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- Clunie Cottage
  
  Sleeps: 4-6 people
  
  Our largest cottage is semi-detached and is all on one level. It’s especially bright and airy, particularly well suited to people with visual impairments. It has its own patio with bench seating and overlooks a small garden and bird table.
  
  Check Availability for Clunie Cottage
- Gairn Cottage
  
  Sleeps 4 people
  
  Our allergy free cottage so no pets are allowed. It’s a small and cosy cottage with an accessible ground-floor bedroom and second bedroom in the upstairs gallery. It opens onto the courtyard and has bench seating with planters just outside the door.
  
  Check Availability for Gairn Cottage
- Gelder Cottage
  
  Sleeps: 5 people
  
  Cottage opens out onto a riverside patio with views across the River Dee and Balmoral Golf Course. It has an accessible twin bedroom downstairs and second bedroom in the upstairs gallery.
  
  Check Availability for Gelder Cottage
- Girnock Cottage
  
  Sleeps: 4 people
  
  A detached cottage which opens out onto a riverside patio with views across the River Dee and Balmoral Golf Course. It’s all on one level and has two bedrooms. It has an accessible picnic table just outside the cottage.
  
  Check Availability for Girnock Cottage
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Volunteers

We are fortunate to be supported by so many local volunteers who give freely of their time and talents to help maintain and improve the facilities and services we offer.

Between May and October our guests are welcome to come along to a coffee morning in the Garden Room on Wednesdays from 11am where you will be treated to delicious home baking and have a chance to meet and chat with other guests and volunteers.

You are also likely to encounter our gardening group which also meets on Wednesdays. They do a great job in making sure the courtyard and surrounding areas look lovely.

Our local fundraising events including our very popular Film Nights in Ballater and Braemar and our Annual Golf Event at Balmoral wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of our volunteers.

Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about Volunteering Opportunities here.

Michael

21 May 2026

First point of contact excellent.Happy to accommodate with most requests.Everything was designed for disabled party's .Invited to coffee morning great cheese scones and raspberry meringues .Such a great bunch of people ,very welcoming to all.Deffo coming back to a very special place

Kevin H

4 contributions

24 Sep 2025

Kevin and Tricia visit to Crathie Opportunity Holidays I have a progressive muscle wasting condition (SMA 3) and we have been struggling to find suitably adapted holiday accommodation for sometime. I can honestly say Crathie was an unexpected gem of a find and we had the best holiday in stunning surroundings with great facilities ( ceiling hoists in bedroom and bathroom, wet room shower with shower chair, profiling adjustable bed and a Closomat toilet.). The staff and volunteers were great so friendly and helpful. An added bonus was that we were able to take Molly our springer spaniel with us too. We stayed in Clunie cottage which was lovely and had everything needed for a holiday let. The location of the cottage was stunning, a five minute walk from Crathie Kirk and just a few minutes extra to the gates of Balmoral. The cottage courtyard looks down onto the lovely and spectacular River Dee and there are lots of places to go for a walk without having to go on the main road. Braemar is about 9 miles away and Ballater is slightly closer at 8 miles both towns are lovely although my preference was for Ballater, it's a gorgeous wee town. There's a decent sized CO-OP supermarket in Ballater for all your grocery needs. I also need to mention the Clachan Grill in Ballater we had a couple of meals there and the food and service were exceptional.We were fortunate to meet a lovely couple who were staying in one of the other cottages when we arrived at Crathie. We had a great time getting to know Mike and Jean and they had lots of good tips for places to visit or restaurants/cafes to have a meal.As Maggie the manager told us we were very fortunate to be there during the warmest and driest summer on Royal Deeside for many years, but we will definitely be back, whether or not they can guarantee the weather because it is such a lovely part of the World and the people are so friendly. Crathie Opportunity Holidays provide the sort of accommodation that is so difficult for families and couples who have a family member with a severe disability to find. The best recommendation I can give is that we will definitely be visiting Clunie Cottage again the the near future.