At Auchtavan, however, a traditional cottage and horse mill still stand high on the mountainside above the River Dee.  Braemar Community Ltd have restored these buildings so that future generations will be able to see how so many of their ancestors used to live in the past. 

The people who lived at Auchtavan were farmers.  They grazed their sheep and their cattle on the steep hillsides and grew cereals in the thin mountain soils.  They had no gas or electricity, no telephones, and no running water.  There was no central heating, just the fireplace under the hinging lum.  They had to walk miles to go to school and to church, and the nearest shops would have been down in the glen at Braemar. 

Visit and experience how generations of families lived their lives, in their clachan on a highland mountainside.

Life at Auchtavan would have been hard, but with its views across to the legendary mountain of Lochnagar, there are surely few more beautiful places to live.  The unspoiled landscape of Upper Deeside is world famous, and its ancient castles show how important the area was to the kings and clan chiefs in medieval times.

The area is also one of the great wildlife treasures of Scotland.  During your walk you might see red deer, roe deer, red squirrels, mountain hares, pheasants, grouse, golden eagles and buzzards – maybe even the shy and secretive wildcat.  On the ground grow alpine flowers and plants, hardy enough to live through the snows and storms of winter, but producing beautiful, delicate flowers in the summertime.

The Horse Mill

Outside you can see the horse walk where the horse (or sometimes a donkey or a cow) would be harnessed and would walk around turning the threshing machinery inside the mill.  You can go inside and read more about the community on the information panel.  Please remember to close the door securely behind you.

The Cottage

This would originally have been divided in two – one side for the animals, the other half for the family (where the hinging lum is).  Because it is such an important building, the cottage is kept locked at all times.  For access, please contact:

The Secretary
Braemar Community Ltd
c/o Braemar Castle
Braemar
AB35 5XX 

The other cottage at Auchtavan (with the garden) is a private estate cottage.