How this Deeside estate has become Scotland's hippest holiday destination

Almost every hip (or even vaguely hip) person I spoke to, on the run up to my Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages mini break, seemed to know exactly where I was headed.

“I love it there,” they all said, with one rubbing it in by adding the coup de grace; “I’ve been going for years”. 

What? I thought I had discovered this place, after the picture of a bonnie forest cabin popped up on my Instagram feed.

It turns out that they’ve been around since 2018, when Charlie and Caroline Gladstone, who own the 40,000 acre Aberdeenshire estate, finished their two decade long project to upgrade existing cottages and add new ones, in order to create a rather cool holiday destination.

Glen Dye, which is about seven miles from Banchory, comes into view as you reach the other side of the steep Cairn o’ Mount pass, with its Bronze Age cairn at the summit, and your ears un-pop as you descend in the car. 

Almost the first thing you see, on pulling in, is the aqua-coloured mural, which features the words Glen Dye Makes You Happy. 

Our expectations were set.

There are steadings, cottages, including The Coach House, which sleeps 12, cabins, a bed and breakfast, and a campsite, but we’re staying in a self-catering double-level property, The Hay Loft. 

Its main design feature is the living room’s huge picture-book window, which was once the aperture for straw to be passed through. You could happily sit on the comfy sofa all day, and just gaze out at the pines and twisting road, which crosses the River Dye. 

The decor throughout the property, which sleeps four in a pair of double bedrooms, is fun and cheerful, with interesting typographic prints that feature slogans including “We are all Europeans” and “Work hard and be nice to people”. Indeed.

There’s plenty to look at, with knick-knacks and artwork, including oil-paint-daubed artists’ palettes secured on the wall, a huge collection of gluggle jugs, and a record player with a selection of well-loved vinyl, including two copies of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Well, you’ve got to have a back up, when it comes to that classic album.

Outside The Hay Loft, Glen Dye | Kym Grimshaw

We’ve got a wet room upstairs, and a bathroom downstairs, both with products from North Berwick’s Laura Thomas Co. 

Outside the property, there’s an undercover barbecue area, with picnic table, a Big Green Egg bbq and pizza oven. And, if you cross the gravel drive, and go down a private gated pathway, on a raised platform, you’ll discover your personal wood-fired hot tub with a view across the glen. 

These aren’t the only additional facilities. 

There’s a library and honesty shop, with brilliant merchandise, including pre-prepared-on-site meals, treats and larder essentials, plus their own jams and honeys, and souvenirs including sweatshirts and bath salts made with the resident Scots pine, larch and Douglas fir trees’ needles.

They recently added bike hire to their roster, and they offer group class packages, including ones in flower arranging, willow weaving, cuttlefish casting (making your own ornament using a cuttlefish mould), and Vinyasa yoga, among other things.

These are held at the newly upgraded Discovery and Adventure Centre, which has an entrance built from honey-coloured logs. Head through to find the axe-throwing range and an outdoor sauna, complete with bright orange tin tubs of icy water to cool off in.

For families, they’ve added an Adventure Trail, though its not just for kids. 

It starts in The Sawmill, where there’s tea, coffee, and Tunnocks Wafers to give you fortitude.  Then you follow the pink markers, which take you on a winding and springy-floored walk up the hill, via surprises, like a pile of candy coloured rocks, a ‘spider’s web’ and a clearing that’s lined with funfair mirrors. 

We earnt an afternoon of couch potato-ing and lighter activities.

Just a beer nut’s throw from our homestead is a BYOB pub, The Glen Dye Arms. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. We don’t hang out there, though we do stumble in for a look, late at night, in the style of An American Werewolf in London. 

For those who want to socialise, this is perfect, as is their new pop-up The Seed Store restaurant, which will be running on various dates throughout summer and is open to residents and non-residents. 

The Seed Store, Glen Dye | Kym Grimshaw

It’s in the old Sawmill, and features a communal table, topped with candles and wildflowers.

We have a three-course dinner cooked over an outdoor fire by Sam Ritchie, the former senior sous chef at The Fife Arms. There are Isle of Mull Scallops with romesco sauce, courgette and tomato salad, followed by grilled loin of venison that’s teamed with potato and haggis terrine and pickled black berry jus, with raspberry cranachan to finish.

Beautiful. They say that Glen Dye makes you happy. Although I was six years late to this destination, I can confirm it’s true. 

The Hay Loft starts from £300 a night at Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages, Bridge of Dye Steading, Strachan, Banchory (01330 850 689, www.glendyecabinsandcottages.com)