Practicalities and details of the house, grounds and local area for your visit to Cray House:

Shopping

The nearest local shops for basic supplies are at Kirkmichael or Bridge of Cally, both 15 mins drive from Cray. A larger variety of shops and supermarkets can be found in Blairgowrie, a 25 min drive. Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s all deliver to the house so you could arrange all groceries for your stay in advance.

Eating Out

The Kirkmichael Hotel, which is a 10-minute drive, is very good and serves food and snacks between 12 and 9pm – it’s best to book at the weekend. A 30-minute drive, The Fife Arms in Braemar offers exceptional food, however booking is strongly advised here as it gets pretty busy. The Wee House of Glenshee is just up the main road and a great place to go for lunch or afternoon tea. There’s a small tourist information area there too. For a wider range of options, Blairgowrie has various restaurants, pubs and takeaways.

Additional Catering

Estate Manager Claire is always happy to provide you with some hearty home cooked meals during your time with us. Alternatively, you can book one of our talented local chefs to cater for your entire stay. Whether you just need a tasty lasagne or you’re looking for some finer dining, we’ll take care of everything.

Linen & Towels

Everything you need will be waiting for you when you arrive, including all bed linen, towels, miniature bathroom products and table linen.

Larder

We aim to provide a good basic larder together with kitchen essentials such as sugar, flour, tea, coffee, oils, vinegar, spices, salt & pepper, cling film, foil, baking paper, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, cloths and scourers.

Central Heating & Hot Water

Central heating and hot water is available 24 hours a day from our new bio-mass boiler system. The house is always invitingly warm, and the hot water piping.

Electricity

All electricity costs are included in the price of your stay, but we ask that you are environmentally conscientious with lighting and appliances.

Open Log Fires

Logs for the two open fireplaces are available free of charge throughout your stay. You can find them under the back stair.

Wet Gear and Laundry

You’ll find hanging space for wet things by both back doors. The laundry room has a washing machine, drier, and ironing facilities.

TV, WiFi & Phone

Two of the sitting rooms have TVs with Sky and  DVD players. WiFi is available in the main part of the downstairs area of the house. Please bear in mind that this is a rural area and we cannot get super-fast broadband. There is a pay-phone available for your use in the house. Mobile network signals are poor in the area, although Vodafone and O2 seem to be the best.

Dogs

We welcome visitors to bring their dogs, but kindly request that they are kept downstairs and to the hard floored areas only, and that the number of dogs is kept to two.

Patio Area

We have a Weber barbeque for guests to use. Coals are provided to get you started. Midges can occasionally be a nuisance, but our super effective midge buster can help.

Loch Fishing and Rowing Boat

We have a trout loch complete with rowing boat available for guests use during their stay. Two fishing rods and buoyancy aids are provided in the house.

River Fishing

Cray Estate has the fishing rights on a two mile stretch of the River Shee, bordering the estate. One house rod is available free of charge to Cray guests.

Play Park

Kids will love our play park! Hours of entertainment to be had on the swings, slide, trampoline and see-saw.

Putting Green

On the front lawn, you’ll find the putting green holes – perfect for summertime games. There are putters available in the house.