British Golf Museum – St Andrews

April 16, 2010March 21, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

With a few hours to spare on a rather damp afternoon, we decided to visit the British Golf Museum; just across the road from the first tee on the Old Course in St. Andrews.

Deceptively small from the outside, it took us on a fascinating journey through the history of the game, introduced us to some of its stars and celebrities and made us realise how far the equipment has progressed. There are many light-hearted inclusions, far removed from the formality, rules and rituals I associate with the home of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. With my love of crosswords, I found the Dictionary Corner irresistible…and there will be a few words from there cropping up in my Scrabble games in future!

2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the British Golf Museum and the 150th anniversary of The Open Championship and so the museum has included some dedicated special displays– so there is no better year to visit!

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

New Restaurants at Rusacks, St Andrews

April 12, 2010March 21, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

Dining in St. Andrews offers several excellent places to eat; MacDonald Rusacks Hotel (located right next to the 18th hole of the Old Course) is now certainly one of them. The hotel has opened two new restaurants on site; restaurateur Adrian Pieraccini has joined in partnership with Macdonald Hotels to create the new restaurant Rocca (which opened in February 2010) and has panoramic views over the 18^th hole. Rocca is an Italian classic style grill restaurant with an excellent a la carte menu – they pride themselves on using the best Scottish and local produce. The young energetic kitchen team is led by head chef Liam McKenna – who 3 years ago won the distinction award of The Martin Wishart Scottish chef scholarship.

The second restaurant is The One Under and is St. Andrew’s one and only gastro pub. This was also developed by Adrian Pieraccini and was introduced in December 2009. Accurate to the meaning of ‘gastro pub’, the main focus here is on the quality of the food.

This is the perfect place to relax after a long day on the golf course so I would say that during your stay in St Andrews a visit to either of these restaurants is highly recommended!

By Denise McKee. Denise has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is a member of the admin team.

Dining at Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond

April 6, 2010March 15, 2010 Mhairi

If you happen to be staying in the Loch Lomond area or are playing at the Carrick Golf Course, might I suggest you stop by the Cameron House Hotel for lunch or dinner. With 4 different dining areas to decide from, you’re bound to find an experience to suit your mood or occasion.

Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond opened in 2008 and is the hotel’s fine dining restaurant which offers a classic, chic setting in which to enjoy the fine food on offer. The Boathouse is a New England style restaurant placed in a picturesque position by the water’s edge while The Cameron Grill is a more informal dining experience set in a contemporary atmosphere and showcases an open feature kitchen and walk-in wine cellar. Finally, The Claret Jug; this is the golf club house, but do not be put off by this, it is a stylish and relaxed eating area which presents local, timeless fare. So now all you have to do is decide which restaurant to go for –whichever you choose, you will not be disappointed!

Boutique Hotel Option in Edinburgh

March 28, 2010March 9, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

While on a recent visit to Edinburgh, I spent some time at the new Hotel Di Vin property in the city. The hotel has been open just over a year and is very stylishly decorated. It has the feel of a small hotel and I was surprised that they have 47 rooms as you would not have thought so from looking at the outside.

The hotel is a short walk from the city centre and just up the road from the Museum of Scotland. Entry is via a courtyard that will be excellent in the summer and which also offers a cigar bothy – something I have never seen before but I imagine is very popular with cigar aficionados (especially in the winter).

You can choose from standard or superior rooms or suites. I would say the standard rooms are a little small for 2 golfers but the superiors are ideal and offer very good value for a hotel of this level and in this location. The hotel, however, does not have twin rooms; so while it is ideal for couples, guys would have to have their own rooms. The food and wine is the real strength of the property; they have an excellent bistro with a great wine list and chef’s table that offers a view into the kitchen. As well as this they have a whisky bar and a specially designed wine tasting room where their sommelier can conduct tastings for up to 8 people. For a group of 4 couples a wine tasting followed by dinner at the chefs table would make for a great night! You can find further details on the hotel by clicking here.

By Alastair Niven. Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 9 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

Battle of Culloden – New Visitor Centre near Inverness

March 26, 2010April 1, 2010 PerryGolf Staff

The newly opened Visitor Centre at Culloden is superb and full of interactive displays. We visited on a bright sunny day but it was not hard to lose yourself in the full horror of the brief, but bloody battle. It took barely an hour for the government troops to defeat Charlie’s Jacobite army, resulting in the Bonnie Prince fleeing to France. In the weeks that followed, the clans were ‘tamed’ and the kilt and tartan were banned!

Anyone with roots in Scotland will want to work through the chronologically themed corridors, discovering what led to the battle, where their clan was involved and the affect it had on Scottish history. I was particularly moved by the ‘battle room’ where you are immersed in the combat; with commands, voices, gunfire, etc all around you.

There is a very good café area and shop, and it is somewhat disconcerting to see a Jacobite or English soldier queuing for home-made soup! Back outside, with our battlefield plan, we visited Leanach Cottage, a farmhouse on the battlefield which still stands there today. It has been carefully restored to its original state – people must have been shorter then! Each area of the field is marked with stones to the clan or troop that fought there and we were able to find Clan Farquharson, with whom members of the Shaw clan fought on that day.

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

Insight, Offers & Inspiration