Bruar dead brilliant: A truly unbeatable beauty spot

Words like elegance and luxury sometimes seem as if they belong to others. People who have gleaming teeth, dogs called Fenston or Euripides, and wristwatches for a variety of occasions, for instance. But those terms were briefly and blissfully mine too during a visit to Blair Atholl, in Highland Perthshire. Mainly it was down to the Old Manse of Blair. This boutique hotel, which opened last year, is an exquisite country house in the Cairngorms National Park which has been transformed by its new owners. A sprawling, 10-acre estate is flanked by a pair of notable sites – the House of Bruar on one side, and Blair Castle on the other. This is no crowded tourist hotspot, however. As we swept around the approaching driveway, the charm of this grand old mansion – it’s nearly 200 years young, you know – is apparent. A round of applause for Hebridean owners Anne and Archie MacDonald, who moved here, via Bearsden, and made a sterling job creating this hotel. It is attractive without being cold, and traditional without being dated. The Old Manse of Blair is pleasantly welcoming with nary a hint of the plastic quaintness some hotels feel they have to costume themselves in to impress visitors from abroad. What was most impressive,

though, is the attention to detail from the owners – from the stunning façade down to, and I’m not kidding, the citrus, handmade soap in the en suite bathroom. I still think about that soap. The moment we hoisted our feet on to a footstool in our room, with nothing but its discreet crackle of our own log fire for company, was sublime. This came later, though, following a trip to the House of Bruar, a not-exactly arduous oneminute schlep from our hotel. For a place nicknamed the Harrods of the North we weren’t expecting anything cheap and boy, were we not disappointed. The House of Bruar is a great place to stop if you fancy lobster and chips over a cod supper, and browsing through some of the shops is pleasant enough timesink. If you’ve had enough marvelling at the handsome countryside, you can also marvel at some of the price tags in the clothes shops. Almost £2,500 for a raincoat? I’m almost certain I could bribe the moisture to stay off my body for that amount. Still, the café made a mean tuna sandwich, and the staff were lovely. Give that team a tip. The tourist trap is the ideal launch point for a visit to the Falls of Bruar, the area’s most famous beauty spot. Thanks to thousands of years’ work, the water meanders down the gorges and crevices,

via nooks and outcrops, under a natural arch, to a handsome pool at the foot of the descent. As beauty spots go, it’s one of the finest in Highland Perthshire, and perhaps the entire country. Later on, we chat with Jonny Greer, the executive chef at the Old Manse of Blair under a portrait of Robert Burns. He is in charge of The Orangery and broke the news to us about the chef’s table experience he’d be treating us to. Instead of dining at one of the tables in the bright conservatory style restaurant, we’d be eating in the kitchen, chatting with Jonny as he made us our multi-course tasting dinner in front of us. If you are like me, and find it a dreadful imposition to ask the host for the pepper grinder at a dinner party, you might have found this slightly anxiety-provoking. The idea of imposing on someone kind enough to feed me is horrifying. Charismatic Jonny, who hails from Northern Ireland, made the experience a pleasure, though. The former Gleneagles chef served up a masterpiece of a meal, crafted before us with delicious local ingredients and a generous amount of personality and anecdotes on the side. I could tell you what it all was but the menu might change if you decide to visit – besides, it would ruin the surprise. A notable highlight though was watching Jonny pipe ice cream into a handmade candy-shell apple, which we proceeded to stuff into our greedy faces. Perhaps I’ve had better meals, but I really can’t remember when – and certainly not with such flair and delightful company. The Old Manse, as hinted in the name, is located in an old Church of Scotland building. Who knows what they would have made of such decadence?

After Robert Burns’s death in 1796, the Earl of Murray heeded the late poet’s request for more trees at the Falls of Bruar – and began an ambitious scheme of planting that would eventually include 120,000 Larch and Scots Pine.

Stunning Falls of Bruar, main pic; above, from left, Old Manse of Blair, home to The Orangery, serving Shetland salmon; looking across Loch Tummel