HIGHLAND RETREATS
Having recently returned from a glorious Twelfth and some northern fishing, I find Highland Scotland has seeped into my Sassenach bones. In spite of the profusion of midges that kept our lodge doors firmly shut, the shooting lodges that stud the Highlands stir extraordinary passion in those who retreat there for the season and Mary Miers’ exquisitely illustrated and well-researched tome will sit on many of those lodge hall tables this season.
Miers’ study is one of architectural surprises and romantic interiors. Over eight chapters – including
“Balmorality” and “Gilding the Glens” – the development of the shooting lodge and history of the Highland season unfolds. Within each chapter Miers incorporates a photographic essay on specific lodges, with images from the late Paul Barker and Simon Jauncey.
These palaces of sporting paradise, often with an extraordinary level of interior comfort, have found an enthusiastic recorder in Miers. The shooting lodge is flourishing, peat baths stir fond memories and eager anticipation, and the Sassenachs return to retreat.