Monarch of the Glen is a class act for today’s Alba
Crieff Hydro has been shortlisted in the prestigious National Geographic Traveller Reader Awards.
The 900-acre Perthshire resort is a finalist in the Green Light (Eco Travel) category.
The 200-bedroom destination has a ‘Green Team’ made up of representatives from across all departments, who become ambassadors for identifying and implementing changes that contribute towards Crieff Hydro becoming a greener business.
LED lighting, improved food waste management, upcycling bedding and kitchen equipment, and guest donations towards Perthshire’s Big Tree Country initiative are among the eco-friendly schemes which the resort has put in place.
The Hydro is up against Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge in Kenya and The Ocean Cleanup initiative and the winners will be announced at a ceremony on November 27 in London.
Stephen Leckie, CEO of Crieff Hydro, said: “Crieff Hydro is building a stellar reputation as an eco-friendly destination and we’re delighted that the public has put us forward for this National Geographic Traveller award.” When anorak-wearing members of the Islingtonbased Hiking Union burn ‘no trespassing’ signs on a mossy Highland grouse moor, they begin a class war of comic proportions ...
Pig-headed laird Ben Nevis chokes on his glass of single malt and resolves to banish the plebs to his castle dungeon.
But he hasn’t taken into account that they are not easily cowed - or quite how dim-witted his son and boyish henchman Kilwhillie are.
Peter Arnott’s world premiere of The Monarch of the Glen played out on stage at Pitlochry Theatre was a hoot from beginning to end.
What with a kilted yoga practitioner posing in the heather and a bellowing yank - with more than a little resemblance to the current US president - Compton Mackenzie’s tale of plans to make Scotland’s boggiest corner earn its keep was brought bang up to date - while still being set in 1938.
A craggy set by Ken Harrison presented all the elements required to imagine a damp shooting season location: Turrets and trophy heads, picnics in the drizzle and clouds of midges and an avalanche of dead birds landing with thump on stage.
The simple genius of having narrator Mark Elstob pour a watering can over the backs of crawling stalkers and muddy their faces made the point well that ‘sport’ is a game only for the mad and truly dedicated stag hunter. Especially when it seems the quarry was never there to be shot at in the first place.
Benny Young made a great job of being stone-age style Tory landowner Ben Nevis and everyone felt sympathy and admiration for his long-suffering wife Trixie (Deirdre Davis).
Filling his cowboy hat well and wearing his newly adopted Highland gear with New Jersey pizzazz, was Outlander star Grant O’Rouke, as the rich investor Chester Royde.
Richard Baron directed a great fun romp making the most of political sensibilities that are live today in land reform discussion and independence horizon-gazing.
Like Oscar Wilde being most appreciated by the very people he was sending up, Monarch of the Glen has the charm to beguile the real target species and get away without any offence being registered.
Only a few shows remain before the Pitlochry run ends on November 12. Crieff Hydro CEO Stephen Leckie
Performers in Monarch of the Glen adapted for Pitlochry Theatre by Peter Arnott