Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

BA Country Stores to close after 20 years

Part-owner Allan Brownie. 

Picture by KENNY ELRICK
Part-owner Allan Brownie. Picture by KENNY ELRICK

A rural Aberdeenshire business is shutting down after 20 years – but the owner has hopes of reopening “at some point”.

BA Country Stores, located close to Lyne of Skene just off the B977 Dunecht to Kintore road, opened its doors in 2000.

The owners have now announced that the shop will be closing by the end of the month.

Although it sells all manner of workwear, farming goods and more throughout the year, it quickly became famous throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire for its Santa’s Grotto every December.

The annual event has featured train rides, festive displays, and of course the opportunity for children to meet Santa Claus himself.

Part-owner Allan Brownie, 61, said that although it’s a “shame” the business is winding up in its current form, the management are looking towards some sort of “revamp” and aim to reopen the site in another form in the future.

And although the shop is closing, Mr Brownie said the Christmas celebration will still take place in December as it has always done.

Mr Brownie said: “There’s been a lot of changes with the family, so we’re going to look at things differently and go forward from there.

“We’re closing it down for a revamp, and hopefully something else will reappear.

“We want to thank everyone for supporting us all through the years, it’s strange to think that it was the year 2000 that we first opened.”

He added: “We‘re proud to say that we’ll be having a really special celebration for Christmas this year, seeing as it will be our 20th time doing it.

“It’s good that we’re not closing everything down completely, but it’s a sign of the times I think.

“We’re hoping to reopen in some form at some point but we can’t say too much at the moment.”

Ron McKail, councillor for the Westhill and District ward, said the news will come as a “big disappointment” to residents.

He said: “This is a business which has been used by both people from rural areas as well as people from communities like Westhill for years, and as a Westhill resident myself I’ve been there many, many times.

“It’s sad news, but it is good that the Christmas celebrations will continue, as it has been a highlight for parents and children for many years.”