WILD AT HEART
With a wealth of wildlife just waiting to be spotted, these great places to stay to watch it are as diverse and wonderful as the animals and birds that grace Scotland’s land and sea
Our subscribers are spotting wildlife from luxurious surroundings
Kirroughtree House Hotel, Newton Stewart Reviewed by Chris Sayer from Fife
Kirroughtree House is a fantastic 18th-century building set in eight acres of elevated parkland by Newton Stewart on the edge of the Galloway National Park. We arrived to the warmest of welcomes, and were shown up from the imposing reception area via a magnificent Victorian staircase to a very spacious super-king-sized room with a bay window accommodating a lounge area overlooking the gardens.
A nice touch was the little sherry decanter in the room and the beds were turned down on our return from dinner, which is served in a beautiful dining room by attentive but informal staff. There were generous helpings of well-presented, largely local fare, complemented by wines chosen from an extensive and appealing wine list, finished off with coffee and petit fours in front of a fine open fire in the lounge. An incredibly peaceful night’s sleep followed; there is no traffic noise whatsoever, which is a rare pleasure.
Wigtown Bay is the estuary habitat of a great number of birds, including breeding ospreys, thousands of pink-footed geese, plover, curlew and many more. It is one of only three breeding sites for sparling (a fish, to the uninitiated) in Scotland. There are two RSPB bird hides. We also visited the nearby Wood of Cree, which in the springtime is carpeted with bluebells. A delightful route follows the River Cree, which is fed by tributaries falling from the superbly named Range of the Awful Hand hills which rise to nearly 3,000 feet. The area is festooned with signs warning against the endangered local red squirrel and an otter lookout platform overlooks the river. Sadly we visited a couple of days after the flooding in the area, which was still in evidence albeit much receded, and any self-respecting otter would long since have packed its trunk and hat, and gone to visit its Aunt Mildred in Brighton. Further into the forest, red deer and pine marten are to be found. The area is sparsely populated and well worth a visit for wildlife spotters or to appreciate the shifting light patterns so favoured by local artists and stargazers in one of the least light-polluted areas in the land.
Prices from £80 per night B&B, based on two sharing
Knockinaam Lodge, Portpatrick
Reviewed by Helen Davidson from Inverkip and Annette Mackie from West Lothian Dumfries and Galloway has it all when it comes to wildlife. We enjoy birdwatching and the whole area is a birder’s paradise. On our short trip we stopped off along the shoreline and spotted oystercatchers, curlew, shellduck and redshank. If birds of prey are of interest, then head out to Bellymack Farm. The farm supports a feeding station and it’s quite a sight to see dozens of birds waiting overhead for the food.
Knockinaam Lodge is a stone’s throw from Portpatrick and is situated right on the shore with its own beach. We were warmly welcomed and shown to our room. There are 10 bedrooms in the hotel; we stayed in South with a lovely view over the sea. Each room is well appointed with large comfortable beds, seating area and lovely bathrooms. The house itself has an interesting history – John Buchan describes the drive down to the hotel in The 39 Steps, and Winston Churchill and President Eisenhower met here to plan the D-Day landings.
Dinner is something to behold at Knockinaam. The hotel operates a tasting menu, and is happy to take a list of likes and dislikes and work around those. We each had a different four-course meal followed by coffee in the lounge. Only two words can describe dinner – absolutely delicious.
After a comfortable night’s sleep, we had morning tea delivered before going to enjoy a fabulous breakfast. Before we left we looked around Shingle Lodge, a two-bedroom self-catering cottage in the grounds. The lodge has a modern interior with uninterrupted views across to Northern Ireland. This would be an ideal place to be based for a wildlife break with the benefit of the hotel next door for dinner.
Prices from £145pp DBB