Estate History
Ballogie Estate has belonged to the Nicol family since 1850. The estate is managed by Malcolm and co-owned by three of his daughters; Abby, Jenny and Alice. The family and the estate staff are dedicated to the maintenance, conservation, redevelopment, and safekeeping of the estate for future generations. They are members of the Investors in People scheme, for employee training and development and have been proud to be part of this since 2000, achieving silver accreditation in Spring 2017. They have recently been nominated as a finalist for the Investors in People Awards 2017 for their 'Excellence in Social Responsibllity'.
The estate is the birthplace of the 19th century’s greatest athlete Donald Dinnie, who was born at Balnacraig. His sporting career began at the age of 16 and spanned over 50 years competing successfully in 11,000 competitions. Donald, like his father Robert, was a stonemason. On a market day at Potarch Green sometime in the 1860’s, he entertained the crowds with an amazing show of strength by carrying two boulders, with a combined weight of 332.49 KG, a distance of 4.6 metres across Potarch Bridge. From August this year, following the Aboyne Highland Games, we are proud to have the ‘Dinnie Stones’ on display at a special site in the garden of the Potarch Café and Restaurant beside Potarch Lodge, the gateway to Ballogie Estate.