Greenstyle

Greenstyle is a renovated farmhouse on Glenkindie Estate in west Aberdeenshire, and its window seat has one of the better views in Donside: across open fields to the ruins of Kildrummy Castle, seat of the Earls of Mar and besieged in 1306 during the Wars of Independence. You can take that in from the open-plan living and dining room, which carries the farmhouse feel through with a large dining table, a sitting area in front of the fireplace, and a kitchen built around a range cooker that runs on both gas and electric, as happy with a slow Sunday roast as a quick breakfast.

The cottage sleeps six across three upstairs bedrooms: two kings and a double, made up with crisp linens and plush pillows. Downstairs there's a bonus in the snug, a small extra room with its own wood-burning stove and a writing desk, useful as a reading corner, a workspace or simply somewhere to disappear to with a dram. The two bathrooms split the duties well, with a deep bathtub and separate walk-in shower downstairs and a bright shower room upstairs.

Outside, the garden is fully enclosed. Greenstyle sits on a working estate where guests are free to roam, with walks from the door, woodland being gradually restored, and salmon and trout fishing available on Glenkindie's own stretch of the River Don. Its estate neighbours include Chapelton, Home Farm, Dalgrassick and Tornahatnach, so bigger gatherings can book across cottages. No dogs at this one.