With its new Discovery & Adventure Centre, new mountain bike hire and new Discovery Trail, the Aberdeenshire estate of Glen Dye might well be the finest place in the UK for a wild and adventurous family holiday in 2025.
Families can bed down in one of the estate’s beautiful family-friendly cottages and have the 15,000 acre estate to explore – an outdoor playground like no other.
It was at Glen Dye that Charlie and Caroline Gladstone, who own and run the historic estate, raised their own six children, encouraging them to explore the great outdoors on their doorstep. They even created their own sew-on ‘Glen Dye Explorer Scout’ badges, which the children earnt by completing challenges such as chopping wood, fire-lighting and wild river swimming. Now, families can have their own similarly wild holiday in the Highlands too.
FAMILY ACTIVITIES AT GLEN DYE
The new Discovery and Adventure Centre is located at the very heart of Glen Dye. The Centre is home to a variety of classes, and bespoke workshops are bookable with local bushcraft expert Stu Wright. Learn how to start fires using flint and steel, have a go at making natural cordage, feel like a warrior with the axe-throwing range, or practice carving and whittling skills. Stu Wright honed his bushcraft and wilderness skills in some of the world’s most unforgiving environments. When courses are not on, the site will remain open to Glen Dye guests. There’s a library of outdoor and foraging books to peruse, a small honesty gift shop, free coffee and Tunnocks wafers, and have-a-go activities for all ages to enjoy.
The Centre is also the start of the new Discovery Trail. This is an adventurous route into the estate’s woodlands, designed for families and to encourage children and adults alike to marvel at the great outdoors. Along the 1.2-mile route, there are 11 installations and activities for families to enjoy. They’ll learn how to measure the height of trees using a stick, crawl through a hidden tunnel, and scramble up a cargo net strung between the pines.
Also new for 2025 are a fleet of mountain bikes available to hire from the Glen Dye team. With miles of forest trails and singletracks to explore on the estate and beyond, families will have hours of fun on two wheels. A recommended route is a loop out to the Charr Bothy, an atmospheric space for a family picnic.
Price: taster sessions at the Centre start from £25 per adult, and £15 per child. Longer, more involved, bushcraft courses are also available. Mountain bike hire from £25 per day.
FAMILY COTTAGES
Among its collection of nine holiday cottages, Glen Dye offers some stunning properties for families. Perhaps, the most iconic is the North Lodge (price from £450 per night). Originally built in the 1890s for the caretakers of the main house, it sleeps six between three bedrooms, two kings and a twin. There’s a large kitchen in which to rustle up meals using the estate’s own seasonal vegetables and eggs, and a cosy sitting room with wood burner. By following the private riverside footpath families will have exclusive access to the River Cabin, the ideal spot for passing the day with wild swimming and cooking on the wood-burning stove, in the heart of the Scottish wilderness. Another cottage that families will love is No.5 Steading Cottage (price from £450 per night), which sleeps seven, and includes the ‘Smiddy’, a beautiful stone building housing a games space and piano. For larger groups, or when the grandparents come along too, there’s the Coach House (price from £1,000 per night), sleeping 12, with its own retro jukebox.
BEYOND GLEN DYE
If families are able to tear themselves away from Glen Dye, Aberdeenshire itself has lots to keep parents and children alike entertained. There are quiet sandy beaches, such as at St Cyrus, Dunnottar Castle and dozens of others to explore, and the nearby coastal village of Stonehaven is the home of the battered Mars Bars, for kids who need a little hit of energy! This summer Aberdeen itself, is to host the Tall Ships Races (19-22 July), with the fleet descending on the Granite City’s harbour set to attract the crowds.
For more information visit www.glendyecabinsandcottages.com or call 01330 850689
