Double delight north of border
8:17am Saturday 1st May 2010 in Leisure By Steven Thompson
SCOTLAND invented haggis, whisky, moaning and golf. So when you go north of the border, it is pretty much the law that you must try at least three of the above; for a truly authentic experience, you really should do all four.
Luckily, one of my favourite pastimes is moaning. And I don’t mind golf, either. In fact, much like haggis and whisky, the two go very well together.
An-hour-and-a-half north of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth lies Dundee, then Arbroath. This is golf country. The pair are west and east of Carnoustie (venue for the 2007 Open Championship) and not far from the sport’s birthplace, St Andrew’s.
We stayed a stone’s throw (or a well-hit three iron) away from Arbroath at Letham Grange Hotel, based around the stunning 19th century Mansion House.
It doubles as a golf club, with two decent 18-hole courses, and the place is undergoing a renaissance of sorts. Having acquired new owners just short of two years ago, the hotel has been the first to benefit from a cash injection.
Rather than whitewash the walls and carpetbomb the place in beige, designers preserved some of the decor of the last two or three decades — and it works, giving each room its own quirky individuality.
The food is decent enough — the haggis is tremendous and their cooked breakfasts are top-notch, setting you up perfectly for a morning round of golf.
But if you’re going to Arbroath, you really should try the local fish. On the second night, we ate at the Old Boatyard in Fishmarket Quay. I had an Arbroath smokie to start, which was lovely. It is line-caught haddock, smoke-cured over oak chips.
The local delicacy enjoys protected status — the fish must be smoked in the traditional manner within a five-mile radius of the town to be officially known as an Arbroath smokie.
I had moules frites for my main. I hesitate to use the phrase melt-in-the-mouth, but that’s what my mussels did.
Another “traditional dish” is the Scottish dessert cranachan, which, in this instance, consisted of ice cream, raspberries, whipped cream, shortbread and single malt whisky. Again, try it if you go to Scotland.
This brings us neatly (excuse the pun) onto whisky, of which I enjoyed copious amounts during my stay. Well, when in Rome...
When you head to foreign lands, the best way to ingratiate yourself with the locals is to speak their language. The Scots speak Scotch (as in whisky) so ask the barman what he recommends, order a double, and don’t, for God’s sake, ask for ice.
About half-an-hour’s drive from Letham is Forfar Golf Club — a stunning course, packed full of short par fours. We were blessed with the most unusual weather for April in Scotland — 20C and sunny — and on a day like that, the course is an absolute pleasure to play, even for a high handicapper like me.
The Old Course and the Glens Course back at the hotel are also pretty good, and an afternoon round on either sets you up nicely for a hearty dinner.
It doesn’t have to be all golf, though. In Dundee is the RRS Discovery — built in 1901 for Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s British National Antarctic Expedition. We are shown around this magnificently restored ship by Earl Scott, a veritable fact-machine when it comes to his namesake’s ship.
The Royal Research Ship was built in Dundee, a major whaling centre with a long experience of constructing boats robust enough to travel through Arctic ice. But this, Earl says, was the first ship to be constructed specifically for scientific research.
Magnetic surveys were to be an important part of the scientific work of the expedition. Built using more than 200 types of wood, an exclusion zone around the magnetic observatory was created, with no iron or steel allowed within 30ft of the area.
Below deck, we enjoyed a not-so-wee dram at the captain’s table and got the chance to peek inside Scott’s restored private quarters.
The Discovery is well worth a visit. It is genuinely fascinating.
As we set foot back on to dry land, I ask our guide if he is related to the famous captain.
‘No,’ he replies with a wry smile.
‘I bet everyone asks you that, don’t they?’ I say.
‘No,’ he repeats, ‘Just you.’
Three nights at Letham Grange with dinner bed and breakfast and four rounds on the Old Course, the Glens Course, Forfar and Arbroath costs £279 from scotiatravel.com or call 0141 305 5050.
For more information and offers from Letham Grange go to lethamgrangehotel.co.uk or contact 01241 890459.
