Fly-Fishing on the River Dee in Scotland

February 22, 2010January 13, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

I had always wanted to try fly-fishing, and with a spare morning I persuaded the group to join me. The concierge at our hotel, the Craigendarroch in Ballater, arranged for a ghillie to collect us first thing after an early breakfast and we piled into the Land Rover complete with a picnic lunch. David, the ghillie, explained how all the rivers are divided into ‘beats’ with fishing rights and huts. We could see Balmoral Castle on the opposite bank as we headed along and passed several of the little Victorian suspension bridges (that looked strangely out of place) before crossing the beautiful Thomas Telford built Potarch Bridge and heading off through the pine forest to Carlogie Beat. Our ‘hut’ was anything but, and boasted everything we needed for a comfortable day. David’s assistant was already there, the coffee was brewing and the rods were all set up ready to go. We were given a quick demonstration on casting the lines and how to be safe; we were then kitted out in wellies and flotation jackets and off we went to begin our day.

Apparently as a horse-rider, I should’ve been good at communicating through the line! I’m not sure if this was the reason, but with help I managed not to get caught in any of the bushes or trees on my back-swing! David’s assistant, Iain, explained how the salmon had come in from the Atlantic and journeyed back up-river to spawn in short bursts of swimming and, unfortunately for the angler, need to feed very little. Habit causes them to ‘snap’ or ‘snatch’ anything that lands on the water and this is what we were trying to emulate with our flies.

Sufficient to say, we caught no fish although several were landed by the guy on the opposite bank. I did win the competition for landing my fly into a circle on the ground back at the hut and we had plenty of laughs over lunch and a few beers.

By Yvonne Shaw. Yvonne has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is a member of our admin team.

St. Andrews Links Trust – New Website

February 21, 2010February 16, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

The St. Andrews Links Trust launched their new website at the recent PGA Show in Florida. The PGA Show is the largest golf show in the world where many of golf’s leading brands exhibit their latest equipment for the season ahead.

The new website gives users all of the information they need to book tee-times on any of the 7 courses as well as detailed information on the services on offer from the Links Trust. Anything from course guides to a live webcam on the Old Course can be viewed. It’s also useful for people who have already booked to play on any of the courses, as information on each can be viewed under ‘the courses’ tab. Click here and take a look at the website for yourself!

By Gary Sheppard. Gary has been with PerryGolf for over 3 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

Pollock House and The Burrell Collection

February 20, 2010January 12, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

For an insight into elegant family life in Glasgow, spanning over seven centuries, regular visits to Pollock House on the outskirts of the city is a must for me. The house and surrounding park cover a lot of my interests. I love the hunting scene paintings in the Billiard Room and always include a viewing in my visits. The park is full of unusual trees and shrubs and includes a huge collection of rhododendrons and azaleas. There is always something in flower, but if you visit in May or June the colours are breathtaking and I rarely have to share the woodland walk with anyone but the dog!

The Burrell Collection is housed within the park; a purpose-built building about ten minutes walk from the main house – or you can use the shuttle service. There is something for everyone in this vast art collection, but it’s the reconstruction of some of the Burrell family’s rooms, from their castle home in the Scottish Borders, that is particularly appealing to me.

A trip I would recommend to anyone staying in (or passing through) Glasgow.

By Yvonne Shaw. Yvonne has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is part of our Admin team.

Luggage Restrictions

February 17, 2010January 12, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

On a trip to Philadelphia in September to watch the Walker Cup at Merion Golf Club, I had booked the flights with British Airways on their excellent business class service. Aware the luggage allowance for all airlines has changed recently, I noted BA allowed three cases up to 23kg each for Club Class; like every airline there is a hefty charge per kilo if you are over this limit. Not being particularly well organised in advance, I had to use my existing luggage and found the larger case was nearly 6 kg in weight, so before even the first (of many) pair of shoes went in I had used up nearly a quarter of my weight allowance. Clearly action had to be taken as I cannot really be bothered with two cases.

I spent considerable time researching the various options. Clearly I could have gone the ‘kit’ bag route, but my preference is a soft trolley case – however the wheel system and structure of the case can be the main part of the weight. There are new luggage sets on the market which are very light weight, but I felt they would probably not be as long-lasting and robust for the treatment they receive in airports. Also I was surprised at the huge difference in the capacity of cases – definitely go for an expandable case! I finally opted for Antlers New Size Zero range, buying the large case, 30”, expandable, only 3.2kg and has a 100 litre capacity. The medium case is 26”, 2.8kg and has a 66 litre capacity. It is also important to note that Antler include a TSA padlock which is compatible with US Security.

Now for my next trip I have 3kg/6.6lb of extra luggage to pack…think that will be allocated to more shoes…a girl just can never pack enough shoes!

By Anne Filshie. Anne is the Group Director of Operations for PerryGolf.

The Village of Kinsale, Ireland

February 15, 2010January 7, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

No trip to the South West of Ireland would be complete without a visit to the village of Kinsale. It’s a beautiful fishing village only 20 minutes from Old Head Golf Links, arguably Ireland’s most scenic golf course with Cork and the world famous Blarney Castle only 20 minutes in the other direction. It is however more commonly knows for its fantastic restaurants, with the village often being referred to as the gourmet capital of Ireland. With seafood as the unsurprising speciality, you’re spoiled for choice everywhere you look whether you’re after a Michelin Star meal or simply a great bowl of chowder for lunch.

By Keith Baird. Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

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