Nethy House – Breakfast in a Forest Village by the River
A few hours.
The route
Nethy House is the café in the middle of Nethy Bridge, a forest village on the edge of Abernethy, and its breakfasts, home baking and good coffee make it worth the drive.
Afterwards, stroll a minute down the street to the old three-arched bridge over the River Nethy and the little visitor centre beyond it, full of maps and wildlife sightings.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Park Cottage in Kincraig, 13 miles away. Sleeps 6; next free Fri 23 Oct to Sun 25 Oct.
Book a table at Nethy House by phone or text on 07498 151519, ahead or until 10am on the day: it serves breakfast from 9am to 11.30am, six days a week, and shuts on Wednesdays.
The day
Nethy Bridge
A slow start in a forest village: breakfast first, then a short wander to the river and back to the car.
About an hour and a half
Nethy House
Breakfast
Breakfast comes first at Nethy House, the café on the corner in Nethy Bridge, with free parking behind. Breakfast is served from 9am to 11.30am, then lunch, and coffee and cakes until 5pm. It's shut on Wednesdays. Book a table by phone or text until 10am on the day, on 07498 151519. Well-behaved dogs are welcome inside, and there's room for wheelchairs, with a ramp to the toilets. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
Nethy Bridge
An attraction
From the café, walk a minute along the road to the bridge that gives the village its name, three stone arches over the River Nethy, designed by Thomas Telford. Look down for dippers on the stones. Just beyond it, the Explore Abernethy Visitor Centre in the community centre on Dell Road has displays on the forest, free trail maps and a board of the wildlife people have seen. It's often unstaffed, so walk straight in; it opens from 10am to 4pm from November to March, weather permitting, and 9.30am to 5pm from April to October. There are accessible toilets there too.
If it rains
Breakfast and the visitor centre are both indoors, and the bridge is a minute from the café door, so rain changes very little.
Nethy House, a café in Nethy Bridge.
Photograph by Martin Bisland via Google