Cairngorms

Dell Cottage

For two, with one bedroom. Three nights at least.

Welcome

Dell Cottage was the owners’ own home, on the eastern wing of the old buildings at the Dell of Abernethy near Nethy Bridge, and after an overhaul it is now a hideaway for two.

The sitting room has oak parquet floors, an open fire and the sun most of the day, with vintage furniture, a record player and games.

There’s a separate kitchen and dining room, one calm king-size bedroom, and a bathroom with a claw-foot bath and a big walk-in shower. The garden is its own.

Good to know: this is the house for couples taking the Dell’s elopement wedding package.

Our home is your home, so relax, enjoy the peace and sink into holiday mode.

Polly and Ross

Good to know

Arriving: From 4pm. They can sometimes be flexible; ask.
Leaving: By 10am.
Changeovers: Mondays and Fridays, for a midweek break, a long weekend or a week.
Dogs: Ask the owners.
Children: Cots, highchairs and fireguards on request.
Included: Heating, hot water, linen, towels and a basic larder of tea, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Shops: The Dell Grocer on site; Balliefurth Farm Shop and the Spar in the village; a fish van from the Moray coast every Wednesday at 10am.

At The Dell of Abernethy

Dell Lodge under snow, its pale stone front and dormers seen through red autumn leaves across the white lawn.

Dell LodgeSleeps 8

Two king-size rooms and two twins
A farmhouse kitchen and a library

Check dates

West Dell, a whitewashed stone cottage with a red door and a slate roof, in low winter sun.

West DellSleeps 6

The crofter’s black house, the first building here
Axe-cut beams and deep-set windows

Check dates

South Dell, a white cottage with a stone gable and a slate roof, its sunny lawn edged by big trees.

South DellSleeps 6

The lodge’s old kitchen, with its granite range surround
A piano

Check dates

East Dell in spring sunshine, a low stone cottage with a red door and a mossy roof beside its garden and an old oak.

East DellSleeps 5

The most tucked-away cottage
An enclosed garden with a sit-ootery

Check dates

A wooden gate in a picket fence opens onto Little Dell's green garden, with cow parsley and a wooden bench beyond.

Little DellSleeps 2

The lodge’s old ballroom
The original pitch-pine floor

Check dates The whole placeThe Dell of AbernethyEvery house, the group calendar and what there is to do there.See The Dell of Abernethy

At the Dell

The Dell hosts its own evenings, workshops and weddings in the woods, for guests and for anyone nearby.

Fridays in the tipiThe Gather InnA pub night round the fire in the woodland tipi, most Fridays from 5 to 10pm, with pizza from Highland Slice. No booking: just turn up, and children are welcome until 8pm.

The stone fire pit beside the canvas tipi, a fire lit in it, with sheepskins on the stone seats and the pines behind.

For an eveningThe fire pitA stone fire pit beside the tipi, lit for you with logs, cushions, sheepskins and blankets: two and a half hours for £25, for guests in the houses. The spit-roast barbecue is £40.

The Dell Grocer's carved wooden sign hanging from a bracket on a weathered timber wall, the lawn beyond.

On the doorstepThe Dell GrocerThe Dell’s own shop, open Monday to Saturday, with sourdough most Fridays, easy meals, local produce and wine. Order 48 hours ahead and your house is stocked when you arrive.

A classic blue wedding car driving away down a road through the pine forest.

Among the pinesWeddingsA small number of relaxed weddings a year, among the pines, by a loch or out in the hills, with Dell Cottage for an elopement and the lodge for a house party.

Until 27 Nov: The Gather Inn, Friday nights: A Friday pub night round the fire in the Dell of Abernethy’s woodland tipi near Nethy Bridge, with pizza most weeks and no booking.
Sat 31 Oct: Halloween Party with the Wook: A Halloween dance party in the woodland tipi at the Dell of Abernethy with DJ The Wook, and a goody bag for the best costume.
5 Feb to 8 Feb: Ski Touring Retreat with Beyond Fitness: Three days of guided backcountry ski touring in the Cairngorms with Beyond Fitness, staying and eating at the Dell of Abernethy.

Close byWhere Polly and Ross send their guests, nearest first by road.