Enjoy the best of Scotlands views from your own castle
Scotland for your next round of golf. Go straight to the top and rent a castle and the good news is, whilst living the life of 16th Century laird you can now do it in comfort. Gone are the lumpy beds, drafty corridors and cold bathrooms and now there are super deluxe accommodation, delicious food and 21st Century facilities. This is THE way to see Scotland which is not blessed with great hotels and has very little to offer the high end traveller. The finest private homes after 20 years of massive investment now offer the premier luxury accommodation and always in the most stunning of settings, surrounded by lochs and thousands of acres of estate land. These homes were built for entertaining and they are used to doing so in some style.
A great example is the Tower of Lethendy in Perthshire, which has 8 bedrooms and was completely restored in 1995. So you have an old castle (16th Century with Victorian additions) boasting modern facilities including a private golf course, heated pool, grass & clay tennis courts, gym, sauna & spa room, table tennis & billiards rooms and proper US style bathrooms with huge power showers and under floor heating. The Tower is fully staffed and the chef prepares wonderful dishes using delicious local produce, including wonderful fruit from the garden. The castle is wonderful located within easy reach of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews. This is a real party house, where large family groups meets to explore the area, have a lot of fun and hang out.
Another wonderful experience is Aldourie Castle which sits overlooking Loch Ness and again after a massive refurbishment is now hugely comfortable. An excellent team of staff will look after you and as with all these homes, there is a huge array of fun activities to fill your days from boat trips on high speed ribs, falconry, archery, clay pigeon shooting, salmon or trout fishing, hunting for game, whisky tastings and escorted hikes into the mountains. This is rural wilderness terrain and ideal for low key folk who enjoy putting on their walking boots and either on foot or by mountain bike getting out there for some serious exercise and then coming back to their gloriously comfortable castle for a huge afternoon tea, a wee dram and a long hot bath. For the golfing crew, Royal Dornoch, Nairn and a plethora of other wonderful courses are within easy reach.
These homes were built to last, filled with treasures and then lavished with love by their owners who have spent centuries developing the gardens, stocking the cellars and preserving their estates. You relax as soon as you walk in the door and will be napping in the library before you know it. Scotland has an old world charm which is still pretty potent and needs to be experienced.
Andrew Loyd is Founder and Chairman of The Bespoke Travel Club.
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Aldourie Castle seems like a wonderful castle to stay in, if I ever get a chance. Loch Ness has always been a mystery to me (even though the legend of the monster is long debunked) and would love to stay and explore the nearby areas.
The activities involved sounds quite fascinating especially game hunting and whisky tasting :)
Oh my God, it is my dream to live in a castle! I have never been to Scotland (or even Ireland for that matter, they say you can live in castles there too!) but I am going to bookmark this post for when I do because I really want to experience it!
I’ve heard about being able to stay in castles these days. It sounds amazing! And definitely an experience of a lifetime for sure.
They both look so cute (and somehow impressive at the same time). I just wonder what I should *do* with all that space in a castle? You can only be in so many square feet at a time… ;-)
Happy continued travels!
C
Well, who wouldn’t want to stay in a castle! I bet they are a lot more comfortable than castles back in medieval times were, too. :)
I would love to stay a night in a castle! Its cool that there are several options to choose from in Ireland
My son would absolutly love this. He’s 16 and is fascinated with history, the lochness monster and castles. Perfect!