WHERE TO STAY

Archerfield House

This grand Grade-I-listed mansion dating back to the 17th century underwent a spot of remodelling in the 18th century and extensive restoration in the 21st century, and is now an opulent exclusive-use property set within a 550-acre estate. It has had a chequered history, in 1940 it was requisitioned by the War Office and at one time was rented to the British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, but has been in the Douglas-Hamilton family since the 1960s. The estate's name dates back to the 13th century, when King Edward I's archers camped here as part of the invading army in 1298.

Today, the main house has 15 opulent en-suite bedrooms perfect for a large gathering, but other accommodation options peppered around the estate include 12 sumptuous Pavilion suites and a handful of

3- or four-bedroom luxury lodges. There's also a chic spa (Fletcher's Cottage) and two 18-hole golf courses, Fidra and Dirleton Links, designed by architect David J Russell.

Greywalls

Sir Edwin Lutyens designed this elegant Edwardian country house hotel in 1901 as a holiday home for Alfred Lyttelton, a passionate golfer whose one request was that it was 'within a mashie niblick shot of the eighteenth green at Muirfield.' You can practically tumble out of bed onto the golf course of this honey-hued Arts and Craftsstyle listed property. It also has a heavenly walled garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll and an acclaimed Chez Roux restaurant.

Greywalls still feels like a grand country house; with a wood-panelled library and drawing room with roaring log fires, and the walls hung with family portraits. The antique-peppered, individually designed rooms are classically chintzy and split between the main house and cottages (there are 19 doubles and four single 'caddy closet rooms') with views out over the golf course to the Firth of Forth or the gardens and Lammermuir Hills.