Castles, Inns & Country Houses

One night you could be dining in a castle's Great Hall, the sound of the pipes echoing round the lofty rafters. The next evening you're rubbing shoulders with the locals, as you make your way from a place by the fire to an inn's wooden bar.

Inns also house some of Scotland's finest restaurants, so you may splash out another time with a gourmet meal and a few single malts, eventually dragging yourself up creaking stairs to enveloping sleep.

And at some stage in your holiday you should spend a night or more in a country house as personal guests of the owners; eat with your hosts (wine is all included in the price) and quiz them about life as a landowner in this corner of the world!

Castles When we talk of castles, we mean places that were built for defence, not smart houses, termed castles for added grandeur. Castle Stuart near Inverness, for instance, is a dramatic 17th century tower house overlooking a bay on the Moray Firth. It has two square towers protecting the main entrance and two projecting watchtowers covering the angles at the back. Mary Queen of Scots gave the land to her half brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, whose descendants still own it. A well as the narrow turnpike stairs, four-poster beds, and open fires, a guided tour, piper before dinner and resident ghost are all thrown in for guests. Everyone eats together in the Great Hall.

Borthwick Castle near Edinburgh is one of the most impressive castles in Scotland; the walls are 14 foot thick and the dominant twin towers rise sheer from the dungeons for 110 feet. It was built in 1430 and is hardly changed (on the outside) since then. It is also full of history - Mary Queen of Scots not only stayed here (her last night with the Earl of Bothwell) but also escaped out of one of the windows in the Great Hall disguised as a serving boy! Dinner is served in the Great Hall, and you reach your sumptuous bedroom up a winding turnpike stair - it turns a few times to reach 110 feet! (If ghosts are your thing, choose the Red Room.)

Inns It is true, though we hate to admit it, that England has more good pubs than Scotland. The English tradition was to meet at a public house for a drink and a chat. Scots traditionally entertained at home (which was also less expensive!). However in the 18th and 19th centuries the Scottish economy was largely dependent on cattle, which were moved to market by 'drovers' who had to drive their cattle from every corner of the country to the markets in the central belt. Drovers were thirsty folk and needed sustenance to keep them going on their considerable journeys.

The age of carriages also produced coaching inns, where the stagecoach stopped for the night or changed horses. Hence a network of wayside inns became established and many are still going strong today.

But inns come in different shapes and sizes. Ask anyone who eats out regularly in Scotland to name some of the top restaurants, and you can guarantee that some (or all) of the following will crop up. The Peat Inn near Cupar, the Three Chimneys on Skye, the Altnaharrie Inn near Ullapool, the Udny Arms at Newburgh. These are some of the finest restaurants in Scotland, set in the traditional surroundings of an old inn, and with rooms upstairs (or across the garden). What more could you want??

Country Houses A rambling country house can be expensive to keep up. And if it has been in the family for a few hundred years, owners are understandably loath to sell up and move. So, when all the children have left home and there are bedrooms to spare and plenty room at the dining room table, it makes sense to extend hospitality to paying guests. Hence the Country House B & B, which normally also includes dinner and wine.

Now this is not a hotel - the laird may appear late for supper, dog-tired after a day's lambing or harvesting, but don't be embarrassed. He certainly won't! He'll be more than ready to sit down and have a drink with you, and you will learn that much more about what life in Scotland is really like! Not all owners it must be said fit the caricature of a muddy-wellied squire; some owners are accountants, lawyers or whatever, but all can tell you everything there is to know about how life works in their part of Scotland. And they enjoy doing so.

Variety Nothing is excluded. So if there is a particular hotel that someone has recommended, or you want to stay in a wee B&B in the hills one night, or whoop it up in downtown Glasgow, just let us know. It can (probably) be fixed.

Highland Games and other events
Sometimes visitors are lucky. They arrive in a place and 'the games' are on next day. It is however inevitably more likely that the games were last week, will be next week, or a few weeks after that. With a bit of planning, Highland Games can be scheduled in to your trip before you even set out.

Highland Games were originally created to keep clansmen occupied in the long summer days when there was no sowing, no harvesting, no cattle to get to market and no problem keeping warm. Underemployed clansmen like underemployed youth anywhere, tended to cause trouble. This normally involved a raid on their neighbours' cattle or worse, a pitched battle in the glen. So, the chiefs encouraged trials of strength, speed and stamina, together with piping and dancing competitions - a wonderful idea that has stood the test of time, though it is unlikely that the early chiefs would have recognised, or tolerated, some of the current commercial trappings!

If you wish to include a Highland Games in to your schedule, we will arrange this. The same goes for an evening of folk music or a sheepdog trial. Just let us know.

How to Book
We offer tailor-made Itinerary Planning / Accommodation Booking / Self Drive Tours.
For details of our services - click here.
Feel free to read some of the Comments from our Clients.....