MY HEART’S IN THE HIGHLANDS Justine Picardie enjoys an artful reunion in a reimagined Braemar mansion
Justine Picardie returns to Aberdeenshire, to rediscover the landscapes and portraits that she loves so well
‘Ahome from home’ is an overused phrase in the travel industry, but when it comes to the Fife Arms, for me it proved to be entirely true. Two years ago, my husband Philip sold his home in the Highlands – a glorious Aberdeenshire estate named Tillypronie – and soon afterwards, a portion of his substantial Scottish art collection was auctioned at Christie’s. Unbeknown to us at the time, among the successful bidders were the famed international art dealers Iwan and Manuela Wirth (the co-owners of Hauser & Wirth), who happened to be refurbishing the Fife Arms, a landmark Victorian hotel in Braemar, close to their own Scottish retreat of Invercauld.
It was not until I visited the hotel with my husband this summer that I realised the extent to which Tillypronie’s treasures had found such a loving new home in the Fife Arms. Philip had inherited from his father an unrivalled collection of wildlife and sporting art, which over the next 30 years he proceeded to expand and diversify. It was a joy to see so many old friends from Tillypronie – including Queen Victoria’s drawing of a stag’s head, which has pride of place above the visitors’ book in the entrance hall – looking unexpectedly at ease alongside masterpieces by Picasso and Lucian Freud, a bronze spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois and a dazzling ceiling in the drawing-room painted by the Chinese artist Zhang Enli. But such is the charm of this remarkable hotel, combining tartan, tweeds and taxidermy, with a dash of surrealism and playful wit, that its astonishing eclecticism is immediately and utterly beguiling.
All of which is entirely appropriate to the history of the place. For none other than the Surrealists’ favourite designer, Elsa Schiaparelli – honoured with a cocktail bar named after her at the Fife Arms – used to visit Braemar as the guest of a former editor of Harper’s Bazaar. Frances Farquharson, who joined the magazine in the 1930s, left her job when she married the laird who owned Invercauld and Braemar castles. Soon after their marriage in 1949, Frances introduced shocking pink to the interiors – the better to make her friend Elsa feel welcome when she came to stay. It was also thanks to these invitations to the area that Schiaparelli began to incorporate Scottish textiles into her Paris collections. Meanwhile, the formidable Mrs Farquharson commissioned local tartans for her own flamboyant outfits; hence my confidence that she would have heartily approved of the brio that has been brought to the Fife Arms.
The imaginative metamorphosis of the hotel was overseen by the interior designer Russell Sage, who ensured that each of the 46 bedrooms is completely unique. There are rooms dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson (who wrote much of Treasure Island in Braemar), John Brown (Queen Victoria’s beloved ghillie) and Sir Walter Scott, among other Scottish notables. We luxuriated in the splendid Duke of Fife suite, with an antique four-poster bed, a huge free-standing copper bath and a view over one of the most magnificent landscapes in Scotland.
For the hotel is surrounded by majestic hills and moorland, and close to an enchantingly beautiful stretch of the River Dee. During our stay, I walked for hours every day: climbing peaks and crags to admire the Cairngorms that stretch as far as the eye can see; exploring the ancient woodland of the Morrone Birkwood; and following the paths favoured by Queen Victoria, who loved this area, as do the Royal Family today. Balmoral is just a few miles away, and Prince Charles officially opened the Fife Arms in January this year, accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.
The hotel is already drawing admiring visitors from all around the world, but it remains at the heart of the local community; its bar, the Flying Stag, hosts lively musical evenings with traditional fiddlers, and its hearty menu and selection of over 180 whiskies are as popular with Braemar villagers as hikers and tourists. There is also the smarter, but still warmly convivial Clunie Dining Room, which takes its name from the fast-flowing river that runs past the hotel. This uses the freshest locally sourced ingredients to deliver irresistible dishes at lunch and dinner, and serves as good a Scottish cooked breakfast as we used to enjoy at Tillypronie. Needless to say, the art here is as exceptional as elsewhere in the hotel: the walls have been painted in one continuous geometrical mural by the abstract Argentinian artist Guillermo Kuitca; and if that were not enough, a vast Brueghel hangs on one side of the room, with a Gerhard Richter eagle on the other.
While the creative genius of Iwan and Manuela Wirth is to be seen in every aspect of the hotel, its homely and welcoming atmosphere is also due to the charming and vastly experienced general manager Federica Bertolini, who had been at the Olga Polizzi-owned Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall for 11 years, before moving to Scotland. The result is an inimitable combination of superb attention to detail and an authentic sense of history; truly, the art of hospitality at its finest.
Justine Picardie will be in conversation with the fashion designer Christopher Kane and the V&A curator Oriole Cullen at the Fife Arms on 9 November, to discuss the links between Paris couture and Scottish culture. For more details on the Fife Arms’ fashion weekend, and to book tickets, visit www.thefifearms.com/fashion-weekend.