The Cairngorm National Park is a unique place & it’s packed with adventure…

History

Drumin, meaning mossy hillside or ridge, stands at the confluence of Strathavon & Glenlivet, leading to the Spey Valley & feeding into the mighty River Spey at Ballindalloch.

The raised promontory was ideal for a fortified settlement, and it is thought that the current castle superseded both Iron Age and Bronze Age settlements on the site of this green, wooded place.

Drumin Castle lends it name to this tiny settlement, built in late 1300’s for Alexander Stewart (1342-1406), Earl of Buchan otherwise known as the "Wolf of Badenoch" often only remembered for his medieval temper & harsh concept of justice.

He was responsible for the burning & sacking of Elgin Cathedral in 1390, as a result of a long term feud with the Bishop of Moray.  

The farmstead of which the cottage forms part, was built in 1818-19 by William Mitchell, Factor to the Duke of Gordon, and our cottage is contemporary to this.

The farmhouse & steadings were constructed from the ruins of the castle, as was the cottage. Heritage wasn’t the same in the 19th Century, nothing was listed!

Stuff to do

On a personal note…Chris grew up here on the Spey and loves to pick out the best the area has to offer visitors…

The local landscape within a 30 min walk or “10 min drive to walk” offers dozens of good trails, walks & assents, including the Smugglers Trails which radiate from the Glenlivet distillery visitor centre. If you haven’t already consider downloading the OS mapping app - which features recommended trails from any location, with handy guides to difficulty & projected walk time. Please do always check the weather before you leave the house, the Met office has an specific local high level forecast service for the serious walker.

There is an excellent 3.5km short loop from the house through the woods & down along the river which is well suited to dog walkers for their daily exercise, we have marked some other routes on the map on the wall of the dining room.

The cottage is located on two superb fishing rivers, the Livet is good for trout & salmon (a harder catch) while the Avon is good for both, download a guide here, of course the Spey is just down the road and for the wealthy it offers some of the best fishing in the world, try the Tulchan estate for the high end stuff, or venture to Grantown for access to the association waters there where Chris learnt to fish.

If you do decide to take up the rod, then the Gallery & Sporting Shop in Aberlour is an excellent place to head, offering rod rental for the Spey as well as fly kit etc. For Trout fishing gear a journey to Grantown-on- Spey to visit Mortimers is worth a trip, the proprietors have been family friends for decades & are deeply knowledgeable.

There are also a number of local shoots, as well as stalking opportunities, again the two closest estates are the Crown Estate / Glenlivet & Strathavon.

Local favorites for a day out are of course the MANY distilleries, with The Glenlivet, Macallan & Tomintoul which are all close by, offering tours & tastings. There are dozens locally, but the best tour is to be found at The Glenlivet, where an outstanding shop offers their full international range, and the opportunity to fill your own cask 12 or 15 year old. Glenallachie distillery & Aberlour distillery are both worth a look, with Glenallachie 15 being a favourite of Chris & brother in law Jan.

North of the cottage on the B9008 / A95 link to Elgin / Grantown on Spey, there is a wonderful smaller distillery at Ballindaloch, part of the estate of the Macpherson-Grant family who have lived here since 1546, as well as a golf course & the castle itself which is open to the public. There is a cafe at the distillery / golf course called Lagmore which does home baked cakes & soups etc.

The main road from Ballindalloch east goes to Aberlour and Rothes. Aberlour is a wonderful village with some great shops & a proper high street.

Do try the Spey Larder which has some good wines & deli counter, the butcher Mackies, & the vital Co-op which is the closest place for basics, plus the superb Speyside Whisky shop - pop in for chat as they are very knowledgeable.

Aberlour is also home to Walkers shortbread, a 125 year old export business which allows Chris & Claire to tell people in airports where they come from by just pointing at the boxes.

The original shop is a design icon, and worth a visit, there is also an outlet at the main factory just north of the village.

There is a very good pub restaurant in the village called The Mashtun, the range of whisky behind the bar is probably one of the best in Scotland, the food is hearty & menu spot on, plus it is just a short walk from the River Spey / Speyside way & has some sunny outdoor terrace seating.

Rothes, down the road another 20 mins, has a rather special restaurant, part of the Station Hotel which offers the areas only tasting menu in a two Michelin rosette dining room, which also offers an outstanding local produce a la carte & lunch menu, both worth a trip just to eat there.

To the south from the cottage along the B9136 is Bridge of Brown. This road offers some lovely views across the Avon, before joining the main A939 road to Grantown on Spey home of KJ’s Bothy Bakery / Mountain Cafe purveyors of the finest baked goods & coffee in Scotland, please try the millionaires shortbread it is the best in the world - believe me I have tried to find better…

While we are over in the direction of Grantown on Spey the Tulchan estate offers one of the best food experiences in the area called The Feast which in an area with limited good restaurants, is worth the drive to Advie on the A95. The concept is local / estate produce for sharing served on platters, you will eat well & its great value for money.

Heading out along the B9136 / A939 one can cut across country to / from Nethy Bridge via Dorback a 25 min drive, which offers some of the most impressive views of the Cairngorms from anywhere in the park.

Along the way is the famous Glenlivet Trails which is now well established with both downhill (terrifying) routes, hillside long & steady routes as well as a new zip wire. The cafe here is an outpost of the lovely little Nethy Cafe & well worth the visit just for coffee & cakes, it’s sister cafe is on the cross roads in Nethy.

Boat of Garten is around a 35 min drive & is home to the Ospreys at the RSPB reserve, as well as some lovely walks in the ancient Abernethy forest. Boat is home to the Strathspey steam raliway & to Andersons a rather good restaurant, book in advance, in fact that is generally good advice for eating out locally - opening hours / days can vary.

Around 40 min drive south along the A95 is the “ski resort” of Aviemore which is the capital of Speyside, primarily due to the historic link to the mainline railway - with a direct 7hr 45min connection to London KX & around 3hrs to Edinburgh or Glasgow.

The village offers some decent mountain sports outlets, an excellent pizza restaurant, a fish monger & the only M&S food in the area. There is a super pub down by the river called The Old Bridge Inn.

On the subject of fish, it is surprisingly hard to obtain locally, but James’ fish van calls into Grantown on Spey (The square) 12.30pm to 2pm on Wednesday each week; Nethybridge (Old shop) 2.30pm to 3.30pm; Boat of Garten (The green) 3.45pm to 4.15pm.

Some of the finest seafood in the world comes from the Moray coastline & the North Sea, don’t miss the opportunity to try some from the sea to your table in a few hours…

Aviemore is also your gateway to the Cairngorm mountain range there is a super road up to the basecamp car park which passes Loch Morlich & Glenmore Lodge, both offering water sports /outdoor sports & in the case of the Loch a beach (!) & The Pine Marten bar a local phenomenon run by Scott who is often seen ass out on instagram.  

Just past Scott’s place is the local Reindeer herd now around 300 in number, some of whom can be seen during summer on the hills outside the window of the cottage!

The ski resort is located at circa 400m above sea level. From here you could use the funicular railway (if it wasn’t permanently broken) to access the upper plateau of the range, walking here is for the experienced & not to be taken lightly.

If you do walk out from the car park or on the tops of the local dozen or so Munros, please leave note of your route, expected return date / time & details for contact on display inside your windscreen.

From the cottage to the east along the A939 is Tomintoul, the highest village in the UK & gateway to the snow roads route to the villages of Ballater & Braemar on Royal Deeside, a broad sweeping glen following the River Dee. Both are worth the drive “over the tops” as we say…

Braemar is home to the Fife Arms; owned and managed by Hauser + Wirth art dealers, the Fife is home to an extraordinary collection of artworks, and some fabulous food.

As a result of this new addition to Scotland’s five star offer, Baremar is now home to some unique boutiques & food offerings like the ridiculously authentic french The Hazelnut cafe & of course it hosts the Braemar Gathering - the highland games to top all others.

The main attraction on Deeside is Balmoral, once home to Queen Victoria & favoured by King Charles III who can be found walking the hills round Loch Muick or Lochnagar, also a decent whisky in its own right Royal Lochnagar 

Finally turning to the north, to the coast, there are many reasons why a day out to the beaches & villages along the Moray coast will make great memories, here are a few;

Roseisle Beach is an uninterpreted sweep along the bay from Findhorn to Burghead 6.5 miles in total of white sands, great swimming in summer & all dog friendly all year round. If you come up to the coast there are two super places to eat: The Bothy in Burghead or Oneonetwo The Brae in Nairn which also offers a bottle shop with the best range of wines in the area.

Nairn, Forres, Inverness & Elgin are the major towns on the north coast, with Inverness being capital city of the Highlands & Islands. Key attractions round Inverness are Culloden Battlefield, Loch Ness & beyond to the North the Black Isle + the start of the NC500.

There are a number of major stores / highstreet shops in Inverness, including a large Tesco on the outskirts & for us mainly the Majestic warehouse but the city is a little lacking in character.

Nairn offers sailing at it’s marina & along the coast there are a number of boat operators who will take you out to see the Dolphins & the occasional whale.

While in Elgin, the capital of Moray, there is an Argos & Elgin Cathedral (the one that guy who lived behind the cottage in the castle burnt down)…this is the closest larger Tesco as well so you may find yourself there.

Come & fall for Scotland, its hard to leave…