Cairnton Farm is home to the Cairnton pedigree herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, and the holiday cottages are surrounded by grass fields of black cattle and barley grown for the local whisky industry – Scotland biggest export. The Howie family have been at Cairnton for well over 30 years, and the farm has developed over that time – but the key ingredients of beautiful scenery, and a kindly climate, make it a wonderful holiday location – Ken’s favourite saying is ‘Black cows, Green Grass and Blue skies – this is heaven with an overdraft’
While they may be farmers at heart, like so many others in the farming community, the Howie’s have diversified to ensure a sustainable operation. Long before Cairnton Farm Cottages came to fruition, they set up an outdoor activity business offering clay shooting, kart racing, archery and more to both corporate groups and tourists.
Initially run from Cairnton Farm, they later made use of an otherwise wasted area of land in the basin of the valley and turned it into Deeside Activity Park, a multi activity centre with a coffee and farm shop, from which visitors can taste and purchase their home-grown Cairnton Aberdeen Angus beef and other quality local produce.
With a reliance on corporate groups from the turbulent Aberdeen oil and gas industry, Ken and Margaret recognised that the outdoor activity market could be unpredictable at best and so they set about converting the farm buildings into the luxury self-catering holiday lets of Cairnton Farm Cottages.
More recently and sitting adjacent to Deeside Activity Park is our business park which houses a number of complementary organisations, such as Hilltrek Outdoor Clothing, Norvite Farm and Country Store, and Lost Loch Distillery, which help to make our part of Royal Deeside a truly unique visitor experience.
We recently had our 4th stay at Cairnton Farm Cottages and our most recent visit was as fantastic as the previous ones. Our kids love playing with Skye and Boo, the resident Labradors and seeing the other farm animals. The Bothy is lovely and cosy in autumn and winter due to the underfloor heating and log burner and the surrounding area is perfect for outdoor activities such as cycling and hillwalking.
We stayed at The Stables over the May Bank Holiday weekend and couldn’t ask for a better weekend. Ken and Margaret have a gorgeous set up here, the house is lovely and spacious. The fire is ready for lighting and so cosy. The hot tub is brilliant for relaxing in after a day quad biking at the local Deeside Activity Park. Can’t ask for a better stay. Will be back and will recommend to friends and family.
Cosy and welcoming! Underfloor heating, log burner filled for us arriving, fab hot tub ready for us! Skye and Boo the labs were adorable! At the door every morning for cuddles. Got up close to the animals, saw a calf the day it was born! Ken the farmer! What a guy! Will be back as soon as there’s availability.
Lovely well equipped cottage with spectacular views. The cottage itself was very cosy with underfloor heating and 2 fireplaces. Our kids enjoyed seeing all the animals and playing with games/jigsaws left in The Bothy, while my husband and I enjoyed relaxing in the hot tub. Lots of walks nearby to suit all. We can also highly recommend the steak pie, lasagne and steak from the local farm shop.
Just spend an amazing week at The Bothy. From the moment we walked in everything was wow. The view from the dining room, the decked out hot tub, the location, the cows and horses and everything. Argh, it was all just lovely!! Farmer Ken and his gorgeous doggos in tow made sure we were utterly and completely happy in our little cottage. Thanks everyone at Cairnton Farm!!
Just back from a stay in The Stables with family and thoroughly enjoyed our short break. The location and cottage were perfect for our family. The under floor heating, log burner and of course the hot tub were a welcome addition after a day sledging after being snowed in unexpectedly! We loved the location of these cottages, set up in the hills with lovely views. Enjoyed having a wee walk down to see the cows on the farm. Highly recommend these cottages for a quiet break.