Hidden Scotland
Sign in
A jar of Castleton jam beside a scone with cream and berries.
Aberdeenshire

Castleton Farm Shop & Cafe

A fruit farm's own shop and café in the Mearns, famous for strawberry tarts.

Visit website
Welcome

Castleton is a fruit farm in the Howe of the Mearns, and its shop and café, by the A90 at Fordoun, is where the fruit ends up.

Everything served in the café is homemade and made with local or British produce, and every cake is baked from scratch with Scottish flour, local free-range eggs and fruit from the farm when it is in season.

The strawberry tarts are famous in the area, and so are the peppered steak baguettes. There is breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, desserts and waffles made to order, and a real-fruit ice-cream machine that mixes in the farm's own berries, at its best in July.

The farm shop sells local produce to take home, and daily essentials. Outside there is an enclosed play park with a tractor theme and seating, which makes it an easy stop with children. It is a welcome break on the long drive between Aberdeen and Dundee.

A short drive awayThe Arch Café and BistroA cosy café and bistro by Fettercairn's royal arch, with gluten-free baking and a Friday chippy night.13 min by roadSee itThe tall stone Royal Arch over the street in Fettercairn.
Before you go

The farm shop and café are at Fordoun, off the A90 between Aberdeen and Dundee, with an enclosed play park outside.

Where
Fordoun, near Laurencekirk.
Outside
Enclosed play park.
Where it is

Fordoun, near Laurencekirk.

Close byAround Fordoun.
  1. Westerton Farm, AberdeenshireWesterton Farm5 miles9 min by road
  2. The Grassic Gibbon Centre's gabled front beside Arbuthnott Hall, picnic tables outside.Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre6 miles10 min by road
  3. The tall copper stills in Fettercairn's stillhouse, among steel walkways.Fettercairn Distillery9 miles14 min by road
  4. Sillyflatt Farm ShopA family farm shop above the North Sea between Inverbervie and Gourdon, selling its own lamb and food from within a hundred miles.10 miles16 min by road
  5. Dunnottar CastleDunnottar Castle10 miles16 min by road
Directions
The tall stone Royal Arch over the street in Fettercairn.CafeThe Arch Café and Bistro8.5 miles
The white front of the Carron Fish Bar in Stonehaven with its sign about the deep-fried Mars bar.RestaurantsThe Carron Fish Bar10 miles
Battered fish and chips with lemon and tartare sauce from the Quayside.RestaurantsQuayside Restaurant & Fish Bar, Gourdon10 miles
The blue surf boat Maggie Law on display inside the museum at Gourdon.AttractionsThe Maggie Law Maritime Museum10 miles
Small boats moored in Stonehaven harbour beneath rows of white waterfront housesAttractionsStonehaven10 miles
Connie & Ruby's shop interior with a red counter and colourful trinketsRestaurantsMy Beautiful Caravan10 miles
The white front of the Marine Hotel on the harbour at Stonehaven.BarsThe Marine Hotel10 miles
The white front of the Ship Inn on Stonehaven harbour.BarsThe Ship Inn10 miles
Plated chicken with tagliatelle and artichoke on a white-clothed restaurant tableRestaurantsTolbooth Seafood Restaurant11 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near Castleton Farm Shop & Cafe, 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 Castleton Farm Shop & Cafe
Free 11–13 NovA stone farmhouse covered in climbing ivy stands behind a gravel drive, seen through overhanging pine branches.Cuttieshillock
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Strachan
  • 8 miles from Castleton Farm Shop & Cafe
Free 16–18 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 Castleton Farm Shop & Cafe
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 at Glendye
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Strachan
  • 8 miles from Castleton Farm Shop & Cafe
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
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.