Driving west via the Tweed Valley from Melrose to Peebles is inspirational at any time of 12 months.
Add in a setting solar, plus the expectation of a gin and tonic within the gardens of Cringletie Home Resort, and life can hardly be sweeter.
What’s extra, this Scottish baronial residence (constructed 1862), with its turrets, towers and all of the trimmings of north-of-the-border Victorian grandeur, is a privately owned, one-off lodge within the fingers of an aged Dutch couple who dwell in a bungalow within the immaculate grounds.
Cringletie Home Resort is a Scottish baronial residence within the fingers of an aged Dutch couple
There are 17 rooms. Mine is on the highest ground with two small parapet home windows that look out on to craggy hills. It’s not stylish, however neither is it stolid.
There isn’t a free-standing bathtub making an attempt to make a press release, no big telly with satellite tv for pc channels. Nothing flash.
Somebody has simply been in to show down the bedcovers, which is an sudden luxurious at such comparatively low costs.
Down in one of many public rooms, a younger couple from New York are about to have a whisky tasting. Varied drams are lined up on a desk.
It’s tempting to ask if I can be a part of them, however dinner awaits within the grand eating room with its hand-painted ceiling and ornate hearth. My fishcake starter topped with a poached egg and sitting on wilted spinach is great.
‘It’s a breakfast dish, actually,’ proffers the waiter.
A lot thought has gone into the wine checklist. A candle glints, every desk has recent flowers, dialog is animated, everybody feels protected. We’re solely half an hour south of Edinburgh, however the tempo is sluggish, the environment relaxed.
A candle glints, every desk has recent flowers, dialog is animated, everybody feels protected
Not every little thing is ideal. The towels are ridiculously small, there is just one vibrant mild within the lavatory and I by no means assume a teddy provides a lot.
A number of previous portraits would enhance the decor within the public rooms and members of workers — who’re primarily from Holland — are woefully ill-informed concerning the historical past of the home and the encompassing space.
A correctly cooked haggis at breakfast with a fried egg is a deal with of the very best order.
It’s executed so completely that I request one of many Dutch waitresses if she will be able to ask the chef what’s his secret.
She comes again a couple of minutes later and says: ‘He places it within the oven.’
