Stravaig – a Wood-Fired Sauna at Dusk Above the Dee
A few hours.
The route
Stravaig's wood-fired Finnish sauna stands on a hillside above the Dee between Crathie and Ballater, with a big window looking across the river and the woods to Lochnagar.
Spend an hour in it as the light goes, cool off under the cold shower or in the plunge pool, then drive down the valley to supper by the fire in Ballater. It's a lovely autumn or winter evening for two, or for a few friends.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Darroch Learg in Ballater.
Book a one-hour private session at Stravaig Saunas online, for one to six people, from £48 at the time of writing, and pick the session nearest sunset: they set times on the website but will try to fit another if you ask, and a cancellation needs 24 hours' notice.
Book supper at the Balmoral Arms
Book a table in the Balmoral Arms' Ghillies Bar on 01339 755413 for after the sauna: supper is served every day from 5pm to 8pm.
The day
Royal Deeside
An hour in the heat with the hills going blue outside the window, a cold plunge under the evening sky, and a warm bar and a hot supper to finish.
About three and a half hours
Stravaig Saunas
Stravaig's sauna is on the hillside between Crathie and Ballater, opposite Abergeldie Castle, and the directions come when you book. Drive up the track to the first corner and park just off it by the little signs, where there's room for three or four cars, then walk over the grass to the sauna; don't drive up the slope. Book a one-hour private session online, for one to six people, from £48 at the time of writing, and pick the session nearest sunset: they set times on the website but will try to fit another if you ask. From October until the clocks change in late March, the sun goes down between about 3.30pm and 6.50pm, which leaves time for supper afterwards. The fire is lit before you arrive. Bring two towels, water and a torch for the walk back in the dark. There's a changing room inside, a cold shower and a plunge pool outside, and no toilets on site. Add one log at a time, and take care on the steps, which get slippy in cold weather. From April to September the light lasts past the kitchen's last orders in Ballater, so book an afternoon session and eat after it.
11 min by car
Balmoral Arms
Supper
Drive 11 minutes east down the A93 to Ballater and the Balmoral Arms on Victoria Road, with a free car park two minutes' walk away. Supper is in the Ghillies Bar, with its fire, ales from the area and over 30 Scottish malts and gins, and it's served every day from 5pm to 8pm; ring 01339 755413 to book a table. Dogs have their own corner, and it's level throughout. If you'd rather have seafood, the Fish Shop in the middle of the village serves dinner Wednesday to Sunday from 5.30pm; book ahead on 01339 720250.
If it rains
The sauna is warm whatever the weather and the bar is indoors; if the weather is a worry, Stravaig gets in touch. The door can be heavy in the wind.
Fish Shop Restaurant, a restaurant in Ballater.