Milton of Crathes – a Train Ride, a Play Park and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Young children never tire of a little heritage railway, and the Royal Deeside Railway at Milton of Crathes is a lovely one.
Ride its old maroon and cream carriages out along the Dee and back, then let the children loose in the play park at Crathes Castle, a few minutes up the road, before lunch in the castle's courtyard café.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Milton of Crathes
The morning starts with the train, at a little country station on Deeside. Ride out along the river and back, run off steam in the play park at Crathes, then settle in for a warm lunch in the courtyard café.
About three hoursAbout 0.5 miles on foot
Royal Deeside Railway
An attraction
Milton of Crathes is on the A93 just east of Banchory, and parking is free beside the old steadings. The railway runs only on its own running days: chosen Sundays from April to October, every Sunday in July and August but none in September, and booked Santa trains before Christmas. Look at the calendar on the Royal Deeside Railway's website before you set off. On a running day trains leave on the hour from 11am to 4pm, so aim for the 11 o'clock. Buy your tickets on the day in the station shop: at the time of writing £8 adults, £4 children aged 3 to 15, under-3s free and £20 for a family. Then climb aboard the old maroon and cream carriages for a ride of 15 to 20 minutes out along the Dee through the trees and back, pulled by steam or diesel. Dogs travel free, and the usual carriages take a wheelchair, with staff to help up the slopes. There are toilets at Milton of Crathes.
6 min by car
Crathes Castle
An attraction
From the station it's 6 minutes' drive west along the A93 to the main gate of Crathes Castle, then up the long drive to the estate car park beside the courtyard. Parking costs £5, free to National Trust for Scotland members. The play park is beside Café 1702 in the courtyard, free and open whenever the estate is. At weekends from late August to 1 November in 2026, the Wild Wood Adventure Play opens too, from 11am to 3.30pm, weather permitting, with sandpits, slides, a zip wire and a see-through walkway among the trees, at £5 a child and free for under-4s. Only assistance dogs may go into the Wild Wood. There are toilets in the courtyard, and if the children still have energy, the estate's trails start close by, where you may spot red squirrels.
Café 1702 at Crathes Castle
Lunch
Lunch is a few steps away at Café 1702 in the courtyard: hot and cold lunches, home baking and extreme hot chocolates. It opens every day from 10am, until 5pm to the end of October and 4pm in winter (Thursday to Sunday only in January), and closes from Christmas Day to early January. Dogs are welcome inside, and it's step-free from the car park. If it's busy, the Milton Brasserie back at Milton of Crathes serves lunch every day from noon to 3pm.
If it rains
The carriages are covered and the café is indoors, so a shower spoils only the play park and the Wild Wood, which can close in bad weather; ride the train, then go straight in for an early lunch.
Photograph by Gorka via Google