Glen Dye
Ten cabins and cottages on a 15,000-acre estate below Clachnaben, for two to fourteen, with wood-fired hot tubs and dogs welcome in all of them.
Old stone lodges, a Victorian steading and a little bothy, spread over the Gladstone family's estate in the glen of the River Dye.
Glen Dye is a glen of heather, pine and river below the granite tor of Clachnaben, a little south of Banchory, and the 15,000-acre estate around it has belonged to the Gladstone family since the middle of the nineteenth century. Its old buildings have been brought back one by one as places to stay. There's a Victorian caretakers' lodge on the riverbank, an old inn on the edge of the forest where Jacobite troops once rested, and a toll house by the Bridge of Dye, which dates from 1680. The farm steading has been turned into cottages by NORD Architecture. Every house has a wood-fired hot tub of its own, and dogs are welcome in all of them. Between them there's a sauna to book, the Glen Dye Arms, a bring-your-own bar, and the estate shop, with fishing, forest bathing and the climb up Clachnaben right from the door.
Glendye makes me happy.
From a bothy for two to the Coach House for twelve; No 4 and No 5 Steading sit side by side for fourteen.
The Coach HouseSleeps 12- The old toll house by the Bridge of Dye
- The whole house, for exclusive use
North Lodge and River CabinSleeps 6- A cabin of its own on the riverbank
- An open fire in the lodge
Gamekeeper’s CottageSleeps 6- Looking over the River Dye
- A hot tub to add when you book
CuttieshillockSleeps 6- An old inn on the edge of the forest
- Its own sauna and garden studio
No 4 Steading CottageSleeps 7- A hot tub down a woodland path
- Next door to No 5
No 5 Steading CottageSleeps 7- The Smiddy games room
- Next door to No 4
The Corner HouseSleeps 6- A giant south-facing window
- A mural of the hills
No 2 Steading CottageSleeps 4- The window where the tractors came in
- A private yard with a hot tub
The Hay Loft at GlendyeSleeps 4- A picture-book window down the glen
- A private hot tub outside
The Bothy, GlendyeSleeps 2- A hand-built outdoor kitchen
- Next to the oldest house on the estate
For four of you, No 2 Steading Cottage and The Hay Loft at Glendye are just right.
November2026
Choose the night you arrive.
What Glen Dye runs itself, for guests in the houses and for visitors.
On the River DyeSalmon and sea troutA session on the estate's own stretches of river, with a guide, the gear and the know-how.
In the woodsForest bathingTwo or three slow hours in the estate's forest with a guide, touching bark and listening to the wind.
Good stuff, made wellThe Glen Dye ShopThe estate's country store and gallery: clothing, homewares, books, art and food.
From the Bridge of DyeClachnabenThe hill above the estate, with a granite tor on top that sailors once steered by, climbed on a good path.In Glen Dye, near Strachan, a little south of Banchory on Royal Deeside.
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