Learn the art of navigation with Braemar Highland Experience. This practical, hands on course teaches the basics of map reading including using features, contours and grid references. You will discover how to plan your journey through the Cairngorms National Park and use a compass to take and follow a route which will direct you to hidden treasure. To find out more about these packages detailed below, please contact the Ghillie team.

Uncover the mysteries of the forest and meet some of its wild inhabitants. Guided by the experts at Braemar Highland Experience, you will learn secret stories about some of Scotland’s most native trees, as well as their past and present uses. We’ll explore the sounds of the forest and the lives of the animals that live in it. To finish off, you’ll learn how to make a bird feeder, allowing you to feed the birds in your own garden. To find out more about these packages, please contact the Ghillie team.

Go back in time to see how people of the past lived and worked in the remote glens surrounding the hotel. Guided by the experts at Braemar Highland Experience, you’ll explore the ruins of a remote village and learn about the lives of its inhabitants. With the extreme weather conditions and tricky terrain, how did they farm the land and build their homes? To finish off the trip, you’ll also make an ancient form of light, similar to one these inhabitants would have used.

Explore the beautiful Cairngorms National Park with our three family-friendly adventures in partnership with Braemar Highland Experiencer, or stay indoors and enjoy our Family Room which is a treasure trove of fun for children of all ages. To find out more, click HERE.

Our Ghillie team are passionate about creating exceptional, unforgettable memories and experiences for our guests. If you have a particular occasion you wish to celebrate, they can create a once in a lifetime event to meet your brief. It could be a thrilling helicopter ride to see the Cairngorms in their full glory or a private chef lunch in our remote lunch hut, in the middle of the grouse moors. Special tastings can be arranged, whether at local boutique whisky distilleries or with our sommelier in our cellar. Bespoke menus celebrating the best ingredients Scotland has to offer can also be created to meet specific requirements. To explore the full range of possibilities, please email our Ghillie team HERE.

The Fife Arms contains over 16,000 antiques, artworks and curios including several site-specific works by world-renowned contemporary artists. We offer special art tours for our guests, which allow you to experience the world class art which can be found throughout the hotel, from Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Gerhard Richter and Bruegel to site specific commissions from contemporary art stars and water colours by Queen Victoria and Prince Charles. To register your interest please let a member of reception know or email us at reception@thefifearms.com. To find our more about the Fife Arms art collection, click HERE.

The Fife Arms has an in-house forager Natasha Lloyd, who is passionate about sharing her expert knowledge of the local plants and vegetation. Natasha leads tours of the surrounding areas, identifying, explaining and sharing the taste of plants that can be transformed into teas, tinctures, condiments or cosmetics. Both adults and children will love these guided walks. For a private walk, speak to our Ghillie team or keep an eye on our ‘What’s On’ page for the next group tour.

From whisky distilleries to winter sports and the annual Royal Highland Games, Braemar has plenty of local attractions to keep you busy during your stay. The local whisky distillery is ‘Royal Lochnagar’ at Crathie by Balmoral Castle. Further afield you will find Speyside and Highland distilleries, both boutique and established. For novice or beginners, Glenshee is 3,504 ft of mountain winter adventure that beckons skiers and snowboarders alike. The Braemar Gathering takes place annually on the first weekend in September and welcomes thousands of visitors. It’s the only Highland Games with a Royal Patron, HM Queen Elizabeth II, who attends every year to see the best of the best toss the caber, battle it out in tug o’ war or perform the traditional Highland fling.

Our Family Room is a treasure trove of fun for children of all ages. With board games, books and table football plus a play kitchen, DVD player and Xbox with an array of different games, this is the perfect hangout for your little ones. Don’t miss the red squirrels hidden throughout the room, all knitted by the ‘Deeside Knitwits’. Also available from reception is a treasure hunt around the hotel. Each young guest will receive a set of instructions which ask them to find certain treasures located throughout the hotel. Once completed the hotel will share a prize with each successful treasure hunter!

Lying in a natural amphitheatre created by the imposing Grampian Mountains and part of the magnificent Cairngorms National Park, Braemar is the home of Scotland’s wildest golf course, where play is watched by endangered ospreys, watchful stags and rare red squirrels. The course is friendly and accessible also offering a perfect place for younger or novice golfers to learn. To book a round of golf, please contact our Ghillie team HERE.

Surrounding the hotel and the village of Braemar is the extraordinary Cairngorms National Park. Visitors can walk out of the hotel and within 5 minutes be on walking trail which will lead you through historic forests of heather and Scot’s Pine before you emerge at the top to experience a panoramic view of the village and the Deeside valley below. Each season brings something new to see; autumn is the rutting season for stags where you can hear their roars across the hills; winter sees the native Ptarmigan change into their white camouflage while the Atlantic Salmon swim upstream along the River Dee; Spring brings promise of red squirrel dashing around the forest and with Summer comes the vibrant heather and its mix of pink and purple hues. There are many self-led trails requiring different degrees of stamina. Alternatively the hotel can arrange for a guide to lead you on various walks or hikes. Please consult our Ghillie team for more information on guided tours and nature walks.

For a small village of 400 residents, Braemar has been witness to key moments in Scottish history. Most famous for its association with Queen Victoria, its historical significance extends back much further to both the first and second Jacobite rebellions. The village is home to two castles, Braemar Castle and the ruin of Kindrochit Castle, while Balmoral, the Scottish residence to the Royal Family, is situated just 9 miles away. The hotel can arrange history tours of the area as well as guided walking tours through Braemar itself where visitors can learn about the Games Park, local architecture and see the house that Robert Louis Stevenson occupied whilst writing Treasure Island. Please consult our Ghillie team to organise tours and to find out more information.

The River Dee is one of the most famous salmon rivers in the world and it runs just past the hotel. The hotel works with its Wild Resources team headed up by Ben Carter to offer guests the chance to fish in this exceptional location. The Salmon season starts early February and runs until the end of September. Sea trout is available during the summer months but Rainbow trout is available all year. The hotel has its own rod room for guests to store their equipment. To experience one of the world’s great fishing sites, please contact our Ghillie team for more information HERE.

There are 40 Munros accessible from Braemar, from Ben MacDui to Beinn Bhareac, offering a wealth of hill walking. The network of local paths and tracks are suitable for all abilities, including Morrone Birkwood and Creag Choinnich. This is also the perfect opportunity to experience the wonderful native flora and fauna of Upper Deeside, including red squirrels, ptarmigan, osprey and red deer. Ask our Ghillie team for recommended walks or maps.