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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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Onsite Facilities

We hope you’ll feel at home in The Manse Courtyard and welcome you to make full use of our other onsite facilities. If you can’t find what you’re looking for – please ask.

Laundry Room

Washing machines and tumble dryers
Iron and ironing board
Airers and pegs for outdoor drying
Additional freezer space for each cottage
Housekeeping stores e.g. light bulbs, batteries, bin bags etc.
Spare bed linen available

Garden Room

Weekly Coffee Mornings on Wednesdays between April and October
Audio/ Visual Library containing CDs, DVDs, videos, books, audio books
Wii-Fit for use in the cottages
Board Games and Jigsaws
Additional Tourist Information

Log Cabin

Play Area/Barbecue

Wheelchair accessible play area
Swing sets
See-saw
Sand-pit inside log cabin
Slide
Basketball Hoop

Reception

Open 10am – 12 noon Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and at other times – please come in if it’s open.
Keys for clinical waste, gates, shed log cabin kept here.
Additional toilet for guests use

Parking

Parking for loading/unloading available outside cottages
On-site car park approx. 50 metres from cottages

Janet Hughes

31 Aug 2026

Peaceful, thoughtfully and well equipped. Had a lovely break without having to worry about anything.

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.