My Highland fling

THE Robinson Valentine dresses and Philip Treacy hats are packed in their boxes and the old faithful wellies and waxed jackets have been shrugged back on.

Yes, Charles and Camilla are a week into their honeymoon in Scotland, and if you ask me, they couldn't have chosen a better location.

Charles' love affair with the Highlands is as well-documented as his relationship with Mrs PB-as-was, so the choice of Birkhall on the Balmoral estate as the location for the royal honeymoon is no surprise.

And although I wouldn't wish to intrude on Their Royalness's holiday I can feel the pull of that swathe of Scotland which began with my own recent, Highland fling - just a wee trip across the mountains and glens in Perthshire.

This part of Scotland is said to boast some of the most wonderful scenery in the United Kingdom and it has its own royal link, too: Pitlochry was visited by Queen Victoria in 1844.

Just down the road from this tourist town stands Kinnaird, an Edwardian mansion in 9,000 acres of stunning countryside which was converted to a hotel by the family which has owned it since the 1920s.

And Kinnaird still feels very much like the family home it was, albeit a rather grand one with grounds in which deer wander and sweeping views over the River Tay. There is nothing artificial about the heady country-house atmosphere: its long history as a hunting lodge and venue for house parties lends it an unpretentious authenticity.

The rooms are furnished in period style with squashy sofas and chairs in intimate groupings complete with photographs and hunting trophies from bygone eras and current family snaps.

We visited during a chilly few days but log fires blazing in every room made us feel toasty-warm. Guests are encouraged to claim whichever corner of the drawing room, billiard room or small, cosy studies they fancy to snuggle up with tea or hot chocolate and a good book during the day, or pre-dinner drinks.

Even the bedrooms - there are just nine - have blazing fires in the grates, and all are large enough to have not just the biggest beds I've ever seen, but armchairs and sofas arranged round the hearth making it the perfect spot for a snooze...

It would be a shame not to explore such magnificent scenery, however, so it was on with the boots and waterproofs - you can raid the boot room if you haven't gone prepared - and off we trekked, up the hills immediately behind the house and on, through the snowy scenery to the first of two lochs on the estate.

We were greeted on our return by smiles, even though we were muddy and wet. Soggy garments were whisked away to appear next morning, dry and clean in the wardrobe. This is what it must be like to have a maid...

Dinner is a wonderfully formal experience, and Prince Charles would be impressed with the use of local ingredients and seasonal produce from the walled garden. Saddle of venison with garden golden turnips and an elderberry sauce and roasted partridge with braised red cabbage, celeriac and truffle foam were among the delights on the menu.

Guests with an inclination for sight-seeing could head to Pitlochry where there is a famous repertory theatre and a hydro-electric dam with salmon ladder, where you watch from an underwater chamber as the salmon swim through a series of interconnecting pipes to proceed on their journey.

And the historic little town of Dunkeld is well worth a visit: Scotland's first king, Kenneth MacAlpin, built a stone church here early in the 9th century to house the relics of St Columba.

We left Kinnaird feeling refreshed by the beauty and scale of the scenery, pampered by the staff who provide friendly, attentive service without being servile, and thoroughly relaxed after our short spell away from the stress of real life.

We hadn't hired the ghillie to take us fishing on the estate's two beats, we hadn't gone stalking or shooting, or had treatments in The Retreat therapy suite. But then, according to Michael Leonard, the affable manager, most guests don't. Just being there is enough.

For those of us who don't happen to own a Highland estate, Kinnaird is the next best thing. You can even get married there, if you fancy something a bit more grand than the local town hall.

Fact file

Dinner, bed and breakfast costs from £275 per night for two sharing. Contact Kinnaird Estate on 01796 482440, or visit www.kinnairdestate.com.

We travelled to Kinnaird by rail: GNER's Highland Chieftain service stops at Pitlochry once a day. Visit www.gner.co.uk or contact 08457 484950 for details.

Or change at Edinburgh for the First Scotrail service to Pitlochry. Visit www.firstgroup.com.

Kinnaird will collect guests from the station.

Updated: 08:42 Saturday, April 16, 2005