
Lunch and a Wander in Ballater
The road west follows the River Dee closely now, with woodland and heather rising on either side. It’s about 35 minutes from Milton of Crathes to Ballater…

Allardice Castle at Inverbervie has gone on the market for offers over £950,000. It dates to 1542, it's A-listed, and the current owners bought it in the 1970s and have spent the best part of fifty years restoring the place.
Inside are four spiral staircases, a great hall with a large open fireplace, vaulted rooms and a library. One of the upstairs bedrooms has a painted ceiling documenting the castle's own history.
There are six bedrooms in total, and a final stair up to the watch tower chamber. The grounds run to about three acres and reach the Bervie Water on two sides, fishing rights included. Selling agents Strutt & Parker reckon it's rare to find one still this close to its original form and still comfortable to live in.
A Hidden Scotland guideAberdeenshireCastle country, a quiet dramatic coastRead the guide
The road west follows the River Dee closely now, with woodland and heather rising on either side. It’s about 35 minutes from Milton of Crathes to Ballater…

The sixth oldest golf club in the world, founded in 1780, playing the classic Balgownie links among the dunes north of the Don at Bridge of Don.

A little coffee shack on the harbour at Pennan, open from April to October for tea, coffee and homemade cakes, cash only, supporting the village.

A family-run ice cream, dessert and sweetie shop on Stonehaven's beachfront, known for its quirky style, loaded toppings and ice cream made with local produce.

A Victorian lodge on the Glen Dye estate, with a cabin of its own on the bank of the River Dye.

A granite house among silver birches, a short walk from the gates of Balmoral.

A stone steading cottage for seven, with a games room of its own across the yard.

A stone house for seven in a restored Victorian barn, with a hot tub down a woodland path.
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The season's ringing total, announced on 4 August, includes more than 1,000 Sandwich terns, over 100 Arctic terns, and smaller numbers of common terns and black-headed gulls.

Falls by Orry Shand opened at Bridge of Feugh near Banchory on 15 July.

Aberdeenshire Restaurant Weeks runs from 2 to 15 November, its third year since Aberdeenshire Council started it in 2024.