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A letter from Denmark.  Deciding to spend a month in Tomintoul was a funny choice for me. Being a person who loves the city and everything that goes along with it, this decision to stay at a village, which according to Wikipedia in 2001 had a population of 322 people, shocked those who knows me the most. How would I survive?

Driving from the airport the first thing I noticed was the scenery and the amount of sheeps in the fields. The beautiful small villages that looks just like the ones you would see on the TV along with the incredible green colours of the nature. Getting further into the countryside and closer to Tomintoul, the hills and mountains started to rise around me and to be completely honest I have never seen something so natural and beautiful. Coming from a country so flat as Denmark where the hills are only high enough to make the bike rides a bit harder and make you lose your breath temporarily, the hills and mountains of Scotland can make you lose your breath for an entirely different reason. Its splendid contribution to the landscape. This is probably the thing I loved the most about my stay at The Smugglers Hostel (if you don’t count the amazing people I now consider as friends). Simply being able to experience a different kind of nature. Spending days exploring the surrounding areas, if the weather allowed it, was something I enjoyed and staying in Tomintoul made it possible, if not forced me, to actually experience the nature in ways I would personally wouldn’t have chosen.

For mig, var beslutningen om at tage en måned til Tomintoul et mærkelig valg. Jeg elsker storbyen og de ting som storbyen har at tilbyde. Derfor var det at tage til en lille by, som ifølge wikipedia i 2001 kun havde 322 indbyggere, et valg der chokerede de personer der kender mig bedst. Hvordan ville jeg nogen sinde kunne overleve det?

På turen fra lufthavnen til The Smugglers Hostel, var de naturskønne omgivelser samt de ufattelige mange får, noget af det første jeg lagde mærke til. Gennem landskabet kørte vi forbi små landsbyer, som ligner dem man kan se i de typiske britiske tv-serier. Når man forsætter ind i landet begynder bakkerne og bjergene at rejse sig omkring en og det er noget af det mest naturlige og smukkeste, jeg har set i mit liv. Især når man kommer fra Danmark som er så fladt at selv vores “bjerge” kun kan gøre cykelturen en smule hårdere og få os til at tabe pusten. Til gengæld kan Skotlands bjerge få en til at tabe pusten af en helt anden årsag, fordi de er med til at skabe denne fantastiske natur som adskiller vores natur fra deres. Naturen var derfor den ting som påvirkede mig mest under mit ophold på The Smugglers Hostel (hvis ikke jeg inkluderer de fantastiske søde mennesker som jeg nu ser som mine venner). Tomintoul er omringet af smuk natur, hvilket betød at tage på opdagelse i de nærliggende områder var noget vi nød, når vejret ellers tillod det. Det at byen ikke er større, betyder at man nærmest er tvunget til at tage ud at se den smukke nærliggende natur og de bjerge som omringer Tomintoul, også selv om måske tikke lige er det helt store naturmenneske.

Louise Anderson. September 2015.

Visit Scotland rate The Smugglers Hostel

hostels that will take your breath away Hear the word ‘hostel’ and visions of dormitories, camaraderie and value for money accommodation can follow, but what about the location? It turns out that in Scotland hostels often comes with a first class view. Visit Scotland have produced a guide […]

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Guess Who’s Back?

Hello internet! We are back. Two updates in this blog with the first being the most obvious, we are back online with our website and email address working after a minor issue with the website hosting. We have caught up with emails and reservations after the 3 […]

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THE SMUGGLERS HOSTEL EARNS 2016 TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

Moray – 25th May 2016 – The Smugglers Hostel Tomintoul today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence. Now in its sixth year, the achievement celebrates hospitality businesses that have earned great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. Certificate of Excellence recipients […]

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We’re Hiring!

Exciting news! The Smugglers Hostel & Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust are hiring! Five exciting opportunities in customer services and business development type roles contact oliver@tgdt.org.uk or call 01807 580358 for more details  

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Becca’s blog

Tomintoul is an authentic wee Scottish town which seems to have its own pace of life, distant from the craziness of modern life. If you don’t want to be frowned at by the locals, remember Tomintoul is pronounced ‘Tom-in-towl’ (like owl). I have travelled in many countries […]

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A break from routine

   A couple of weeks ago we travelled to Sutherland area in the highlands of Scotland for a break from routine. We found ourselves close to the River Laxford. The river’s length is 5 km and rises from Loch Stack and flows into Loch Laxford at Laxford […]

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Volunteer’s blog by ‘Dewy’ in French and English

Tomintoul, le village le plus haut des Highlands, situe au Coeur de la route du whisky. En quete d’aventure a la recherche de calme et envie de decouvrir de nouveaux paysages, vous ne pouvez passer a cote de ce petit village. Tomintoul, the highest village in the […]

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Speyside Cooperage

    Many of our guests go off and visit the numerous distilleries that are close to Tomintoul.  However, about 30 minutes away from the hostel  you will find Speyside Cooperage which is the only working cooperage in the UK which carries out  the ancient art of […]

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New season, new fixtures and new family friendly rooms!

I can’t believe we’ve been open 6 weeks already. The refurbishment is looking good and along with the brand new showers, the new floor makes the place look really good. We also have extra plug sockets in all the rooms. For any of you who stayed with […]

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A Sneak Peak at 2015….

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping and the snow has, almost, melted. There is a definite feeling of Spring in the air and here at the Smugglers Hostel we are getting ready to open our doors again for the 2015 […]

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Main Street
Tomintoul
AB37 9EX

Tel: 01807 580 364
Mobile: 07557 642 727
info@thesmugglershostel.co.uk