Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

15 hidden gems in the North East

Post Thumbnail

Loch Muick, Ballater

The three-hour walk around spectacular Loch Muick was one of Queen Victoria’s favourites. This is the magical location to which the monarch escaped when she wanted to hide from the world. The trek is on fairly level terrain and is nearly eight miles long.

Where: AB35 5SU

(Kevin Emslie)
(Kevin Emslie)

Easter Aquhorthies Stone Circle, Inverurie

The ancient Easter Aquhorthies Stone Circle is a monument type found only in the north east.

Where: AB51 5JL

8991a8a197b5d246786d70f96402914d_18322913

Randolph’s Leap Logie, near Forres

Wild Randolph’s Leap is a ragged finger of broken rock where the River Findhorn rushes through.

Where: IV36 2QN

x-default

Old Post Office Tea Room, Chapel of Garioch

The olde-worlde Old Post Office at Chapel of Garioch serves the world’s best sticky ginger cake. Irresistible!

Where: AB51 5HE 

(Colin Rennie)
(Colin Rennie)

Delgatie castle, Turriff

Delgatie Castle dates back to the 11th Century and has some of the country’s finest painted ceilings. Yet this intriguing fortress has the atmosphere of a lived-in home.

Where: AB53 5TD

(Nick Anderson) .
(Nick Anderson)

Glen Garioch Distillery, Oldmeldrum

Glen Garioch is one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland. It has been making its malt since 1797.

Where: AB51 0ES

(Kenny Elrick)
(Kenny Elrick)

Giulianotti, Stonehaven

A retro sweet shop that’s a treasure trove of old favourites. As if that’s not a good enough excuse for a visit, the ice cream is out of this world. Make ours a honeycomb.

Where: AB39 2EQ

(Gordon Lennox)
(Gordon Lennox)

Roseisle Beach, Burghead

Secluded Roseisle Beach is sheltered by sand dunes and Scots pine trees with lovely views across the Moray Firth.

Where: IV36 2UB

The Mither Tap at the top of the mountain of Bennachie near Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, showing the granite plug

Bennachie Hill Walk & Visitor Centre

The name of this landmark hill means “home”. People once lived in a fort at its top and quarried its rock.

Where: AB51 5HX 

(ThomsonBrown)
(ThomsonBrown)

Formartine Buchan Way Cycle Route

The Formartine and Buchan way is a 40-mile cycle route all the way to Fraserburgh with beautiful views.

Where: Start – Dyce Station, AB21 7BA

x-default

Pati’s Place, Elgin

There’s more than tea for two at the wonderfully quirky Pati’s Place. With a mish-mash of styles, it’s a tea lover’s idea of paradise!

Where: IV30 1BH

(Gordon Lennox)
(Gordon Lennox)

Slains Castle, Cruden Bay

Bram Stoker was said to be so spellbound by Slains Castle that it inspired him to write Dracula.

Where: AB42 0NE 

(Gordon Lennox)
(Gordon Lennox)

Pluscarden Abbey, Elgin

Retreat to Pluscarden Abbey, the only medieval British monastery still being used for its original purpose.

Where: IV30 8UA

Burn O Vat, Dinnet, Royal Deeside. Photograph by Tim Allen 13/08/10
Burn O Vat, Dinnet, Royal Deeside (Tim Allen)

Burn O’Vat, Dinnet

Step into the mouth of an ancient cave where bandits once hid and get close to the Burn O’Vat waterfall.

Where: AB34 5NB

Crovie Village, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Crovie Village, Gardenstown

The houses in this village – said to be the only one of its kind in Europe – are perched on a narrow ledge just feet from the sea.

Where: AB45 3JQ

 

Want to explore more of Scotland? Head to our Scottish Gems section.