Glen Avon is at the foot of Ben Avon, the most easterly mountain in the famous Cairngorm range. Ben Avon itself is a very large and complex mountain, and stretches towards Inchrory and the River Gairn.  Ben Avon is distinguishable from many viewpoints by the dominating granite tors visible on the skyline of its long flat plateau. The highest point of the massif, known as Leabaidh an Dàimh Bhuide (bed of the yellow stag) is classified as both a Munro and a Marilyn.

Ridges lead in almost every direction from the broad summit of Ben Avon, allowing access from Glen Avon itself to the north, from Beinn a' Bhùird to the west and from Gleann an t-Slugain in the south. To the west of the summit lies the massive corrie, Slochd Mòr, with its rocky cliffs, and the approaches from the south and west take you close to the corrie rim.

Craigievar Castle is an iconic tower house, amongst the best preserved and the most loved in Scotland. The large estate features woodland, parkland with magnificent specimen trees, and farmland with extensive views over the surrounding countryside to Bennachie.

Craigievar Castle was the seat of Clan Sempill. The contrast of its massive lower story structure to the finely sculpted multiple turrets, gargoyles and high corbelling work create a classic fairytale appearance.

An excellent example of the original Scottish Baronial architecture, the great seven-storey castle was completed in 1626 by the Aberdonian merchant William Forbes, ancestor to the "Forbes-Sempill family" and brother of the Bishop of Aberdeen. Forbes purchased the partially completed structure from the impoverished Mortimer family in the year 1610. The Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963, when the property was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland.