Luxury loch lodge,
IT was the kind of inky black night you simply don’t get to experience if you happen to live in a large city. The only illumination came from a brilliantly bright moon and the millions of stars vividly clear in the heavens.
And the silence – for someone used to the constant thrum of traffic and people, it was almost deafening.
The peace was broken only by the soft bubble of a hot tub, steam rising into the night air.
Throw in the odd shriek of delight from my daughter as she splashed in the balmy water and it cut a rather incongruous scene.
Not that I got to enjoy it. Apparently, someone had to look after the baby – that someone being me.
Staying indoors with the boy while my wife and daughter enjoyed the tub was no hardship, though.
After all, we were staying in a spectacular lodge in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland. Loch Tay lay before us, while behind stood mighty Ben Lawers.
Our home from home was named Wishing Well and it should be on your wish list too.
Hidden away on the 40-acre Craggantoul estate, the drive to the house passes through orchards en route to an oak forest, which leads to the loch.
Guests get fishing rights and while I’d have loved to have cast a line, the rod and reel had been left at home. They were as likely to damage local trout stocks there as they were in my hands.
The cottage sleeps four in tremendous comfort. Patio doors open onto a pond and a bridge over it leads through a meadow to the water’s edge.
The cottage has a large, openplan living and dining area with two double en suite bedrooms.
The master bathroom has a free-standing tub and patio doors allow the bold bather to soak while admiring the views.
It would be quite easy to spend all your time indoors but you owe it to yourself to get out and explore this part of Scotland.
The nearby village of Killin is beautiful and the Falls of Dochart in full flow have to be seen to be believed.
At the other end of Loch Tay, around half-an-hour’s drive away, is Kenmore, with its connection to Robert Burns.
Visit the Kenmore Hotel where, inked into the plaster above the fireplace in the Poet’s Bar, is a poem in Burns’ own hand. Fifteen minutes’ drive from Kenmore is Aberfeldy, well worth a visit for the famous Birks, a woodland walk once again made famous by the Bard. The 1930s cinema, saved by the community, is perfect if the weather reverts to type.
And while motoring along the A827, stop off at the 3,000-yearold Fortingall Yew, thought to be the oldest tree in Britain.
All of which is quite enough to work up a thirst and an appetite. Take your pick from the countless hotels, pubs and restaurants in the area, but we settled into the Bridge of Lochay Hotel, where the family enjoyed a long and lazy lunch. Top quality food in a relaxing, homely atmosphere.
The weather was dreich but watching the River Lochay thunder under the bridge is a lovely way to enjoy a postprandial drink. Then it was back to our cottage and – for some – another dip in the hot tub.
Next time you pass a wishing well, throw in a few coins and you might be lucky enough to stay here too.