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The tall stone Royal Arch over the street in Fettercairn.
Aberdeenshire

The Arch Café and Bistro

A cosy café and bistro by Fettercairn's royal arch, with gluten-free baking and a Friday chippy night.

Welcome

Fettercairn is a small village at the foot of the Cairn o' Mount road, and its landmark is the tall stone arch in the square, raised to mark a visit from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1861.

The Arch Café and Bistro takes its name from it, on Main Street a few steps away.

It is a coffee shop and a licensed bistro, with food cooked fresh every day. Gluten-free home baking is the speciality, which makes it one of the better stops in the Mearns for anyone who has to avoid wheat, and there are good cakes for everyone else too. On Friday evenings, from 4pm to 7pm, it holds a chippy night that has become very popular locally, so it is worth arriving early.

Fettercairn Distillery is at the edge of the village, and the Cairn o' Mount road climbs north from here over the hills to Deeside, one of the great drives in the north-east, so the café makes a good place to stop before or after.

A short drive awaySinclair’s LarderA bright café bistro on Edzell's High Street, with fresh seasonal food, home baking and good coffee, open seven days a week.7 min by roadSee itSinclair's Larder's purple shopfront and planted terrace on Edzell High Street.
Before you go

On Main Street by the arch.

Chippy night on Fridays, 4pm to 7pm.

Where
Main Street, Fettercairn.
Chippy night
Fridays, 4 to 7.
Where it is

Fettercairn.

Close byAround Fettercairn.
  1. The tall copper stills in Fettercairn's stillhouse, among steel walkways.Fettercairn DistilleryUnder a mile 2 min by road
  2. The North Esk tumbling through its wooded gorge among autumn leaves.Edzell Blue Door Walk4 miles 5 min by road
  3. Walker in yellow coat balances on frosty rocks beside a riverRiver North EskStretching 47 kilometres from Scotland’s eastern coast, just north of Montrose, to the Water of Lee in the Cairngorms4 miles 7 min by road
  4. Edzell Castle's red ruin and its walled garden seen from the air.Edzell Castle6 miles 9 min by road
  5. Westerton Farm, AberdeenshireWesterton Farm6 miles 13 min by road
Directions
Sinclair's Larder's purple shopfront and planted terrace on Edzell High Street.RestaurantsSinclair’s Larder4.8 miles
The granite tor on the top of Clachnaben in snow, under a deep blue sky.WalksClachnaben Walk, Glen Dye8.6 miles
A jar of Castleton jam beside a scone with cream and berries.CafeCastleton Farm Shop & Cafe8.6 miles
The pale stone ring of the White Caterthun on its hilltop, Strathmore beyond.AttractionsThe Brown and White Caterthuns9.4 miles
Timber cabin with metal roof and decking surrounded by woodland treesBanchoryNorth Lodge and River CabinSleeps 6 · 9.6 miles
A stone cottage with a slated roof and teal door sits behind a lawn, a striped bench and timber fence framing the garden.BanchoryThe Bothy, GlendyeSleeps 2 · 9.6 miles
An old painted dresser of enamelware and boxes against a pink wall in the Glen Dye Shop.ShoppingGlen Dye Shop9.6 miles
A stone farmhouse covered in climbing ivy stands behind a gravel drive, seen through overhanging pine branches.Glen DyeCuttieshillockSleeps 6 · 9.6 miles
A stone cottage with dormer windows sits behind a low blue gate, a rose-covered archway framing the front door.StrachanGamekeeper’s CottageSleeps 6 · 9.6 miles
The Daily for 17 October, from Scotland with love. A wide waterfall churns over rock ledges, autumn trees lining the gorge.

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near The Arch Café and Bistro, and when each is next free.

Timber cabin with metal roof and decking surrounded by woodland treesNorth Lodge and River Cabin
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Banchory
  • 8 miles from The Arch Café and Bistro
Free 29–30 OctA stone farmhouse covered in climbing ivy stands behind a gravel drive, seen through overhanging pine branches.Cuttieshillock
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Glen Dye
  • 8 miles from The Arch Café and Bistro
Free 17–19 OctA stone cottage with dormer windows sits behind a low blue gate, a rose-covered archway framing the front door.Gamekeeper’s Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Strachan
  • 8 miles from The Arch Café and Bistro
Free 2–4 NovA stone steading with a slated pyramid roof and a chimney stands behind a green nameplate sign, a chair visible through the window.No 2 Steading Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Strachan
  • 8 miles from The Arch Café and Bistro
Free 18–20 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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