Scotland in the autumn is a pretty special place. The tourists have gone home, the weather’s still quite good, and you can sometimes feel you have the whole country to yourself. Jack McKeown spent a few days touring some of the highlights.
Life’s two certainties, death and taxes, became intertwined in the Scots whisky industry of the 18th century.
Following the Act of Union in 1707, taxes on whisky were ramped up so dramatically that by 1777, only eight licensed distillers remained, with an estimated 400 illegal stills producing the bulk of the nation’s favourite tipple.
So canny did the battle between the illegal distillers and the taxman become that ministers built in hiding spaces for whisky under their pulpits and the illicit spirit was, on occasion, smuggled in coffins.
Little nuggets like these are what make a trip to Auchentoshan distillery (www.auchentoshan.co.uk) worthwhile. Somehow, a knowledge of the drink’s past makes the drink’s taste all the better.
Sitting at their bar sipping a glass of delicious, fruity-spicy Three Wood the Christmas cake of whiskies it’s fun to consider that it was the taxman’s greed that moulded the Scottish whisky industry into the form we are familiar with.
Most whisky producers fled to the safety of the Highlands and Islands, where the 18th century’s poor roads (Scotland’s transport infrastructure was if anything even worse then than it is today) and an extensive warning network provided by locals who enjoyed free whisky, made illegal distillation a safer prospect.
It’s no coincidence that the majority of Scotland’s older distilleries date back no further than 1823, the year a sensible, less punitive tax regime was introduced, allowing them to come back on the radar.WhiskyThis is also the reason Auchentoshan is one of only three remaining Lowland whisky distilleries.
Nestled in a declivity beside the River Clyde, Auchentoshan would have at least been less obvious to roving tax collectors.
Indeed, thanks to the lack of signposting in Clydebank, on the outskirts of which it lies, it remains a challenge to find today.
We’re shown round by Kim Macaskill, who, when not a whisky guide, does stand-up. After assuring us that off-duty comedians are a surly and unfunny bunch, she delivers an interesting and amusing tour on the distillery’s past, and gives us tasting notes on its product.
Girded by a tot, we do some sightseeing at Loch Lomond before heading onto our lodgings for the evening. Knockderry House (www.knockderryhouse.co.uk) is tucked away in a secluded site by the shore of Loch Long.
It’s owned and run by husband and wife team Beth and Murdo MacLeod, who bought the building as a crumbling shell 10 years ago and have turned it into a charming country house hotel.Famous guestsSlightly off the beaten tourist trail along what must be one of the best driving roads in the country, it has an award-winning restaurant.
Murdo explains they get regular famous guests, but the seclusion coupled with his and Beth’s refusal to name names is what keeps them coming back.
At 8am I’m dragged out of bed and on a four-mile run along the lochside in the rain by my irritatingly energetic companion Kim.
It does build up an appetite for a delicious cooked breakfast, though, and the rest of Sunday morning is spent sitting by the bay window in the hotel’s drawing room with a cafetiere of good coffee and the day’s papers.
The coal fire has just been lit, the rain clouds outside are being driven across the loch by the wind, we’re tired from the exercise and full from the food: it’s a cosy and contented time.
We must stir from our reverie, however, because we’re going ape this afternoon.
Since the first centre opened in 2001 ago the treetop high wire adventure courses have become something of a phenomenon, with 22 springing up across the UK.
The Go Ape centre (www.goape.co.uk) at Beecraigs Country Park outside Linlithgow is Scotland’s second, the first having opened three years ago in Queen Elizabeth Forest near Aberfoyle.
From where we stand on the forest floor we can gaze up and see people swinging, crawling and leaping from tree-to-tree far above our heads. A girl shrieks as she Tarzan swings into a net, while another go-aper’s knees wobble as he nervously picks his way across suspended metal rings.
At the end of each obstacle a sign bearing the silhouette of a falling man warns people of the golden rule: stay clipped on at all times.
A cheerful man called Nigel runs us through our safety drills before advising us not to look down if we get scared.
“Focus instead on a point straight ahead of you, such as that picture of a man falling to his death,” he counsels.
A theme seems to be emerging of our guides being comedians.Zip slideThe safety briefing takes around half an hour, and then we’re let loose on the adventure course, with Go Ape guides keeping an eye on proceedings from down below.
Although not something I’d want to do every weekend, it’s terrific fun, at once exhilarating and terrifying. The 266-metre final zip wire descent into a large net is a highlight of mine.
After our day of adventure, it feels nice to settle into Arden House (www.ardencountryhouse.com), a luxury bed and breakfast on the grounds of a country estate two miles from Linlithgow.
While the five star trappings (marble bathroom, solid oak trim, handmade king-size beds) are welcome, it’s the cooking that really shines. The afternoon cakes that greet us, along with the bread, pancakes, scones and preserves offered at breakfast, are all homemade.
After much feasting and merriment, the two-mile walk around the loch beside historic Linlithgow Palace feels both pleasant and necessary. Then it’s an hour down the road to Peebles, where we’re staying in 200-year-old Tontine Hotel (www.tontinehotel.com), which sits on the town’s High Street and overlooks the River Tweed.
From there, it’s a short drive to Dawyck (www.rbge.org.uk), one of Scotland’s four Royal Botanic Gardens. Dedicated to trees, the garden was founded in the 17th century and now boasts one of the world’s finest arboreta.Tweed ValleyYou don’t need to be a hardcore forestry nut to appreciate one of Scotland’s finest woodland walks, which extends up 62 acres of the Tweed Valley.
The trees are just beginning to take on their autumn colours. It’s a lovely place to take a stroll and there are plenty of benches tucked away in little nooks and crannies.
On a bright Monday afternoon, many of these are occupied by people of a certain vintage engaged in a quiet reflection. We do, however, notice a kind of elderly tree line, which sees them thin out then disappear as we gain elevation.
The next morning I am once again unceremoniously hauled from my slumber for another trot, this time thankfully in the sunshine, along the banks of the Tweed.
From Peebles it’s an easy hour through pleasant scenery to Edinburgh for lunch and to take in the view from the castle, then another hour back home to Dundee.
One of the great things about Scotland is its compact nature.
Over three days we’ve seen and done quite a bit of what lowland Scotland has to offer, yet at no point have we driven longer than 90 minutes at a stretch.
I arrive back at work a lot less stressed than if I’d had to negotiate airports and travel reps.
Since the first centre opened in 2001 ago the treetop high wire adventure courses have become something of a phenomenon, with 22 springing up across the UK.
The Go Ape centre (www.goape.co.uk) at Beecraigs Country Park outside Linlithgow is Scotland’s second, the first having opened three years ago in Queen Elizabeth Forest near Aberfoyle.
From where we stand on the forest floor we can gaze up and see people swinging, crawling and leaping from tree-to-tree far above our heads. A girl shrieks as she Tarzan swings into a net, while another go-aper’s knees wobble as he nervously picks his way across suspended metal rings.
At the end of each obstacle a sign bearing the silhouette of a falling man warns people of the golden rule: stay clipped on at all times.
A cheerful man called Nigel runs us through our safety drills before advising us not to look down if we get scared.
“Focus instead on a point straight ahead of you, such as that picture of a man falling to his death,” he counsels.
A theme seems to be emerging of our guides being comedians.Zip slideThe safety briefing takes around half an hour, and then we’re let loose on the adventure course, with Go Ape guides keeping an eye on proceedings from down below.
Although not something I’d want to do every weekend, it’s terrific fun, at once exhilarating and terrifying. The 266-metre final zip wire descent into a large net is a highlight of mine.
After our day of adventure, it feels nice to settle into Arden House (www.ardencountryhouse.com), a luxury bed and breakfast on the grounds of a country estate two miles from Linlithgow.
While the five star trappings (marble bathroom, solid oak trim, handmade king-size beds) are welcome, it’s the cooking that really shines. The afternoon cakes that greet us, along with the bread, pancakes, scones and preserves offered at breakfast, are all homemade.
After much feasting and merriment, the two-mile walk around the loch beside historic Linlithgow Palace feels both pleasant and necessary. Then it’s an hour down the road to Peebles, where we’re staying in 200-year-old Tontine Hotel (www.tontinehotel.com), which sits on the town’s High Street and overlooks the River Tweed.
From there, it’s a short drive to Dawyck (www.rbge.org.uk), one of Scotland’s four Royal Botanic Gardens. Dedicated to trees, the garden was founded in the 17th century and now boasts one of the world’s finest arboreta.Tweed ValleyYou don’t need to be a hardcore forestry nut to appreciate one of Scotland’s finest woodland walks, which extends up 62 acres of the Tweed Valley.
The trees are just beginning to take on their autumn colours. It’s a lovely place to take a stroll and there are plenty of benches tucked away in little nooks and crannies.
On a bright Monday afternoon, many of these are occupied by people of a certain vintage engaged in a quiet reflection. We do, however, notice a kind of elderly tree line, which sees them thin out then disappear as we gain elevation.
The next morning I am once again unceremoniously hauled from my slumber for another trot, this time thankfully in the sunshine, along the banks of the Tweed.
From Peebles it’s an easy hour through pleasant scenery to Edinburgh for lunch and to take in the view from the castle, then another hour back home to Dundee.
One of the great things about Scotland is its compact nature.
Over three days we’ve seen and done quite a bit of what lowland Scotland has to offer, yet at no point have we driven longer than 90 minutes at a stretch.
I arrive back at work a lot less stressed than if I’d had to negotiate airports and travel reps.