Wild in the country

Gary McLean looks at the best hunting and country sports hotels

Man at one with elements, man in the hills, right in the very heather, breathlessly quiet; or waist deep in the swift river, aware of every eddy and each pebble underfoot. Man the hunter.

The hairs on many a neck will rise at the thought of it all, the primordial stuff still in the genes.

Country sports aficionados have a passionate and sometimes moody relationship with the curves of Scotland's hills and rivers, the rough wooing of early starts and unpredictable weather, fishless days and red grouse cycles... and sometimes just with the cost of it all.

But when it goes right – it is, they say, simply fantastic, winning memories of anticipation, unforgettable sunrises, peace and patience, successful catches after challenging effort, camaraderie and tale-filled cheering nights fuelled by the best whisky in the world – often in the most apt of places.

It's important you head off in the right direction because, with a smidgin of planning, your chances are indeed sporting.

So, let's get hunting.

Tomdoun Lodge.
Shabby chic is the style of this true sporting lodge hotel, a place where a guest might be winding flies at his own vice in the bar while others dine on superb seafood and sip deep wines as folks get to know each other.

Where glass cases display impressive specimens of salmo salar and the intriguing ferox trutta which dine on arctic char living in shoals in the depths of the local loch, while a newspaper clip pinned to the pitch pine panelling tells of a record fi...

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• By : Gary McLean
• In : Hotels
• Issue : 22
• Page : 64
• Words : 1,283