The Digs

The Mondeo made its way down the winding gravel drive of the grand digs for the night, Dalhousie Castle with the trusted help of Tomtom once again. How did we ever survive without satnav?

We passed the Falconry, which is very impressive with over 40 birds of prey just over an arms length away! Further along the drive the car turned to face the imposing entrance of the castle.

The castle was built around 1450ad and is steeped in Scottish history, which can be viewed at www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk/history.asp.

We made our way through the stone entrance and to reception where we had rooms awaiting us courtesy of Daren who works for another of the Von Essen hotel collection.
http://www.vonessenhotels.co.uk/

My room was situated at the very top of the castle with breath-taking views of the stream and woodlands set in the acres of land that surround the hotel. The climb up to the room is not for the faint hearted however; I seamed to be climbing an uncountable number of stairs to reach the entrance to my room for the night. Although it was a journey worth making, as I entered the room I was impressed at the size and furnishings present there. I had a sumptuous four – poster bed, a comfortable sofa and a large bathroom. I made straight for the shower that was fantastic, plenty of hot water with ample pressure, as you would expect from a hotel of this standard. I spent an eternity under it, warming up and washing off what seemed like half of the Scottish golf course we had visited earlier that day.

I redressed in warmer attire and made my way down to the library bar to meet the rest of our entourage. After a quick beer it was off to the Orangery brassiere situated in the newly built spa deep in the belly of the castle. The restaurant was extremely pleasant, again making the most of the amazing views over the endless woodlands through large glass windows along the side of the room.

We took a table and browsed the menu. I opted for Smoked Salmon on rosemary foccacia with chive cream cheese, and a large glass of Riesling, the others choosing beef sandwiches and beers all with side orders of fries and mayonnaise. I was disappointed to find that my foccacia had been replaced with a ciabatta, but apart from that lunch was good, just what we needed after the busy morning we had endured that day. The reports of the beef sandwiches came in also favourably, and at the speed the food was devoured, I would have to concur!

We signed our bill and made our way into Edinburgh to collect our last group member Mark then it was back to the digs for a quick breather and dress for dinner.