Explore Moray Speyside from Bluefolds Highland Holiday cottages in Glenlivet on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park,
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| Glenlivet to the Ladder Hills |
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| Ladder Hills by Scalan |
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| Driving along Aanside |
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| Ready for a hill walk on the Glen Brown Circuit. |
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| Skies and Heather |
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| Cairngorm Mountain near the mountain garden |
Dronach cottage is one of four cottages at the Bluefolds Cottages complex: They are picturesque stone cottages in a remote spot near the Glenlivet distillery. Our communication with Elizabeth was perfect and our interaction with her husband Steve at the cottage was wonderful. Detailed instructions are provided to find the place (although not complicated). We arrived in the rain on our bicycles and Steve was there to greet us with a roaring fire. Too wet and tired to travel the 10 miles to the nearest grocery store, Steve did a small shop for us to get us through until the next day. Our cottage was spacious, clean, warm, and everything worked. The coal driven stove is brilliant and easy to keep going. The views of the hills towards the Cairngorms is spectacular. We would highly recommend this spot for a secluded, quiet, and unique stay in the area. There is a grocery store in Dufftown 10 miles away as well as a quaint pub a few miles down the road, providing good meals (and drink). Steve checked in on us daily and provided a private whisky tasting. He is extremely knowledgeable and the experience was a real highlight of our stay. We loved our stay!
Elizabeth
Response from Elizabeth:
Thank you for your lovely review. Enjoy the rest of your cycling round Scotland.
June 2016
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| Bluefolds on the hillside below Ben Rinnes |
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| Beautifully lit trees in Glenlivet |
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| Looking west across frozen Loch Droma |
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| Sunset north of Ullapool looking across Loch Broom |
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| View to Cairngorm mountains |
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| Black faced lambs in the field |
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| Watching the weather over the distillery |
It was amazing, I woke to a blue sky with no clouds - this was not what was forecast, but it made me very happy for the visitors already staying at Bluefolds Cottages and for the ones arriving today. When we went across to turnround a cottage, the sun was warm and the daffodils were waving in a light breeze, I just had to rush out and take some photos to show what it was like today. In the afternoon, with some family, I went to Lossiemouth to the beach which again was wonderful. I helped to build a sandcastle and collected shells for decoration. We finished a beautiful day with supper at the Croft Inn in Glenlivet and drove home as the sun went down. The family are visiting from Yorkshire and were amazed by the sunshine and temperature. They are not sure that there holiday is in the Highlands of Scotland!
This year we are having an early spring in Glenlivet and Speyside which is wonderful. The oystercatchers have been back for around 2 weeks and have now seen the usual 2 pairs near the cottages in Glenlivet studying their heap of stones. Oystercatchers like to nest on a heap of small stones - it seems like a strange place to nest, but they choose the same ones every year. The curlews are also back patrolling their territory. They nest in rushes near Folds Cottage and spend a lot of the day in the air around the area making their distinctive call. I have also see
n fields of lapwings around the area. It is wonderful to see so many in one place. Soon they will be paired up, and nesting around the Glenlivet area. Last year, we had to wait until May before the daffodils were out in Glenlivet, but this year they are starting to bloom. As you drive down through Aberlour and along to Elgin there are daffodils in bloom everywhere. I just had to visit the area around Elgin Cathedral once in the early evening and a couple of days later in the morning to see the daffodils beside the River Lossie as it flows through Elgin and out to the sea at Lossiemouth. If you click on the collage it will open in another window showing larger version of the photos.
The weather in this area never fails to amaze me as we go from several feet of snow to brilliant blue skies and sunshine. The weather was outstanding for a second day running and I just had to go to Lossiemouth. Since then there have been few days off to enjoy the lovely weather, as we have been cleaning and painting the holiday cottages ready for Easter. We still have some availablility between 28 March and 18 April. Have a look on our website for discounts.
Valentines Day in Glenlivet. We are at the holiday cottages cleaning them for the visitors arriving in the afternoon. There is still an incredible amount of snow lying. The single track road from the B9008 has snow about 3ft on each side of it. Not much choice of where to drive just straight along the track hoping that you won't meet anyone going in the opposite directio
n! Reversing would be a nightmare. Steve had cut out a track from the gate to the cottage doors on either side there are 3 ft drifts of snow. When the children arrive they immediately want to go sledging, build a snowman and have a snowball fight - in no particular order. The snow is starting to melt, but only people with 4 wheel drive can get their vehicles to the cottages. Steve ferries the other along with their luggage. The view out to the snow from Aberlour cottage is the most amazing I have seen with the courtyard completely filled with snow to about 3 ft. Part of the guttering around the cottage has been pulled down by the snow. It is a good job we put up snowboards all round the sides of the courtyard otherwise the guttering would have gone completely. Good news is that the visitors loved it.
