am-4.30pm;
T
01339 741600).
Outdoor activities
Advice on outdoor activities, as well
as ski, mountain-bike and climbing equipment rental, is
available from Braemar Mountain Sports (daily 9am-6pm;
W
braemarmountainsports.com).
ACCOMMODATION
Clunie Lodge Guest House
Clunie Bank Road
T
01339
741330,
W
clunielodge.com.
Just south of the tourist
o
ce, close to the middle of the vill
age,
is this six-room
B&B with lovely views up Clunie Glen.
£70
Invercauld Caravan Club Park
Half a mile south of
the village off Glenshee Road
T
01339 741373.
Year-
round caravan site which also has thirty ca
mping
p
itches.
Can get busy in the summer, so book ahead.
£21.40
/pitch
Rucksacks
Tucked behind The Mews
T
01339 741517.
Cheery, easy-going bunkhouse that's well equipped for
walkers and backpackers - stay in one of the twi
n ro
oms, or
cras
h out in the shared alpine-style hut. Dorms
£10
; twins
£32
SYHA Braemar
Corrie Feragie, 21 Glenshee Road
T
01339 741659,
W
syha.org.uk
. SYHA hostel in a former
shooting lodge with bike storage facilities and a big
commu
nal
kitchen. It's also just a short stroll from the
centre.
£18
10
EATING AND DRINKING
Taste
Airlie House, beside the Mar Road roundabout
T
01339 741425,
W
taste-braemar.co.uk.
Reliably
good coffee shop and moderately priced contemporary
restaurant doing home-made, gluten-free soups
(served with local bread) for £3.60.
Tues-Sat
10am-5pm.
The Gathering Place
Invercauld Rd, by Braemar
Mountain Sports
T
01339 741234,
W
the-gathering-
place.co.uk.
Bistro in the heart of the village selling
mouthwatering, though pricey, Scottish-based cuisine,
including a game pie made with ale and red wine (£16.95).
Tues-Sat 6-8.30pm
.
The Don valley
he quiet countryside around the
DON VALLEY
, once renowned for its illegal whisky
distilleries and smugglers, lies at the heart of Aberdeenshire's prosperous agricultural
region. From Aberdeen, the River Don winds northwest through
Inverurie
, where it
takes a sharp turn west to
Alford
, then continues past ruined castles through the
Upper Don valley
and the heather moorlands of the eastern Highlands. his remote
and under-visited area is positively littered with ruined castles, Pictish sites, stones and
hill forts.
GETTING AROUND
THE DON VALLEY
By car
Although public transport connects Aberdeen
with Inverurie and Alford, getting any further than
this without a car is all but impossible.
Alford and around
ALFORD
(pronounced “aa-ford”), 25 miles west of Aberdeen, only exists at all because it
was chosen, in 1859, as the terminus for the Great North Scotland Railway. A fairly
grey little town now firmly within the Aberdeen commuter belt, it's still well worth
making the trip here for the
Grampian Transport Museum
.
Grampian Transport Museum
Main Street • April-Sept daily 10am-5pm; Oct daily 10am-4pm • £9.50 •
W
gtm.org.uk
he
Grampian Transport Museum
is home to a diverse display of transport through the
ages, from old tramcars and pushbikes to modern, eco-friendly cars. Notable exhibits
include the Craigevar Express, a strange, three-wheeled steam-driven vehicle developed
by the local postman for his rounds, and that famous monument to British eccentricity
and ingenuity, the Sinclair C5 motorized tricycle.
