Old Pine Yurt, near Tomintoul, Scotland

Old Pine Yurt - Sign at Parking Area

The Old Pine Yurt, located near Tomintoul, Scotland. On the edge of the Cairngorm Mountains. This truly is Heaven on Earth.

Visit: http://www.oldpineyurt.co.uk to learn how to book your stay in Heaven.

This outstanding facility is owned & operated by Donald & Fenella. Great hosts. They label their operation as a "Glamping" facility, which if you are unfamiliar with the term glamping, is simply glamour camping. In the woods, but not roughing it.

To that end, this facility excels. The Yurt is more than enough room for a couple. Complete with a full size bed, sofa, chair, woodstove and bistro table & chairs. Romantic candlelight adds mood lighting and the skylight allows you to keep an eye on the stars on a clear night.

In addition, there is also the "Wood Shed" Cabin, which has enough room on its own to comfortably sleep 3 - 4. This was once the woodshed on the property, but I believe it was Donald's father who converted it to a cabin.

Old Pine Yurt - Cooking Area in Foreground

Cooking Fire

 Close by the Yurt is the cooking fire area. Complete, with its own cooking grill, pans, tongs and wood pile. Enhanced with slab benches and a large block of wood covered with a thick Slate top cut and shaped by Donald. This Donald fellow is a very handy guy indeed. He has built many of the fixtures and designed many of the creature comforts. More about that later.

We found an ad for this location on: http://www.visitscotland.com

"The Wood Shed" Cabin

And, yes, we have stayed here. 

Now, hopefully the text stay aligned with the pictures. To the left is the image "The Wood Shed Cabin" and this shows the covered entrance, as well as, the kitchenette area. This veranda allows the enjoyment of the outdoors even when it rains.

At the back of the kitchenette area is the washroom and the shower. Now, the wonderful part of the Old Pine Yurt is the perfect blending of comfort and being in touch with reality. Hot water is very comforting, but learning just how much effort is required to make water hot is priceless.

Shower, Washroom & Kitchenette Area

Hot Water Tank Access

Cauldron "Hot Water Heater"

You have to make your own hot water here at the Old Pine Yurt, and this is a valuable lesson in life. So, if there is ever a day when the convenience of gas or electric water heating become interrupted, it is good to know how to make water hot for cleaning your body or your clothes. So, in the luxury of comfy beds, decadent chocolates in the welcome basket and beautiful landscapes you can practice the simple things in life. And fire made it good.......

The cauldron is used to make the water hot, but first you must fill the cauldron with cold water from the tap. Then build a proper sized fire under the cauldron. Once the water is hot enough, 25 - 40 minutes later, you must move the hot water, one pail at a time to the hot water tank located above the shower. There is a step ladder and rest platform to assist this task. Donald has fashioned a filter screen unit from a stainless steel kitchen strainer, I hope Fenella doesn't notice it missing.

Once filled with four pails of hot water, you can now enjoy one 10 minute shower or two 5 minute showers. A little longer if you use the navy shower method, rinse - lather - rinse, next!!

The Showerhead

The Shower

Of course, this combo of luxury and basics, may not appeal to all. I will assume, if you are still reading you are interested to know more.

Some of the roofing panels have been replaced over the years, with translucent panels that provide plenty of light while the sun is up. This makes everything bright and reduces the need for artificial lighting and thus reduced need for the consumption of electricity. 

We did not make full use of this facility in the context it was intended. We will next time. This is a special place to go, relax, recharge, and regain that which is lost in the daily activities of the rat-race of normal life.

We used the Old Pine Yurt to stage a number of day long adventures to see the sites in Aberdeenshire, Inverness-shire and Speyside. Those were long days with many miles traveled. Many meals were eaten on the run or in pubs along the way. Speaking of pubs....The Glen Avon and The Gordon Public House in Tomintoul, both served excellent food. 

The last two pictures are the woodstoves. The first is in the cabin, 

while the second one is in the Yurt.

Both were easy to heat the spaces that surrounded them.

I will post more in the coming days.

Until next time, get out and see the World!!

Mountainman.

Woodstove in the Yurt