Posts for April, 2024

Blair Castle in the heart of rural Perthshire is the stunning background to our annual Christmas Fair. Join us inside the Banvie Hall, the beautifully atmospheric ballroom and outside will be our tented Christmas village on the forecourt in front of the castle.

Beautiful art and crafts will tempt and delight with individuality and flair, wood work, metal work, antler art, textiles, art illustrations, pet snacks, decadent cushions, throws, ceramics, silk scarves. Locally designed jewellery featuring silver, beads, gemstones, resin and glass. Differing styles of art, exquisite wood turning, children’s clothes and exquisitely beautiful knitwear. Organic and vegan soaps & skincare, candles, reed diffusers and wax melts and a host of bee products – all lovingly created in Scotland.

A glorious selection of tempting foods awaits you at the Blair Christmas Fair. Fabulous confectionary from Kilted Fudge and delightful home bakes from Rabbit Hole Cakes. Delicious preserves from Spice Harmony and charming pickles from Zingy Tingy Beetroot and together with fresh game in the form of steaks, pies or sausages, appetising salmon and seafood and a wonderful selection of cheeses we have enough we hope to entice all foodies.

Our alcohol producers include a spectacular range of gins, rums, vodkas, craft beer and liqueurs.

Nae Bad with their delightful horse box will be in attendance with hot and cold refreshments, pancakes, paninis and cakes, Seasonal Flavour will be bringing their tasty range of artisan street food suitable for all ages, Henderson’s fine food has their spit roasted pulled pork and Auld Smokey with their range of wood fired pizza.

A full list of exhibitors will be available on social media prior to the event.

Credit Paul Booth

Below the castle, a tented village will surround the side of the Castle, the mews, café, Balmoral gift shop and stable buildings with exhibitors from near and far vying for your attention with a wide range of beguiling Scottish crafts, food and drink.

A wonderful range of refreshments will be available from Balmoral’s newly refurbished cafes, alongside several street food vendors will be artisan tarts and cakes from the Highland Pâtissier and superb range of homemaking from Rabbit Hole Cakes.

There will be a fine selection of locally produced craft beer, wickedly tempting rum, gin, liqueurs, cider and vodka and the beautiful botanical spirits of Highland Boundary.

For the food enthusiasts amongst us there will be a fine range of home baking, delightful patisseries, exquisite macaroons, a sublime range of salmon, seafood and accoutrements, fresh game in the shape of sausages, steaks, loin cuts and pies. Surprisingly different home made meals, divine Deeside honeys, fabulous cheeses, any amount of mouth watering fudges, bespoke chocolates together with old fashioned confectionary and not forgetting truly delightful pickles.

With the Christmas season just around the corner, this would be such a delightful way to start exploring all the gift options our exhibitors have to offer.

This will be one of our largest events to date with a tantalising collection of artisan art and craft. The ranges will include aromatic candles, antler art, skincare and soaps, captivating ceramics and artworks, a fine array of beguiling jewellery, luxurious textiles, awe inspiring photography, charming stationery, recycled homeware, enticing stained glass, the loveliest of children’s clothes and the cutest of wooden gifts and toys to name just a few.

A full list of those taking part will be available on social media in the weeks leading up to the event.

We are so excited to be welcoming Harry Bird back to the tipi! Drawing on British folk, Americana and other world music genres, his live performances are an intimate cabaret of finely crafted songs, freewheeling anecdotes and good humour. Original, entertaining and thought provoking, his feel-good shows are not to be missed.

Harry Bird is an internationally acclaimed songwriter and has spent the last 15 years touring hundreds of venues all over Europe and beyond with his guitar, multilingual vocals and a passion for connecting with audiences of all kinds. Now based in Glasgow, after many years in the Basque region, his touring band is made up of bluegrass maestros Rain of Animals and Dundee favourite Sinderins’ Gavin McGinty.

Doors open at 7pm with music starting around 7.30pm and the bar will be open serving a selection of drinks and snacks. This is a standing gig, but please do let us know if you require a chair.

Live Entertainment in the Lounge Bar with Scott Ramsay Singer Guitarist

Join us every Sunday from 8:30pm for our pub quiz.

Come and test your knowledge to win prizes! Check out our facebook page for updates.

Family and dog friendly. We hope to see you there!

Join us for the most anticipated comedy event in the Highlands!

An evening full of laughter and world-class comedy is set to take place at Macdonald Aviemore Resort this summer. The Highland Comedy Club will be hosting its inaugural event on Saturday, June 22, featuring a lineup of the UKs most celebrated comedy acts, including headliner Connor Burns who sold-out his shows at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe.

This premier event is set to captivate and entertain audiences and will be hosted by internationally acclaimed Ray Bradshaw.

For locals of Aviemore, the Resort is pulling out all the stops, with a special ticket offer for the show (£18) or a dinner and show combination (£40). Enjoy being serenaded by local artist Dylan Tierney before heading through for the premier event.

On top of this, the Resort is also offering exclusive getaway packages for the event to complement the comedy experience. Starting from £250, for one or two nights, these packages include top-tier comedy show tickets, dining, breakfast, and 4-star accommodations for two guests.
Guests will also enjoy unlimited access to the Resort’s leisure facilities, with the two-night package offering additional perks such as cinema passes and exclusive entry to the tartan army fan zone for the Scotland vs Hungary Euro 2023 match.

The Macdonald Aviemore Resort offers an array of experiences for everyone, from show-only or show and dinner combo options to complete getaway packages, set against the scenic beauty of Aviemore at the heart of Cairngorm National Park.


Highland Comedy Show Stellar line up:

Your Host for the Evening: Ray Bradshaw

Ray spent 2021/22 touring the UK as John Bishop’s handpicked support act, having previously toured with Frankie Boyle in 2019. Ray was the first comedian to ever win a Scottish Culture Award and is a regular host of Scotland’s most popular radio show, Breaking The News. Having just finished his own UK wide tour, Ray’s brand of charming, clever comedy is not to be missed!



Headliner: Connor Burns

Fresh off a sell-out run at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, where he added an unprecedented 12 extra shows due to popular demand, Connor has quickly become one of Scotland’s most exciting comedy talents. With millions of views online and performances across the globe, he’s a force to be reckoned with on the comedy scene.

“He is fearless, and it is wonderful”
★★★★★ The Scotsman


Supporting Act 1: Stuart Mitchell

Stuart is now regarded as one of the UK’s top comics with over 50 million views online. Longest running panelist of BBC’s Acclaimed “Breaking the news” Mitchell has also just released a debut comedy special for BBC radio 4!


Supporting Act 2: Gary Little
Recognised as a master storyteller, Gary is a regular headliner at many of the top comedy clubs across the UK. He has a rare gift for turning mundane, every-day experiences into pure comedy gold, leaving his audiences crying with laughter.

“Some of the best stand up I’ve ever seen” – Kevin Bridges

You are invited to celebrate Scotland’s national drink through an inventive and varied programme of whisky-inspired events across Speyside and within the Cairngorms National Park at The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2024.

Visit the region’s world famous distilleries, meet the makers, taste the finest whiskies, and discover the passion behind them. That’s not all, there are events fit for a foodie and the outdoor enthusiast, live music, talks, tastings, tours, and more.

Visit the Spirit of Speyside website to see the full itinerary of events.

Discover how to identify the smells & tastes, learn the language & understand what you enjoy!

We invite you to join us for a celebration of Ballindalloch Distillery, Whisky and Estate, an unmissable afternoon of whisky, food, music and fun.

Come and explore our beautiful Single Estate Distillery and discover what makes us unique in Speyside: our traditional manual production process and the circular economy within the Estate of our natural resources and by-products. From the very outset, the production of our Whisky was always destined to be “hands on”. With a clear commitment to tradition, the Single Estate nature of our process allows us to control every aspect of Whisky making. From the barley we grow at our Home Farm to the draff fed back to cattle across the Estate, we craft our Whisky in a way that generations past would have recognised.

Your ticket includes access to the Distillery production and operational areas. You will be joining us for an afternoon of Ballindalloch Single Malt Whisky drams, food from our Ballindalloch BBQ featuring Aberdeen Angus meat, the breed closely associated with Ballindalloch (a delicious vegan option will be available too) and tasty home-bakes from Lagmore Café.

As a family owned and working estate, the Macpherson-Grants invite you to experience many aspects of estate life through various fun activities. We will have archery, fly-fishing demonstrations (and for you to try), golf challenges, live music, and much more. Also, as Chieftain of the Aberlour Highland Games, current Laird, Guy Macpherson-Grant is looking forward to watching you join in some caber tossing and other Games sports. With so much to see & do, we guarantee you a great afternoon at Ballindalloch.

Join us this Easter break from the 29th March- 15th April, where you can explore over 20 attractions and lots of Easter themed activity EGGS-tras all included in the ticket price!

What to expect this Easter?

We have some cool Easter-themed activities lined-up and fab prize giveaways starting with a ‘Chick Colouring Competition’ at The Butterfly House, with three ‘Easter Crafty Bundles’ up for grabs. Our ‘Golden Egg Competition’ in Bamboozeleum. How many golden eggs has the golden bunny collected for Easter…hm it’s anyones guess but if you do manage to work it out we have a ‘Giant Lindt Bunny’ for the lucky winner. The Easter bunny has been busy at Bunny Burrows in Wonderwood, there is one collassal carrot ready for harvest, but can anyone tell us how long it is- we have an 8-tier tower of boxed goodies for the winner of this ‘Giant Carrot Competition’! Enjoy dressing up as your favourite Spring character at Dress Up Corner and take a snapshot of your Landmark moment at our cool Easter display. If you like hunting for clues, follow the ‘Bunny Trail’ in Wonderwood and see if you can find the hidden bunny!!

Our park has over 20 attractions to keep the whole family entertained so your visit this Easter will be a brilliant jam-packed adventure!