Places to Stay in Aberdeenshire in Winter

Come to Deeside between November and March and you'll have the glens almost to yourself. The days are short, but on a clear one the low sun lights up the river and the pinewoods all afternoon. Wrap up for a morning walk, look out for red deer on the hillsides, and be back indoors as the early dusk comes in.

We've gathered the places that stay open all winter. There's a Victorian hotel in Ballater where the dinner menu changes every day, a former village schoolhouse beside the River Gairn, and a big house at Crathie with room for the whole family. On the Glen Dye estate near Banchory there are cottages with wood-fired hot tubs, and an ancient stone house that was once an inn has a sauna too. Several welcome dogs.