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ALEX HEWITT
One of the most liberating ways to escape city living is
to hop in the car and head towards the A9. The journey through Fife and
into Perthshire reveals some of the most beautiful views in Scotland,
especially as snow-capped peaks beckon invitingly north.
We were so taken by the view that we almost missed our turn-off.
We were heading for East Haugh House and were surprised to find it in
the lee of the dual carriageway. Despite its location it turned out to
be a delightful retreat, perfect for a relaxing weekend.
Run by Neil and Lesley McGowan with help from their daughter
Sophie, East Haugh House is almost too good a secret to reveal. Our luxurious
bedroom had an open fireplace and, better still, a four-poster bed - which
my heavily pregnant wife, Charis, later credited with giving her the best
night’s sleep she’d had in almost nine months. If you want
a cosy bolt-hole to escape from the Scottish elements then East Haugh
is perfect.
Originally part of the Atholl estate, the sweeping driveway,
elegant, turreted building and expansive lawn make you instantly forget
just how close the main road is. The guest house caters predominantly
for hunters from the estate as well as anglers, wet through from the nearby
River Tummel. The traditional outdoor theme inspires the interiors. There’s
the regulation tartan carpeting in the public rooms, and a large selection
of fishing paraphernalia hangs in every available space. We may be outdoors
people but neither of us hunt or fish and I confess the décor was
slightly off-putting at first. We became more at ease when we discovered
that Neil and Lesley incorporate plenty of game and fish into their daily
menu.
After a short rest we headed for a pre-dinner drink in the
bar, which was humming with contented diners from the recently added Two
Sisters restaurant. The menu, put together by chef Neil, combines fresh
local ingredients with more exotic fare. I opted for the haddock, battered
in ale, with sweet potato fries, while Charis had the rack of lamb with
seasonal vegetables. We polished off our main courses with a perfectly
chilled bottle of white wine and then it was on to dessert. The selection
is amazing and I’m sure Neil could run a patisserie if he wanted
to. Having insisted we choose different desserts just to sample more of
the options, I reluctantly let Charis take the last slice of white chocolate
and raspberry cheesecake, while I chose the chocolate mousse cake.
Our wonderful dinner, combined with the most comfortable
of beds waiting upstairs, meant that it wasn’t long before we were
sound asleep.
What the McGowans have achieved here is a small piece of
tranquillity. Even the usually bitter experience of leaving after breakfast
was softened by having time to relax by the fireside in the cosy snug,
where the Sunday papers were laid out for guests.
* A Valentine’s break, which includes champagne, homemade
chocolates and an aphrodisiac dinner menu on 12 and 14 February, costs
from £169 per person for two nights bed and breakfast with dinner.
Pitlochry is an easy drive from both Edinburgh and Glasgow making it a
suitable destination for a weekend break, and its status as the 'gateway
to the Highlands', means you're in the heart of some breath-taking scenery.
The 17-century turreted stone house, built as part of the Atholl Estate,
is close to River Tummel and set well back from the road with a sweeping
driveway and two acres of lawn. The interior is decorated in a traditional
style, but with a contemporary feel.
This family-run hotel has recentely been sumptuously re-decorated throughout.
The bedrooms are luxurious, two with magnificent four-poster beds, all
with ensuite bathroom, as well as colour television and sound systems.
Fishing paraphanelia and family portraits decorate the walls and log fires
in the restaurant, lounge and bar create a welcoming atmosphere.
The food is spectacular, most sourced locally, and all cooked by chef
and proprietor Neil McGown. The hum of contented diners hover over the
restaurant, and with delicious dishes including seared scallops wrapped
in bacon and roast partridge on the menu, it's not surprising. Lunch and
dinner is not exclusive to hotel guests, but if you do want to pop in
for dinner, call first, as they fill seats quickly. When the evening rush
relaxes, expect to see locals and new customers propping up the bar with
the McGowns, who like to make sure that everyone has a great time.
On the doorstep, literally, is the river, and you can go fishing for about
£25 a day (once the season starts again in mid-January). Also nearby
is The Hermitage, a National Trust folly, built in 1758, and set in a
dramatic, deep wooded gorge.
Dinner, B&B from £65 per person per night.
B&B from £45 per person per night.
RICHARD BATH
It was hardly the most promising of beginnings. East Haugh House,
the bumf said, was "two miles off the A9" down a rambling country
lane near Pitlochry, in Perthshire. Yet as we drove to the Victorian spa
town, we spotted the hotel just a few hundred metres from one of Scotland’s
main arterial roads - it didn’t inspire kind thoughts.
Thankfully, appearances retain the ability to deceive, and East Haugh
House provided one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. A small
country-house hotel which specialises in catering for anglers using the
nearby Tummel river and stalkers using the Blair Atholl estate, once you’ve
reached the front door the road becomes a distant memory. Out of earshot
means out of mind.
The house itself is a pile built when Pitlochry was the chicest spa venue
in early Victorian Britain. Thanks to an unfortunate flood from the nearby
burn two and a half years ago, the house is being completely refurbished
and now has a large dining room, pre-dinner snug and a cosy bar on the
ground floor.
The place is bedecked with fishing paraphernalia - rods, stuffed salmon
and the like - and while there is the obligatory tartan carpet, it manages
to avoid both the fusty aloofness of some of our ancient fishing hotels
and the chintzy tweeness of many newer ones.
As well as the tartan carpet, another fault of many Scottish country hotels
is patchy cuisine. Not so East Haugh. Neil McGowan, who owns the hotel
with his wife Lesley, has given up leading stalking parties and now concentrates
on manning the stoves (when he’s not popping out for a sneaky hour
on the nearby river). Judging by the trophies on his walls, Neil must
be a formidable fisherman, but while I can’t vouch for that, I can
at least confirm that he’s a pretty good chef.
That much became clear as we sat in the snug before dinner. As we looked
over the menu - which had a nice blend of game, meat, fish and specials
(including a yellow-fin tuna the McGowans caught in Mexico last month)
- they brought us an appetiser of prawns and smoked haddock in choux pastry
with green mango salsa. It was superb: marshmallow-soft pastry and a glorious
melange of fish within, the salsa adding a sweet but piquant edge. Suddenly
we were paying a little more attention to the menu.
Vicky started with the scallops wrapped in bacon, while I opted for the
twice-baked Strathdon blue cheese soufflé with braised baby leeks.
The huge scallops were perfectly done and the bacon had none of the saltiness
that so often ruins the starter. My soufflé was even more impressive.
Light, fluffy and very cheesy, it hit the mark, although I did think the
leeks were an unnecessary (if pleasant) addition.
We moved on to the main course with high hopes, which were largely satisfied.
Although Vicky found the mustard and claret sauce a little overpowering,
her duckling was beautifully pink. My pigeon was a little more well done
than I would have liked, but it made an impressive dish when combined
with black pudding and a creamy mushroom sauce. Both dishes were accompanied
by a nicely al dente selection of vegetables.
Unusually, Vicky couldn’t manage more than a couple of mouthfuls
of her pudding, but then her chocolate and orange soufflé with
marmalade ice cream was so rich that it ought to have come with a warning:
"For die-hard chocolate lovers with huge appetites only". My
sticky toffee pudding with tablet ice cream was the only standard-issue
part of our whole meal.
We rounded off with coffee in the bar, where we also found the McGowans
relaxing. Finding out that Vicky and I fish from time to time, a bottle
of local whisky was produced and fishy tales were spun long into the night.
What became apparent was that East Haugh’s owners have found a vocation
rather than a career. And it shows.
£29.95 per person for three-course dinner (£3 supplement
for the scallops)
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