A 'Home from Home' to explore and enjoy the beautiful North East of Scotland.

Recently renovated from an ancient stable building, Acorn Bothy offers you a very comfortable and relaxed base to enjoy the wonders of the North East of Scotland (but without the horses!).

We provide all the facilities we think you will need to ensure you have an enjoyable and restful stay. One guest commented 'there are more facilities in Acorn Bothy than I have in my own home!'.

The property features a bedroom (king-size designer bed with angled reading lights) with lots of internal hanging wardrobe and storage space. The well-equipped kitchen offers you cooking by gas and plenty of preparation surfaces and cooking utensils, crockery and equipment.

Next to the kitchen is a dining area in front of a full-length window, which opens up for alfresco dining. The cosy lounge gives you two luxury sofas, so you can choose one each!

A TV/DVD player offers all the main UK TV channels and access to a library of 60 DVDs which you can borrow when you are our guests. We also have loads of CDs of mixed music, including Scottish music, which you can play on the CD player. The TV is connected with Netflix if you can use your own log-in details. Or just read one of the many books we provide, loads of novels plus those that connect with wellbeing.

We have a 'Guest Information Pack' which explains how everything works in the property, if you forget our quick guidance when we hopefully meet and greet you.

Acorn Bothy is very cosy in winter as we have oil-fired central heating and hot water which can be set on a timer (so it is warm when you return from a day out) or set on a constant setting. The property is cool in summer with plenty of large windows and ceiling windows.

The temperature in the area can be better than most of Scotland - warmer and dryer, not like the West of Scotland which can be notoriously wet. It has been claimed that we actually get more sun than Cornwall in the south of England!

We provide bed linen, duvets, pillows, towels, plus kitchen clothes and towels, paper towels, toilet paper, soaps, washing up liquids and loads more!

Included for free is a WiFi connection, so you can surf the internet with your computer, tablet or smartphone, or check your emails and tell your friends and family about the wonderful time you are having in Acorn Bothy!

The laundry (bed linen and towels) are professionally laundered and ironed, so we make a small charge for this. And, hopefully temporarily, as of April 2026, we need to make a slight additional fuel charge for heating and hot water because our kerosene oil rates have increased 125% since last year.

There is free parking directly in front of Acorn Bothy and we provide Travel Directions to help you find us.

About 60% of our bookings are from repeat visitors - so there must be something about Acorn Bothy that encourages guests to return!

The location of Whitehouse is a small hamlet just a short drive away from the bustling market town of Alford (the home of Aberdeen Angus beef), which is in the heart of Aberdeenshire.

Nestled on the edge of the Cairngorm National Park, the property has great walks from the front door, with plenty of other activities nearby, including golf, fishing (salmon and trout), mountain biking, walking and hiking, skiing, climbing, bird watching, sailing and wildlife watching.

The nearest village of Alford, 2 miles away. has a large Co-operative supermarket, swimming pool, library, coffee shops, Bistro, gift shops, an open all year round dry ski slope where tubing is also offered. Plus several restaurants and an Indian, Chinese and chippy take-away. We can let you know of other restaurants in the area, depending on your taste and budget.

Local attractions include The Grampian Transport Museum, the Alford miniature Valley Railway and Alford Heritage Centre. Alford also has an 18 hole golf course.

If you enjoy fishing, a permit can be obtained from the Forbes Estate Office and Alford Angling Association which is a 5 min drive away.

We are close to Balmoral Castle, the summer home of the Royal Family. The castle offers tours and now, afternoon tea. If you visit Balmoral, do give our best wishes to Charlie and Camilla! They haven't (as yet) stayed at Acorn Bothy, but even we would admit that Balmoral Castle is probably slightly superior to Acorn Bothy!

Acorn Bothy is situated in the heart of the Castle country (we have some 150 castles in Aberdeenshire, including 2 miles away, our favourite, the pink Craigievar Castle, which allegedly inspired Walk Disney).

And of course, you are on the Malt Whisky Trail here with some of the oldest and, in our view, the best distilleries in the world. The North East and Speyside malts are very 'floral' in flavour, and less harsh than the west coast island varieties.

Aberdeen airport is only 30 minutes drive away and Aberdeen City can be reached in about 35 minutes, with a park-and-ride facility in Westhill to negate parking issues in Aberdeen.

And within a short drive, you have the Aberdeenshire east coast beaches of St Cyrus, Cruden Bay and Collieston and the wonderful Moray coastal delights, including the quaint locations of Gardenstown, Crovie, Portsoy, Cullen, Lossiemouth and Pennan (where the film 'Local Hero' was filmed - they still have the famous red telephone box!). Do an internet search of these locations - reality is better!

We provide washing up liquid, clothes washing tablets, dishcloths, dishwasher tablets, dish towels, oven gloves, kitchen towel, hand wash, kitchen paper-towels and toilet rolls, plus torches.

And if all of what you have read here is not enough, let us know what you would like to see, do and visit, and we can provide you with loads of ideas and website links (a personalised itinerary) so you can plan your visit in advance. However, we do have loads of brochure and leaflets of 'things to do', including guides for local castles and gardens, so you won't be bored.

We get many return guests because they tell us 'we only scratched the surface last time'!