Lys-Na-Greyne B&B – Aboyne, Scotland

When I chose this B&B for one of our stops in Scotland I was very excited about staying at such a beautiful place.  It wasn’t until we arrived that I found out how much of a gem I booked!  This Edwardian granite house was built in 1912 and is nestled in a conservation area that over looks the Dee river and valley.  In the first picture below, the set of four windows second floor on the left was our room.  Wonderful view especially at sunset.

Lys-Na-Greyne is a luxury B&B in every sense of the word.  The owners, Garry and Joyce Welsh, welcome you into their home for a stay in one of their six en-suite bedrooms.  When we drove up Joyce gave us a warm welcome at the door and showed us to our room before taking us on a tour of the house.

Ours was a large room with a king size bed, sitting area, writing desk, tea service with cookies (or biscuits if you prefer) and bottled water, a bathroom with double sinks, separate shower and a double stand alone tub.  That tub was quite the respite after a long day of exploring the Aberdeenshire castle trail which is easy to get to from here.  The room also included the fluffiest robes and comfy slippers for when it was time to settle down for the evening.

The home sits in over three acres of mature gardens that are so peaceful and beautiful; even more so when there’s afternoon tea with cake on the terrace.  If you are offered the lemon cake, take it!  You will thank me later.  While located in a secluded area, you can easily walk into town for dinner.  Joyce made dinner reservations for us at the Boat Inn Restaurant in Aboyne where we had some of the tastiest lamb steaks ever.

You can lounge in the sitting area where there are magazines to read, a piano if you are so inclined to play, whiskey and sherry for a night cap and a telescope for viewing the scenery.  In the dining area for breakfast it can be quite an international scene.  On our visit we broke bread with couples from Germany, Australia and France.  Mentioning bread, it’s homemade and delicious as are the rest of the breakfast offerings.

On the buffet table you are offered juice, yogurt, fresh fruit, cereals, porridge (heather honey on porridge is so good), breads and pastries if you want a lighter breakfast.  Wanting more for your morning fare?  There are a couple of fish and egg dishes and the full Scottish breakfast to choose from which Joyce brings out to you along with your tea or coffee.

By this leg of our journey around Scotland I had gotten quite hooked on the full Scottish breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, haggis, black pudding, baked beans, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Don’t be fooled by people who’ve made a horrible face at the mention of haggis, it’s good and in this case made local.  On the other hand I never took to the black pudding and always asked for the beans to be held.  I just can’t with beans for breakfast…

I really hated leaving Lys-Na-Greyne but we had to make our way to the next stop on our Scotland road trip. Thank you for being such a wonderful hostess, Joyce.  We loved staying with you and Billy says hello 🙂

Teri 📷