OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES
THE GORDON GUEST HOUSE
In Ballater
The Gordon Guest House is situated opposite the historic preserved railway station (closed in 1966) in Station Square. From the main church in the village square walk past Bean for Coffee and the Balmoral Bar until you see Station Square on the right hand side. There is a free public car park directly opposite the door of The Gordon in the square.
By car
Ballater is on the A93 which links Aberdeen and Banchory in the east with Perth, Blairgowrie and Braemar to the south and west.
When heading north the A93 is signed on the approaches to Perth and is a beautiful scenic drive over Glenshee and down into Deeside.
If coming from elsewhere in the Highlands the A939 from Aviemore and Grantown-on-Spey via Tomintoul may be most useful. Follow the signs from the A9 towards Grantown-on-Spey and pick up the A939 just to the south of the village off the A95 (Aviemore to Keith road).
From Dundee and the south east use either the A957 Slug Road (nicer than it sounds) from Stonehaven to Banchory where you pick up the A93 westbound, or for a little more scenery head towards the village of Fettercairn (north east of Brechin / north west of Laurencekirk and Montrose) and use the B974 Clatterin’ Brig road north over the stunning Cairn o’ Mount to join the A93 at Aboyne a little to the west of Ballater.
Both the B974 and the A93 at Glenshee have snow gates if travelling in the winter be aware of possible adverse weather conditions and check with Traffic Scotland.
By public transport
Ballater is served by bus from Aberdeen, Banchory, Aboyne and Braemar by Stagecoach North Scotland service 201. The service is irregular but broadly hourly between Aberdeen and Ballater and takes around 1h 45mins. A copy of the current bus timetable will be provided on request.
Aberdeen has a large railway station with direct connections to Inverness, Edinburgh, Perth, Stirling and Glasgow. InterCity trains also connect the city with London, Birmingham and many other English cities. Trains within Scotland are operated by Scotrail while those serving England are operated by either LNER or Cross Country Trains.
Useful links
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/about/north-scotland