“…and I’ll get to Scotland afore ye!” Yes this was my first proper highlands trip to Scotland and I probably sang that song about 865492 times. Mercifully, it was in my head so that my friends didn’t have to deal with my weak attempt at a Scottish accent.

So for five blissful days in May I went to stay at the beautiful Scottish estate of Glenfernate just outside the little town of Pitlochry, to celebrate my best friend’s 30th birthday. The estate is somewhere she spent many of her childhood summers and these days can be let out for short breaks to those looking to…well, to take pause from life. Unlike other holidays where you step off the plane, the heat smacks you in the face and you spend the next 24 hours ‘preparing’ to enjoy the week in front of you and telling yourself how relaxed you are, with this trip, as you drive up into the mountains the concerns of your day to day life just seem to ebb away. It’s almost as though you side step out of your fast flowing life in which everything is rushing forward to be better, faster, more connected and you find yourself living in a way that has remained fundamentally the same for the past two hundred years – local produce, little shops and schools containing just two students. Yes the area and of course the estate has all the mod cons but life doesn’t revolve around them and with that it becomes simpler, unassuming and more human, instantly placing you at ease.

Accommodation on the estate is at ‘The Lodge’ which can very easily take 16 people in luxurious surrounds – lots of baths big enough to float in (literally), space enough in your room for the odd attempt at situps and planks to combat all the amazing food (that happened once) and even central heating for the chillier days. Not that you need it when you get those humungous fires roaring in the sitting rooms. The decor is traditional and what you’d expect of any well-to-do family with aristocratic ties – prized heads, large paintings and books, tons of them. Each room is wonderfully spacious with large sofas to curl up and read on in front of the fire and a card table in the corner for that moment when the urge to play racing demons suddenly becomes too great.  Oh there is one very important thing to mention about The Lodge – it’s looked after by Margaret the housekeeper an absolute force of order and happiness where nothing is too much hassle, she has been keeping the family in order for 30+ years. Though expect some advice, it doesn’t matter on what, or that you haven’t asked for it, she’ll have it for you all the same.

Days were spent as follows: Breakfast, bath, chats, Picnic by one of the lakes for lunch, walk, nap, bath, games, drinks, dinner in the large dining room, games, drinks.

Repeat 5 times.

It was exactly what we all wanted out of the trip.

Picnic fun!

But there is one thing about that makes this tholiday so memorable – the scenery – it’s simply breathtaking. Jumping in the ‘Landy’ (that’s a Landrover if like me, you’re not down with the upper-middle class country lingo) and heading up to the lochs was by far the gift of the day.  When walking around the highlands, that have remained untouched since time immemorial, you experience a rare moment of clarity that reminds you that these mountains have been here for ever and man is simply passing through…and somehow it made me feel really positive about life, as though order had been restored. Unfortunately it also prompted a moment of madness where I actually stripped off and ran into one of the lochs. This is unadvisable for someone who like the heating on in the summer but an experience all the same!

If it’s escapism, simplicity and a wholesome experience you’re after then this is definitely for you, equally so if you’re into hunting Glenfernate can provide alternative packages. Dogs welcome.

To find out more about Glenfernate visit the site. The Family that own the estate are incredibly friendly and you will not be disappointed.

Well given I wrote my first ever blog in November (!) with such enthusiasm I’ve been spectacularly poor with the follow up which makes me a pretty pants blogger but then I don’t know what I expected really, I have met myself and I know how easily distracted I am. Look I don’t have time to write for pleasure ok?! When I’m not working for a soulless corporation, I just about have time to go on holiday!