Posts for June, 2023

Live music with Tweed.
Every Thursday evening from 9pm.
A lively ceilidh band from Inverness and Speyside. Weaving together traditional ceilidh music with funk, ska beats and anything in between.

Come and spend a night in and around our tipi, enjoying pizzas and drinks and good tunes with friends. We have a choice of four different delicious pizzas (vegetarian options available), a range of local drinks, spirits and snacks and some Smores to toast on the fire. We are hosting these evenings on the following dates:

Booking is essential so please get in touch to secure your spot and time. We hope to see you there!

Come and join us for some live music from Willie Campbell.
No need to book, just pop down and have some fun with us.

The 30th Annual Golden Spurtle® World Porridge Making Championship® will be held on Saturday 7th October 2023.

The event is a fun family event with competitors from around competing for the famous Golden Spurtle.

At 9.30 the Pipe band processes competitors from the Old Pack Horse Bridge to our wonderful Village Hall. After that, the spurtles start stirring! Competitors make porridge from oats, salt and water and also compete for the Speciality Award where anything goes to make some awesome creations.

The Golden Spurtle Crown and Speciality Award relies on the skills and experience of our Judging Panel. The 2023 Judging Team is a range of famous and prestigious chefs.

An event not to be missed.

Come and join us for some live music from Willie Campbell.
No need to book, just pop down and have some fun with us.

Live music with Alan Frew. No need to book.
Come down, have a few drinks and some fun with us!

Live music with Jono. No need to book, just turn up and have some fun with us.
Head over to Jono’s Instagram page to check out his music @meandmyguitar
See you on the dancefloor!

Come down to The Balavoulin to see some awesome live music. We have tables available to book food up until 8pm and then relax with a drink to see Chris Grant from 9pm.
Free local event with plenty of fun to be had.
See you on the dancefloor!

Join us in Abernethy Forest for a behind the scenes masterclass with Cairngorms Connect Venison.


Together we will experience the whole journey, from forest to fork:

*Cairngorms Connect deer stalkers will talk about the methods, equipment, ethics and sustainability of deer stalking for conservation management and will demonstrate lardering the deer.

*A local butcher will then teach us about butchering, all the different cuts of meat and what they are best used for, and you can even have a go yourself.

*We will then settle down in the tepee at the Dell of Abernethy for a live cooking demo by a local professional chef, discovering unusual venison dishes and different ways to incorporate venison easily into our diet; before finally tasting all the dishes.


Please note the exact location of the event will be provided upon booking.


It is important that all people have equal access to Cairngorms Connect events.

We don’t want finance to be a barrier to people attending and so have made some tickets available for free – please take advantage of this if you need to.

We are happy to provide for your requirements, wherever possible eg. BSL interpreters, off-road wheelchairs, adapted bikes etc. If have any accessibility requirements, please get in touch.

An outdoor food market established in 2015, supporting local businesses, charities and organisations. Every 4th Saturday of every month, April – November. A chance to buy direct from local producers and artisans. Stalls range from local cheese, bread and beer to fresh meat, vegetables and honey – almost all are based within 40 miles of Ballater. Held on The Church Green.