Visitors to Scotland generally have a ‘must see’ list which includes Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and the Isle of Skye. The latter, although slightly less accessible, draws a significant number of couples blending a golfing holiday with a once in a lifetime trip. For many it will be a trip ‘home’ tracing their roots. It’s important to remember that Skye was as much affected by famine and the clearances as the Highlands. The clans of MacLeod and MacDonald were the main players, but Clan Mackinnon also had settlements there. Few children grew up without hearing the romantic story of Flora MacDonald helping Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape by rowing boat and this brave young lady is buried in Skye.
The scenery, the striking Cuillin Hills and the food gathered from the fertile agricultural areas and intricate coastline make Skye an island well worth visiting as suggested in Dan Saltzstein’s excellent article in the New York Times recently. Click here to read on.
By Yvonne Shaw. Yvonne has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is a member of our admin team.
No trip to the Highlands is complete without visiting Dornoch; a small historic town with spectacular architecture and steeped in history. Most famous recently for Madonna’s wedding and her son’s Christening in late 2000. It’s easy to see why this was her chosen venue; with Dornoch Cathedral a stunning center piece to the town.
I have visited Dornoch several times and never tire of browsing around the small antique shops not to mention the great walks that the town hosts in the Sutherland Hills. Part of the town’s magical history involves witchcraft as Dornoch is home to the last execution in Scotland for witchcraft.
The town is ideal for both golfers and non golfers, with Brora Golf Cluband Royal Dornoch located close by…it’s the ideal place to spend time during your golf trip.
By Denise McKee. Denise has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is member of our admin team.
Scotland, as well as being the Home of Golf, is also the home of the single malt whisky, and no trip here is complete without sampling a selection of these or visiting a distillery. Combining a golf trip with a visit to a distillery can be tricky though, as most distilleries are located in the Highlands; hidden away in glens where the taxmen could not find them in the past. The links courses are located by definition in coastal areas. Trips to golf in the Highlands and play courses like Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Castle Stuart, offer the opportunity to stop by the famous Glenmorangie Distillery…but visiting distilleries from St. Andrews is less convenient. Instead, an option to consider is a whisky tasting session in your hotel. Various hotels can arrange this for you and the experience allows you to sample a range of different blends from all over Scotland. Alternatively you may have more fun experimenting yourselves!
Glenmoranie Distillery
Like wine, Malt Whisky is shaped by the environment it is made in and typically Scotland’s whisky regions would be the Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside and Islands. Malts from the lowlands are usually light and delicate in character; good examples are Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan. The Highland whiskies are more full-bodied and sweeter with a touch of smokiness. And those from Speyside are again usually sweeter with a fruity character which comes from the sherry barrels the spirit is matured inside. Great Highland malts are Dalmore, Glenmorangie, Edradour and Dalwhinnie.
Balvenie Whiskey
Speyside is the area in Scotland with the largest concentration of distilleries and is the home to Glenfiddich and Glen Livet – not to mention other excellent malts from that area such as Balvenie (the 12 year old is a personal favourite), Strathisla and of course, Macallan. The island malts vary in style but typically they are much smokier and peatier then the mainland malts, especially those from the island of Islay where the malts pack a real punch. Amongst the best would be Highland Park, Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Of course this is personal opinion but the fun is in tasting them and finding your own favourite (this may take years of careful sampling though) – enjoy!
By Alastair Niven. Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 9 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
On the 1st April 2010, the Royal Golf Hotel in Dornoch will again open its doors and welcome visitors from all parts of the world. This iconic hotel has been closed since 2006, but now with the backing of Grant Sword and other investors from Castle Stuart Golf Links, the newly refurbished hotel will be back in business.
Royal Golf Hotel
The hotel overlooks the 1st tee at Royal Dornoch and is in an ideal location for a stay in the Highlands. Other great courses within an hour’s drive are Tain, Brora, Castle Stuart, and Nairn. Dornoch is a great little town which also offers non-golfing activities for those who do not want to play; Dornoch Cathedral is where Madonna’s baby was christened, part of Dornoch Jail is now a lovely little gift shop, and the Glenmorangie Distillery is only a 15 minute drive. Dornoch was also the birthplace of Donald Ross and this is where he took a lot of inspiration for many of his designs in America. He used to work at Royal Dornoch as a green keeper before moving to the US in 1899 and you will find a plaque in his memory outside the house where he grew up in the town centre, just off of the High Street.
The scenery in the area is stunning and many visitors can enjoy long walks or drives to pass the time during the day. You can then retire to ‘the golfer’s bar’ at the hotel for a wee dram before dinner. Highly recommended!
For more information on touring the Glenmorangie Distillery, click here.
By Gary Sheppard. Gary has been with PerryGolf for over 3 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
From the moment we were collected at the hotel by our Safari Guide, Colin, we had a fantastic day. Loch Tay must surely be one of the prettiest of Scotland’s lochs and Colin had plenty of interesting conversation to keep us amused as we headed off-road and up through the forest – here I got my wish, and as promised, he found a red squirrel who was keeping very still on a fir tree not far from the track. I would never have noticed it myself as it was much smaller than I was expecting but really red and even prettier than it appears in pictures.
Leaving the Land Rover, we walked to a viewpoint only to be ‘attacked’ by a group of Highland Warriors wielding claymores. They were putting on a display for another group but thought they would practice on us!
We took it in turns to drive the 10-seater off-road vehicle, and with Colin’s guidance, negotiated some impressive hills and water obstacles. Lunch was laid on for us in a hilltop bothy and, either the food was exceptionally tasty, or we were exceptionally hungry! On the way back to the hotel, our guide pointed out a golden eagle circling high over the glen and he told us how to tell the difference between the various hawks by their wing and tail formation.
The Highland Safari offers a fantastic opportunity to view some of Northern Scotland’s hidden wildlife!
