Glen Tanar Estate

Glen Tanar is a 25,000 acre working estate in Royal Deeside, within the Cairngorms National Park. The Bruce family manage the estate, offering accommodation and venue hire together with sporting activities such as stalking and fly fishing.

Araminta Campbell was commissioned to redesign and manufacture the estates tweed when the family decided they wished to have a tweed that was more in keeping with the landscape and character of the estate.

Restoring a vintage tweed design to it’s former glory

The Glen Tanar Estate tweed had over time moved away from it’s original colours and design, resulting in a tweed that no longer matched the landscape of the estate. When a weaving mill reproduces an existing tweed, they are usually confined to the yarn colours they work with on a regular basis. If a colour is not matched perfectly, they will use the closest colour they stock – after successive reproductions this can make a big difference.

Tweed inspired by the landscape

Araminta started with a visit to the Estate, noting the dark Scots pine forests, rocky crags, heathered hills and the mighty River Dee. Working with a few examples of what the tweed had become, she returned to the colours and textures of the landscape to breathe life back into the design.

The completed design was woven in heavyweight Shetland yarn by one of our partner mills here in Scotland. The estate tweed forms a vital part of the uniforms and sporting wear worn on the estate, and has been used in the interiors and items of merchandise such as tweed bags and homewares.