Newsletter Spring 2026

I think I can safely say that when you see ‘A WALRUS’ in the harbour you are officially in Spring or in a parallel universe! We had this wonderful visitor this week on our coast. Slightly off course and he did look rather shattered as he recovered his strength for the next leg of his journey. I can only think he fancied a warm holiday as he is so far away from his normal home!

A poignant reminder of how fragile our wildlife is, no matter their size, when they butt up against human infrastructure and ways of life. However, much care was taken to ensure he wasn’t disturbed and could move on his way at his own pace, closely monitored of course.

You can read more about the story here.

Spring has been trying to break through for several weeks now, and finally we are seeing again the beauty of our wildlife: lambs emerging and frolicking in the fields; the elegance of our plants with daffodils everywhere along the road verges; and trees coming into leaf. Snow can still be seen on the highest mountains, and Glenshee has been incredibly busy and beautiful throughout the winter.

During the winter months, the North East 250 team has been busy planning and organising on behalf of our Visitor and Business Members in readiness for the season. We have so much to share with you…

New Partner and new Supporters
You will have seen some new logos on our North East 250 website, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome Glenglassaugh (and specifically the Benriach Distillery) as our Partner alongside Ballindalloch Castle and Gardens. You will have seen the post that was put out in November that sets out the synergy that we see in working together, and already the partnership is producing some very fruitful projects.

Through the winter we also welcomed two new Supporters. The Cullen Bay Hotel which has just been crowned Cullen Skink Winner for 2026 for the ‘twist’ category. I do believe that they have plans to include it on their menu in the near future, but for the moment, they do have the ‘traditional’ version that is extremely tasty.

We also welcomed the Leys Group as a Supporter. This family estate business is based in the south eastern sector of the North East 250 route and offers various visitor experiences such as the Milton by Crathes Art Gallery, the Royal Deeside Steam railway and Inchmarlo Golf Course. You will find it on the A96 between Aberdeen and Balmoral.

All of the above, including our existing Supporters, NorthLink Ferries and Shirlaws, have been busy working with us on some improvements to the North East 250 that we will tell you about as the season unfolds.

2026 reprint of the North East 250 Map
Many of our Business Members and community-based organisations told us that a physical map that visitors could pick up and use is a great way for people to use the route. We took this on board and have now produced an updated Map for 2026. The route is still the same, but we have included more information for the visitor. We have included information that encourages people to explore the extremities of our region – and detour through the middle of it as well.

We have launched the Map on our Facebook page and have distributed to the various organisations that we support. Thank you to everyone that advertised on the reverse of the Map that has enabled us to bring this updated version to life. People can also get a copy of the Map when they become Visitor Members through the website: Shop – North East 250

We will be at the Royal Highland Show 18 – 21 June 2026
We are delighted to announce that we will have a stand in the President’s Tent at the Royal Highland Show in June. We will be giving out copies of the Map and guiding people on how to navigate the region using the route, in order to access the many Business Members that we support. Several of our Partners and Supporters will be with us or there themselves. What a wonderful opportunity to shout about what we have to offer in this part of Scotland!

Regional updates
The Speyside Whisky Festival started on Wednesday, 29 April, and went through to Monday, 4 May. There are 51 working distilleries in the Speyside area with several more in the local area. Their website is extremely useful in organising your schedule across the 6 days.

Visit Aberdeenshire has announced that the FIA World Rally Championship is returning to the UK with Rally Scotland running a new Aberdeen-based event from 2027 to 2029. This prestigious event is projected to bring significant economic benefits to the North East, and we intend to work with our strategic partners involved in this, on behalf of our Business Members and Visitors.

In the meantime, the local Cannonbawz Run has been doing a charity run around the NE250 route for the last 9 years!

Our commitment
We are committed to increasing the number of people that visit our area. We are keen to promote our Partners, Supporters and Business Members via any channel that we feel is appropriate, so that you can see a demonstrable increase in spend with you by visitors.

If you have any ideas that you would like to share on how we can improve our offer then please send them to info@northeast250.com as we would like to hear them and see if we can make them work.