Moorfield House Hotel, Ballater

A small hotel overlooking the highland games arena in pleasant surroundings, which gives the impression of having fairly recently established a public bar with real ale. The bar is on the right when entering at the car park side of the building, and has four hand pumps with beers all from Scottish breweries (see photo). The two beers I had were in good condition, though the Cairngorm Stag proved as underwhelming as the previous occasion I have come across this beer; the Orkney Corncrake, on the other hand, was good enough to bring me back here for a further pint after my dinner. On my first visit I sat on the decking area on the far side of the pub, later I sat at a table in the foyer, the bar itself being a little crowded. This pub's fine setting with an apparently free view of the games arena must draw a crowd at the right time of year, but even with Braemar at a lull it was a very atmospheric setting. I quite like tourist villages in the off season, so will be looking forward to a return visit one day. Date of visit: 6th June 2018

Official site of Moorfield House Hotel - www.moorfieldhousehotel.com

Official site of Moorfield House Hotel - www.moorfieldhousehotel.com