DUNKELD

Meadowbank Cottage is reached by a short, steepish road from the little hamlet of Dalguise and sits in an extensive orchard garden (with BBQ) set high above the valley of the Tay near Dunkeld in Highland Perthshire. The original cottage has been refurbished and extended to create a substantial house that is spacious and light throughout and has plenty of room to spread out into. There is a choice of comfy places to relax with a stylish sitting room with a wood-burning stove at its heart and also a snug that has its own wood burner. Everything required to create some culinary delights has been provided in the well-equipped kitchen and it is partly open plan to the bright dining room for added convenience. From the entrance hall stairs lead down to an en suite twin bedroom and up to a sophisticated double bedroom that has a king-size bed to stretch out on and a handy en suite bathroom with a bath and a separate walk-in shower. There is also a third double bedroom on the second floor that has an impressive en suite shower room with an absolutely vast walk-in shower that takes up one whole end of the room. Outside the patio seating area in the garden is a lovely place to enjoy the peace and quiet or try to spot the deer, red squirrels, woodpeckers, jays and owls that are all frequent visitors. Buzzards and osprey are also regularly seen in the area so keep your eyes peeled! This is a wonderful area for a holiday, accessible at just over an hour on good roads from Edinburgh, surrounded by wonderful scenery, with lots to do and see. Dalguise is a lively and friendly little hamlet with regular ceilidhs and concerts in its village hall. Dunkeld (5 miles) has an excellent range of shops, eating places, art galleries, craft shops and a lovely cathedral to boot, while the county town and Fair City of Perth (all facilities) is less than 20 miles away. You can walk out on to the surrounding hills straight from the cottage, fish in the mighty Tay, go white-water rafting at Grandtully just up the road and play golf at Dunkeld and Aberfeldy. Day tickets can also be obtained for the Water Spa and Gym at the Dunkeld Hilton. Just outside Dunkeld is The Hermitage, with spectacular falls where salmon leap in season, and lovely woodland walks along the River Braan. To the north of the town is the RSPB site at The Loch of the Lowes, with a hide from which you can view the ospreys who come each year to nest and often see them fishing in the loch. To the north west, turn off the A9 at Ballinluig and head for Aberfeldy and Loch Tay. There are more woodland walks at Aberfeldy, while Loch Tay, just 6 miles further, has a marina which offers all sorts of water sports. For true mountain grandeur, the Cairngorms, with skiing in winter and year-round gondola, can be reached in about an hour and a half from the cottage.