Live Music — Pubs in Aviemore
Discover live music pubs in Aviemore. Browse our directory to find the perfect pub.
Found 8 live music pubs in Aviemore
Cairngorm Hotel
77 Grampian Road, Aviemore PH22 1PE
With a near continuous tourist season, the warm and familiar feel of Cairngorm Hotel is always welcoming. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from the railway station and main bus stop, the lounge bar of this privately-owned hotel is often the first port of call for those who have travelled, with many making their way to Aviemore via coach and train from as far away as London. Of course, many have also made the drive up the A9 Although not a tied house, beers come from Cairngorm brewery, just over a mile away. Although you can dine in the Lounge bar, the hotel has a separate Restaurant which offers:- Breakfast from 7:30 until noon, Day menu from noon until 17:00, Evening menu until 21:30. During the day tea, coffee and "tempting" cakes and pastries are available. Every Thursday night there is a fixed price "all you can eat" Hot Highland Buffet. Throughout the year there are special Scottish themed nights including "Burns Night" (25 January) and Hogmanay. Other "specials" include and other themed nights based on events in and around Aviemore. Rooms are available on the 1st and 2nd floors, but with the entertainment downstairs, it can be a little noisy although quieter rooms are available facing away from the main street. Alternatively, there is a "sister" hotel, The Garth, in Grantown-on-Spey. Dogs are permitted in the lobby / reception area where there is comfy seating, but not in the bar or other areas.
Old Bridge Inn
23 Dalfaber Road, Aviemore PH22 1PU
Converted from a riverside cottage in 1982 and greatly enlarged, Old Bridge Inn lies on the road to the car park to the Strathspey Steam Railway, although there are normally places in their own car park opposite. On balmy summer afternoons, you can watch the River Spey gently flow past from the comfortable covered outdoor area. OK, wrap up and watch whilst the snow falls! Thistly Cross Scottish cider is served alongside the four handpumps which offer local beers from Cairngorm (Trade Winds / Stag) and a rotating selection from Windswept. Further afield Williams Brothers and Fyne Ales Jarl has been seen regularly and normally Caledonian Deuchars IPA. This is a very busy pub, popular with outdoor enthusiasts and booking is highly recommended for the restaurant with its menu, all with low food miles. Local entertainment most nights, and a selection of games and books to pass the time away over a pint. Handy for the Strathspey steam railway. Children and dogs are welcome and there is a bunkhouse attached. Live music plays twice weekly regularly featuring traditional and modern Scottish music and bands.
Dalfaber Golf & Country Club
Dalfaber Rd, Aviemore PH22 1ST
The second ale here is usually the current seasonal from the Cairngorm brewery just down the road. Live entertainment most evenings and a quiz on Sunday, the bar has a lively, friendly and informal atmosphere where families are welcome. Two full sized snooker tables and the leisure club has a swimming pool and sports hall which hosts tournaments by local teams. Major sports events on TV. The bar area is to the left of the reception desk, past the swimming pool area (glazed off) to the right.
Winking Owl
123 Grampian Rd, Aviemore PH22 1RH
Cairngorm Brewery have been making award winning beers in Aviemore since 2001, and “The Winky”, their first pub, was taken on by them on 19 November 2014 under an innovative “partial” tie with Caledonian / Heineken. Once a farmhouse, the pub, is probably one of the oldest hostelries in Aviemore and Robert Burns is reported to have breakfasted here in 1787. Just to the right of the steps up to The Winky, the access to “The Bothy Bar” is via the rustic courtyard which uses re-purposed corrugated tin sheet, upcycled wooden pallets and cable drums to form a covered outside seating / smoking area. At night, gently changing “mood” lighting sets a comfy scene. The addition of the Bothy Bar downstairs in 2018 massively increased its capacity to cater fro thirsty and hungry visitors and locals alike including wheelchair users and those who might find the steps difficult, and those with doggie “best friends”! The walls of the Bothy are stripped back and there is a section of the floor plan which has a raised dias for the regular musical events. Upstairs, the roomy Winky bar has commanding views out over the Cairngorm mountain range. Both bars have six hand pumps which offer four Cairngorm beers, usually Trade Winds, Stag and Wildcat and one seasonal, plus two from Caledonian list such as Flying Scotsman, Deuchars IPA and Fyne Ales Jarl and an array of font beers, including Cairngorm’s award winning “Black Gold”. Food is available in both with “hearty pub grub” being featured downstairs and international and Scottish themed dishes upstairs. Well behaved dogs are allowed in the Bothy Bar, but only guide dogs upstairs in the Winky restaurant area. Well worth a visit is the Cairngorm “brewery tap”, just North about ½ mile away, and has two rotating Cairngorm beers on hand pump, normally a “regular” beer, and the current seasonal, with some available on font. Please see the “Cairngorm Brewery” WhatPub entry for more details. There you can take a tour and tutored tasting and stock up on some bottles, or fill up a four pint “growler” to take away. Please note, some of the images on this page have been supplied by Samantha Faircliff of Cairngorm Brewery who has given permission for them to be used by CAMRA but still may be subject to copyright.
Macdui's
72 Grampian Road, Aviemore PH22 1RH
Macdui's is a family friendly bar / restaurant in the heart of Aviemore right next to the station serving two Cairngorm ales. Food is locally sourced with all the meats coming from the local butcher and seafood primarily from Kyle of Lochalsh. A daily changing menu has a very reasonable two course lunch as well as a daily roast. There is entertainment on every weekend with music on Fri and Sat.
Mambo
12 Grampian Road, Aviemore PH22 1RH
Mambo's does not sell real ale (yet) but is included so as to include all the licensed premises in the Highlands & Western Isles Branch Area. Currently dispensing a kegged version of Happy Chappy which comes from Cromarty Brewery. Maybe one day the "real ale" version of this will be on hand pump, but until then - you will not be disappointed!
Macdonalds Highland Hotel (Laggan Whisky Bar)
Grampian Road, Aviemore PH22 1PN
Located within (but accessible to non-residents) the Macdonalds Highland Hotel, The Laggan Whisky Bar did have a single Cairngorm Tradewinds handpump, but it was removed. The bar is accessible directly from outside or from within the hotel. The bar has two open plan rooms with a mixture of comfortable seating for its patrons to suit all needs.
Aviemore Inn
Dalfaber Road, Aviemore PH22 1PX
Expect a warm welcome from John who can normally be found behind the bar of the Aviemore Inn, which happens be above the deep end of the old swimming pool! Located at the South end of Aviemore, next to the gently flowing River Spey, the pub can be found in the middle of the complex and is open to all every day, apart from Monday, which is "change-over" day. You may find it difficult to leave the comfy sofa seating and the log burning stove is a real draw, particularly on those "cooler" days and, for those more hardy, there are trestle and "whisky barrel" seats outside. Although the opening times are shown until 11pm, on quieter nights the bar may close earlier. With Aviemore being in the middle of the Cairngorm National Park, it is well placed with many local attractions including the Strathspey Steam Railway. John's wife Mary often helps in the Aviemore Inn, but she will normally be the one meeing you if you are checking into The Holiday Park self catering accommodation which includes chalets, cabins and caravans all of which are well insulated and heated and are available all year round. (BTW, the rental includes electricity and gas) Many thanks to Mary Garrity who helped compiling this entry, and kindly provided the images.