Our Partners
Producers of high quality Aberdeen Angus Beef and deliver very informative farm tours. Farmer Ken and team are dedicated to sustainable farm to fork beef production. Also providers of beautiful holiday cottages and bring us the North East’s premium outdoor activity centre – The Deeside Activity Park.
Not a traditional Scottish distillery but a craft distillery in an industrial unit powered by the creativeness of its owners. Producers of multi award winning gin, a traditional family recipe liqueur and Scotland’s first Absinthe. These guys are creative, fun and highly entertaining which makes the perfect mix for a great distillery tour and tasting!
Unique award winning farmhouse cheeses from the heart of Royal Deeside. Hand crafted from unpasteurised milk using traditional methods which, along with the recipes, have not changed for 50 years! Family tradition passed on and turned into a commercial venture, you can always expect a warm welcome from Alex and his team and a chance to taste some of Scotland’s finest farmhouse cheeses.
Holder of 3 Royal warrants, my local shop is one which I love taking guests to. It stocks a range of things from newspapers to hardware, cookware to deli goods and also happens to have one of Scotland’s most extensive range of spirits. From the rarest of whiskies to the newest of gins, its very well stocked and comes with great friendly local advice.
Sitting on the border between Aberdeenshire and Angus Castleton is a fruit farm producing some of Scotland’s finest soft fruits. Can be found at farmers markets and in local shops with fresh berries during the growing season and preserves all year round. A great wee farm shop to visit with a cafe serving amazing coffee and the best of locally sourced produce. Probably one of the best Scottish breakfasts around!
A very traditional, small whisky distillery which still applies traditional methods to produce whisky fit for royalty and locals alike! Unlike many big distilleries, although owned by one of the big players, you always get a very personal and welcoming tour at Lochnagar. Also if we visit on a nice day there are some lovely short walks around with exceptional views over Deeside.
A fantastic story of a young local lass trained to the highest standards in London and coming home to follow her passion! Shona and her partner Andy have worked harder and longer than anyone I have ever known to get this place up and running. From its humble beginnings of roadside honesty box and occasional farmers market to roadside cafe with onsite bakery and total farmers market domination! Shona’s creativeness does not only show in her bakery products but also in every detail of the cafe.
Not a traditional Scottish distillery but a craft distillery in an industrial unit powered by the creativeness of its owners. Producers of multi award winning gin, a traditional family recipe liqueur and Scotland’s first Absinthe. These guys are creative, fun and highly entertaining which makes the perfect mix for a great distillery tour and tasting!
Where do I start….? Louise is a farmer, a chef, a butcher, a driver, an outside caterer, a mother and a total “grafter”!!! From her wee farm she produces some of the finest outdoor bred pork and grass fed lamb the country has to offer. She has a range of award winning fresh produce and also provides a hog roast & BBQ service. Bothies & Bannocks work very closely with LFK. Louise is always happy to drop everything to take our guests on a farm walk to learn all about sustainable, high welfare farming and let us sample some of her produce.
A family favourite of ours for many years and now Bothies & Bannocks have a close relationship with the Tor Na Coille. David and Sophie are wonderful hosts and have really made this hotel stand into what it should be. Whether you are staying the night, in for a bar meal or dining in the 2 Rosette restaurant you can expect the very best of local food and drink served to the highest standards in this beautiful Victorian country house hotel. The ideal base for exploring Royal Deeside and the North East.
An enterprise built from left over berry juice from a local lassies jam making. The Gin Bothy produce a large variety of Scottish inspired gins using the soft fruits which Angus is famous for and incorporating the flavours of the Glens. The gin tasting experience is an absolute must! I’m not sure how she has done it so well but Kim has managed to find a team of dedicated, passionate workers who share her excitement for producing the goods and sharing the stories in the tasting rooms.
Ballogie Estate is the perfect base for your Aberdeenshire holidays. Their holiday homes are in quiet, secluded locations but in the heart of Royal Deeside.
This, combined with a first class wedding venue and a restaurant serving the best of produce from the estate makes it a great tourism hub for Royal Deeside. The estate offers a range of activities, quality accommodation and is also home of the famous Dinnie Stones!
Community Food Initiative North East is an Aberdeen based food charity who do exceptional work in the community, far too much for me to list here but please check out their website below and support them anyway you can. Even if that is coming on one of our Market Day Cookery Classes, we use their training kitchen for our class which was set up for community based cooking classes, but is also available to hire privately to raise funds for the charity. Bothies & Bannocks are proud supporters of CFINE. Great team behind an amazing charity.