Glen Dye: An Escape to the Highlands

Thirty-three years ago, Charlie and Caroline Gladstone packed up their life in London and headed north to take on the enormous task of renovating a beautiful yet completely derelict private estate in the Scottish Highlands. This winter, we caught up with Charlie to talk about the journey of restoring the estate, the joy of sharing this hidden eden with like-minded people, and about inspiring fun, friendship and connection to nature through unforgettable holiday experiences.

In Search of Big Skies, Dogs and a Slice of the Good Life

In the early nineties, Charlie Gladstone and his wife Caroline were living and working in London with creative careers, but having grown up in the rugged countryside of North Wales, Charlie has always been ‘a country person’, and it wasn’t long before he and Caroline found themselves longing for a lifestyle more in-tune with their love of the outdoors.

“We both had jobs in London and we had one child, he was a few months old, and we went up for a holiday in Scotland and just asked ourselves a very fundamental question - what were we doing in London when we could be in Scotland? We wanted to bring up our children in the countryside, with big skies and dogs and all that sort of stuff - so we gave up our jobs, sold our house, and moved up to Scotland to take on this nearly derelict place - and it was the best thing we ever did!”

The couple, along with their growing family, packed up their lives and headed for Aberdeenshire, where they then spent about 25 years rescuing the Glen Dye Estate, which had been in Charlie’s family since the 1840s, from dereliction. As Charlie explains,

“It had been essentially abandoned. All of the houses on the land and the farms were in a really bad condition, and we just worked away, raised and borrowed money, and reinvigorated everything.”

Once the buildings and infrastructure were sound, the couple were able to expand their vision for the place to creating a successful business that would allow them to share the magic of Glen Dye with the world.

"When there were roofs on the houses and the fences and drains worked, we thought, what can we do to open the place up to other people with similar interests? And so we found our motivation to create amazing holiday experiences in this amazing location.”

In Clachnaben’s Embrace

Situated just on the Highland boundary fault, where the flat agricultural land that runs the whole way up the east side of Britain gives way to the Highlands, the Glen Dye Estate is overlooked by the dramatic granite tor of Clachnaben whose inspiring presence can be felt across the estate. The rugged expanse of trees and moorland covers around 1500 acres and is regarded as one of the most beautiful private forests in Britain, though perhaps unusually for such a wilderness, it is also very accessible at just a half hour’s drive from Aberdeen.

“I think it’s about as wild as the United Kingdom gets, but it’s not got the bleakness that other places have - it feels more approachable, a warm place - not in terms of temperature, but in the way it sort of envelops you.  It has the beautiful granite tor of Clachnaben looking over it, and running through the middle is the river Dye - a beautiful bubbling river you can always see or hear wherever you are.”

But it isn’t just the natural environmental that gives Glen Dye it’s magic, it’s the built environment too. Because both Charlie and Caroline had always worked in design and interiors, it was logical that they’d finish the holiday cottages and cabins to a very high standard. From the grand open fires and artistic interiors to the outdoor kitchens, saunas and hot tubs, the cabins and cottages at Glen Dye elegantly enhance the beauty of the landscape.

However, more than simply providing a beautiful base to explore the countryside, Charlie wants to offer the guests at Glen Dye an experience of what he calls ‘the Good Life’ - which to Charlie, is a life enriched with fun, excitement, friendship, learning amazing food, beautiful art and design and a tangible connection to the environment.

“I want our guests to feel inspired to change their lives in some way when they leave - whether that means to slightly change the decor of their house or to carry home new skills or new resolutions about getting outside and enjoying the outdoors - and I want them to have fun - ultimately that’s something that we’re quite big on. I also want them to feel they really connected with the place. For me, Glen Dye is a very powerful place... A spiritual place.”

Saunas, Swims and Scottish Wellness

But what is it to feel connected to a place? According to Charlie, its about the way in which we interact with our environment - it’s about learning, sharing, making memories and ultimately, cultivating a deeper sense of wellbeing. With this in mind, and very much in the spirit of the public right to roam in Scotland, Charlie and Caroline began to develop experiences their guests could enjoy while staying at Glen Dye - from bushcraft, foraging and campfire cooking to stargazing, wild swimming and wood-fired saunas.

“Our idea to introduce a bushcraft school has its roots in the way we brought up our children - it was very much about being outdoors and learning how to connect with simple skills like lighting a fire, cooking on a fire, crossing a river without falling in or even simply learning how to walk up a hill or climb a tree. 10 years ago Caroline and I published a family guide to the great outdoors, and it was all about how to get your children outside, how to identify trees and clouds, how to build a den, use an axe properly or make a bow and arrow. It really just became completely logical that we would get more involved in these things at Glen Dye.”

Although they have employed two bushcraft and wild-wellness experts, getting involved or 'talking the talk and walking the walk’ as Charlie puts it, is certainly key to the way in which Charlie and Caroline operate at Glen Dye.

“We offer the things that we believe in and have genuine interest in - we think that if we believe it, it has integrity and hopefully that integrity will resonate with our guests.”

Striving to create a new sense of luxury, the experiences offered at Glen Dye are outdoorsy and authentic with a strong focus on quality as well as connection with the elements. For Charlie, a day at Glen Dye is simply incomplete without an authentic wood-fired sauna to balance the crisp Highland climate and ice-cold river swims in the Dye.

“For me, having a sauna is an excellent punctuation mark at the end of the day. I find it unbelievably good for my mental state and for my general feeling of physical wellness. I think we’re all chasing feelings that make us feel good both physically and mentally and the sauna is surprisingly good at that. You can research the health benefits of sauna and there’s clearly data and anecdotes to support them but you don’t need to do that because the feeling you get after a sauna is enough proof on its own. For years and years I was a very keen long distance runner and I have given that up as i’ve got older. But the sauna gives me the kind of rush that running used to give me, I think I would be surprised if i didn’t carry on doing it for the rest of my life.”

We quite agree.