Hidden Scotland
Sign in
A grey stone cottage with dormer windows and a black front door, climbing roses either side, set behind a lawn.
Moray

Mayen Estate

Two stone cottages, an A-frame cabin and a Georgian gate lodge on 700 acres of the Deveron Valley, each with its own hot tub or sauna.

Booking for a groupSee the houses free together
Book on their website
Welcome

Cottages, a cabin and a lodge on an estate of walled gardens, woods and river in North East Scotland.

Mayen is a 700-acre estate in the Deveron Valley, a peaceful place of green hills a short drive from the Banffshire coast. Its working walled gardens sit at the heart of it, with landscaped grounds, an arboretum and old rock gardens running down to the river. There are four places to stay: two traditional stone cottages for families, a larch A-frame cabin in a field of Highland cows, and a Georgian gate lodge from 1788 in the woods. Each has a wood-fired hot tub or a sauna and a place to cook outside. You can fish for wild salmon with a ghillie, learn to shoot, or watch for roe deer on the hills and otters in the river.

It's a place full of calm, beauty, and hidden corners waiting to be discovered.
Ross McIntosh
The houses

A cottage for six, one for four, and two hideaways for two.

A grey stone cottage with dormer windows and a black front door, climbing roses either side, set behind a lawn.Bailies CottageSleeps 6
  • By the River Deveron
  • Two big dogs welcome
Free 1–4 NovA stone cottage with a slated roof and a blue front door, climbing roses in pink and white flanking the porch.Butlers CottageSleeps 4
  • Painted box beds
  • A hot tub over the valley
Free 11–14 DecA triangular timber cabin stands behind a wooden gate and post-and-rail fence, bare trees framing the entrance.MidparkSleeps 2
  • A larch A-frame
  • Highland cows next door
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovA single-storey lodge with a slated roof sits behind a stone wall and clipped hedge, mature trees shading the curving drive.Gate LodgeSleeps 2
  • Built in 1788
  • A sauna in the woods
Check dates
Booking for a group
4people

For four of you, Butlers Cottage is just right.

When

December2026

MTWTFSS

Choose the night you arrive.

A stone cottage with a slated roof and a blue front door, climbing roses in pink and white flanking the porch.4peopleButlers CottageJust right
A grey stone cottage with dormer windows and a black front door, climbing roses either side, set behind a lawn.4peopleBailies CottageRoomier than you need
A triangular timber cabin stands behind a wooden gate and post-and-rail fence, bare trees framing the entrance.MidparkToo small for four
Sleeps 2
A single-storey lodge with a slated roof sits behind a stone wall and clipped hedge, mature trees shading the curving drive.Gate LodgeToo small for four
Sleeps 2
WhenAny time
Where it is

The estate emails how to find it, and how check-in works, the day before you arrive. It is near Rothiemay in the Deveron Valley, and from the south you drive through Huntly on the way.

Close byWhere Ross sends the estate's guests.
  1. Ruined stone castle towers rise above autumn trees and a grassy pathHuntly CastleA walk from the middle of Huntly along the Deveron to the ruined castle and back through the town: two miles, fine for children and dogs.10 miles 19 min by road
  2. Leith Hall, pale harled walls and turrets, above its gravel drive.Leith HallA stately home with historic links to Mayen: easy trails past a pond, a bird hide and an ice house, for dogs, wheelchairs and buggies.17 miles 27 min by road
  3. The bank of grey rubble that was the fort's wall on the summit of Tap o' Noth, with heather slopes and patchwork farmland running to distant hills below.Tap o' NothSomething more of a climb: a 4.8km semi-rugged trail, with quiet spots on the way for a picnic over the countryside.20 miles 30 min by road
  4. The curving sands of Sandend Bay, yellow gorse in the foreground.Sandend BeachRoss's favourite place for quiet time by the sea: a shallow harbour and gentle shore to paddle, swim or let a dog splash about.20 miles 29 min by road
  5. Ruined stone building perched on a rocky headland above turquoise seaFindlater CastleRuins on the cliffs above Sunnyside Beach, for seabirds and the views; Ross walks there from Cullen, about 2.5 miles.19 miles 31 min by road
  6. Slate rooftops and chimney pots overlook a misty coastline at dawnCullenPark under the viaduct, pass the Three Kings rocks and find a spot on the golden sands; seals and dolphins are often out on the firth.17 miles 26 min by road
  7. The Rockpool café on a street corner beneath a stone railway viaductRockpool CaféOne of the places in Cullen, home of Cullen skink, that Ross names for a meal of freshly sourced local produce.17 miles 26 min by road
  8. Curved sign reading "Portsoy Ice Cream" on a stone corner buildingPortsoy Ice CreamStop in Portsoy for an ice cream on the way home from the coast.14 miles 25 min by road
  9. Symmetrical stone mansion with twin staircases and tall corner chimneys, set on open lawnDuff HouseWhere the tree-covered path along the Deveron to the Bridge of Alvah begins: look for the ice house, the mausoleum and red squirrels.15 miles 25 min by road
  10. Visitors walking towards a glass-fronted blue building beneath a rocky overhangMacduff Marine AquariumA family favourite: Moray Firth sea life, touch pools and a glass kelp reef tank with live feeding shows.16 miles 28 min by road
  11. Grassy headlands enclose a small sandy beach with gentle wavesCullykhan BayRoss's favourite place to watch the sun rise: caves and rock pools, shallow water for a dip, and the Northern Lights from the clifftops.road
  12. Linn FallsFrom Aberlour's distillery stream, through sunlit woods to the falls; the splash pool is for a summer swim.road
  13. The cone of the Mither Tap rising above forest and fields.BennachieWalks from the visitor centre: the Mither Tap climb, about 2.5 hours there and back, to an Iron Age hill fort.road
  14. Concrete trig point overlooking layered hills at sunsetBen RinnesSpeyside's big hill: a steady 5-mile climb from the Glack Harnes car park, with the Cairngorms and the coast from the top.road
Directions
The great recumbent stone at Rothiemay, packing stones at its foot and three standing stones of the circle in the field behind.AttractionsRothiemay Stone Circle2.2 miles
Tall copper pot stills in the stillhouse at the GlenDronach Distillery.AttractionsThe GlenDronach Distillery3.7 miles as the crow flies
The dining room at The Bank in Huntly, a wall of lit shelves of whisky above tables laid with linen.RestaurantsThe Bank Café & Restaurant9.3 miles
Looking straight down on the Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre: the lodge, the white dry slope and the loop of the roller-ski track among autumn trees, the tubing lanes at the top.ActivityHuntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre9.7 miles
The red front of the Dean's building on Depot Road in Huntly under its name.CafeDean's of Huntly10 miles
Strathisla's twin pagoda-roofed kilns and tall chimney behind a sunlit lawn, with purple heather in front and trees in leaf.AttractionsStrathisla Distillery11 miles
The Auld Brig's single stone arch over the slow, clear River Isla in Keith, between grassy banks and trees in leaf.AttractionsThe Auld Brig, Keith11 miles
Close-up of a bald eagle's white head and hooked yellow beakAttractionsHuntly Falconry Centre12 miles
The roofless old kirk of St Congan in Turriff, its bellcote on the east gable.AttractionsSt Congan's Old Church, Turriff13 miles
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here