2-8 BRIDGE STREET, BANCHORY

Country Ways Banchory. Welcome to Banchory, the door way to Royal Deeside! Now stocking the range of Pro-Equine essentials and anything they don’t have in stock can be delivered quickly as they are only 1 mile from Pro-Equine HQ!

Country Ways Banchory is located at the corner of Bridge Street and Dee Street, right in the heart of Banchory, take time out to enjoy discovering 2 floors of country, lifestyle and equestrian clothing, footwear, gifts and dog apparel. Opened in 2021, this really has become a destination store, well appointed beside the town cark park and a short walk from many local attractions such as Banchory Lodge Hotel, the River Dee, the Falls of Feugh and so much more. The high street is a 2 minute walk away and has a fanstastic selection of cafes, food and retail stores to enjoy.

Country Ways Banchory specialise in country, lifestyle and equestrian wear. We offer you a carefully curated range of UK and International brands such as Fairfax & Favor, Barbour, Pikeur, Samshield, Le Chameau, Aigle and many more – each offering you the very best in style and performance. Stockists of Pro-Equine horse health care including the popular fast action Colikare supplement for digestion issues.

SPONSORED RIDER
EILIDH COSTELLOE EVENTING

Both Pro-Equine and Country Ways sponsor event rider Eilidh Costelloe who feeds her competition horses with the Pro-Equine supplements range. Eilidh joined the sponsorship team at Country Ways in 2017. To date, Eilidh has a distinguished list of achievements having been on Scottish and British junior teams, competed for Britain on the student rider team, winning individual gold at 2 nations cups in France and Holland, and winning the team gold at the university world finals in Ireland. She has compete 4 horses up to intermediate/2* level, doing her first 2* at the age of 17 and coming 9th at Blair 2* in 2016, making her the highest placed Scottish rider. She has now completed three 3* events with Buddy including the Event Rider Masters at Blair Horse Trials in 2017. Eilidh also breeds and produces young event horses and is qualified to UKCC level 2, teaching pony club, riding club and privately, She aims to encourage and give confidence to people and prove there are “no barriers in achieving great things!” Her top horse, Buddy, is a 10 yr old Irish sports horse by OBOS Quality standing at 17.1hh!! He’s only evented for 3 seasons and has jumped up the levels quickly with the fact that he loves the cross country phase and is so genuine. Team Country Ways are looking forward to following the progress of this dynamic duo and her team of young horses.

HISTORY

It’s a little-known fact that Country Ways actually started as a pharmacy! The precursor to the business was originally part of Charles Michie’s Pharmacy on Powis Terrace, Kitty Brewster. It not only benefited from being close to three doctors’ surgeries but had its busiest day on a Friday, when the nearby Aberdeen cattle market was open.  The canny farmers would make the most of their day in the big city buying and selling their beasts but also stocking up on essentials.  An opportunity to purchase the shop next door presented itself to John and Charles Michie, joint owners and brothers of the business, who jumped at the chance. Charles Michie Farm Sales was opened soon after to service the needs of the farmers and their animals.

At the same time, the Northeast of Scotland was starting to see the economic benefits of the oil and gas industry, which brought with it the interest and means for people to take up horse riding and horse ownership. There was a meteoric change with the explosion of people enjoying everything the equestrian world had to offer, in turn their customers requesting “horsey stuff”. There was nowhere in Aberdeen or the shire that people could go to purchase not just the items the horses needed but also the riders.  So The Aberdeen Tack Room was born.

TODAY

The well-known Aberdeen store with its feature gable wall, which was originally decorated with a horse and rider, but now features an iconic large-scale mural – part of the highly successful Aberdeen Inspired NuArt street art project – is an Aladdin’s cave of wonders for all country and equestrian enthusiasts. The reassuringly familiar smell of the wax jackets and leatherwork welcomes its customers who, like the owners, are now onto the third generation. Forty-three years since Country Ways opened its doors in Aberdeen, the Michie family have expanded with the opening of Country Ways 2 in the Royal Deeside town of Banchory.  John and Charles are still very much involved, but the running of the stores is in the hands of Charles’s daughter, Rosemary, and her team.

The gloriously spacious store is situated in the ideal position opposite the main car park, and it’s 7 large windows giving customers an enticing glimpse of what lies instore.  Stepping inside you are greeted by a team of cheerful, knowledgeable staff, who all obviously love their jobs, and with their customer service being second to none the discerning shopper is in for a real treat.  Big brand names have moved with them too, including Fairfax & Favor, Barbour, Dubarry and many more – offering shoppers a great selection of fashionable country and equestrian clothing, footwear and accessories. They even have introduced luxury foods and sweets, gifts and there’s a dedicated room full of dog apparel, treats and training equipment – heaven for your four-legged friends.

We are proud that we have managed to navigate and adapt to the challenges of modern retailing and, even though established 100 years ago and now on our 4th generation, hope to go from strength to strength!  We’ve survived a war, twenty-one prime ministers and the latest obvious challenge of a global pandemic. Throughout the ten decades offering their customers a superb in-person retail experience, mirroring this with our online presence and now opening flagship store Country Ways 2.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Country Ways Banchory!