A Feast for Friends

Sometimes you just need a wee trip away with your bestie. Two decades worth of hilarity stored in your internal memory box, carried alongside an overnight bag packed with excess toiletries and weather-appropriate outfit choices. I’m all about quality time, and quality is almost always guaranteed when there’s an adventure involved.

My other half is the main beneficiary of my passion for travelling Scotland, however it’s important my right-hand gal gets in on ‘Operation – Escape the City’ too. So when an opportunity for an indulgent weekend in pretty Perthshire was presented to me, I saw this as a very timely excuse for myself and my best friend to stock up on fresh air and laughter-therapy, whilst offloading about the tribulations of our near-thirty struggles with ‘adulting’.

If you ask me, important friendship moments this like require a series of comforts and surprises to mark the occasion. This came in the shape of a beautiful Baronial abode, a decadent feast in a converted farm building, and a walk to a gorgeous waterfall on a crisp, sunny day. Sounding good so far? Read on.

When our train arrived into Pitlochry at midday, we were met with chilly, frizzy-hair weather and we still had over an hour to kill before check-in at our accommodation. We made a beeline for the colourful and sweetly alluring Hettie’s tearoom for tea and a scone. Rock ‘n’ roll Saturdays.  

Our hardcore behaviour continued when we arrived at the Atholl Palace Hotel, where we did a quick ‘costume change’ into our pyjamas and launched ourselves onto the separate double beds. Hettie’s giant scones had induced a sudden lethargy, plus it was nice to take advantage of our grand lodgings and relax for a while; something I rarely do.

The Atholl Palace has always intrigued me when I’ve passed through Pitlochry, seeing its striking stature peeking out over the trees. The hotel has been beckoning people to stay since it opened in 1878, offering Hydropathic treatments to leisure loving Victorians. Establishing itself as a sporty, spa destination that knew how to throw a party, it really was the ‘place to be’ at the turn of the 20^th century.

Many memories have been made in the hotel since, though it wasn’t just holiday-makers who spent their time there. During WWI & II, the hotel became a temporary education facility, to where children were evacuated, from schools in England which had sustained damage from enemy attacks. After the wars, the hotel reopened its doors to guests and flourished once again.

Nowadays the high ceilings, traditional furnishings and décor are reflective of the property’s past, without being tired or outdated; it underwent a major renovation just after the Millennium. There’s a borderline-eerie museum on the lower ground floor, with tales and mementos of the past. This is a fantastic feature for curious guests to gain an insight into the hotel’s intriguing history. There’s also the spa facility, offering a range of glorious treatments which have no doubt improved since the Victorian times. Eyeing up the spa packages in the hotel brochure, I’m sure I’ll be back to indulge before too long. 

On the subject of relaxation, our enormous bedroom had a huge beds to match, and mines was so big I could lie width ways. I did exactly that whilst watching Come Dine with Me on the flat screen TV; a rather fitting prelude to the night ahead. We were attending a ‘Feast Night’ at Ballintaggart Farm in the nearby village of Grandtully, and despite not knowing entirely what to expect, I was very excited. 

We took the local bus from Pitlochry to Grandtully for a couple of pre-dinner drinks at the Inn on the Tay. Myself and the other half stopped here during our walk from Pitlochry to Aberfeldy last year, which you can read about in my Bring on the Birks article. We made friends with a local pooch, before Rachel from Ballintaggart Farm kindly picked us up, and delivered us to her wonderful home ready for our feast.

The farm was surrounded by unpolluted darkness, sparing the two roaring fire pits which illuminated the entrance courtyard. Stepping inside we watched the food preparation through the internal kitchen windows; a novelty I always enjoy in restaurants with open kitchens. The long communal dining table was set up in the converted steading, candlelit and peppered with vibrant daffodils. I looked upwards, admiring the classic wooden beams and exposed stonework as we made our way into the library for a drinks reception with our fellow diners.

The venue doesn’t have an alcohol license, so guests are invited to bring their own. Sipping our wine, we compared the library’s shelves of books and rolling ladder to that of ‘Beauty & the Beast’. I was completely captivated by every detail of the stunning interior, and had a feeling I’d be equally impressed by the food.

The welcome mezze plates and trio of starters were served on sharing boards for around five people, designed to encourage conversation with fellow guests; the signature social aspect of these nights. I loved the crab, apple and celeriac, and the Blue Murder gougeres were deliciously warm and cheesy, inducing echoes of “mmmmm” from ourselves and those around us.

I was unsure if I’d manage the next three courses, a meaty main of lamb, black crowdie cheese, and a chocolate brownie dessert. It was an unnecessary concern, as every morsel was well taken care of and thoroughly appreciated. The ingredients are all local and seasonal, some foraged in the nearby countryside or grown in the farm’s own garden, and are far too good to waste. There were so many interesting textures and usual flavours, all beautifully cooked and presented. My taste buds were doing backflips all night.

Every meticulous detail of the night; the flawless food offering, warm service and splendid setting, is thanks to the hosts, Chris and Rachel. The pair have a background in food & PR forming the foundations of the fulfilling lifestyle and indeed careers they have built together. Chris trained at the Gardeners Cottage in Edinburgh and Leith’s School of Food & Wine in London, and the pair launched Edinburgh’s first supper club in 2009, the acclaimed Charlie & Evelyn’s Table.

It was just last year the couple relocated with their three little ones to the rural paradise that is Ballintaggart Farm, where they now offer a cooking school, private dining, monthly feast nights, and luxury accommodation. The feast night has been my best dining experience to date, which is a testament to Chris and Rachel’s talent, creativity and unrivalled hospitality. It is a truly unique and immensely satisfying experience, which I cannot recommend enough to fellow foodies, particularly at just £35 per head!

Our evening of fine food and strangers’ stories ended not long before midnight, when our pre-booked taxi arrived to take us from the feast back to our palace. Fancy! We slept comfortably, before rising the next morning for a power-shower and buffet breakfast. My full Scottish was enjoyed with a bella vista of blue sky and trees. I couldn’t wait to get outside and walk off our string of indulgences.

The Atholl Palace estate is packed with pretty gardens and woodland walking trails. I have a serious soft spot for the Perthshire outdoors, so was full to the brim with contentment as we wandered over wee bridges, through fields and trees, towards the Black Spout waterfall. We strolled alongside the first series of dips in this fast-flowing waterfall, before descending to the viewing platform.

Cascading sixty metres down into the gorge, it was quite the spectacle. We retraced our steps, and joined the path to the nearby Edradour Distillery, once the smallest distillery in Scotland. I have often heard about its quaint appearance and I wasn’t disappointed. It was picture perfect in fact, but is sadly closed on Sundays, so we couldn’t venture inside. This just adds to my incentives to return to the Atholl Palace in future.

We left the hotel at lunchtime, and concluded our trip with a repeat visit to Hettie’s tearoom. Talk about going full circle! We enjoyed tasty baked tatties, before grabbing takeaway cakes for a picnic on the train back to Edinburgh. Safe to say the theme for the weekend was food; good food and lots of it.

Sometimes you just need a wee trip away with your bestie. Where to next? 

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Review Info: Kay stayed one night in The Atholl Palace. This, along with the evening meal at Balintaggart Farm was gifted to her in return for a review or, if she felt  she hadn’t enjoyed it, a mystery shop. 

Find out more about The Atholl Palace on their website >>>

Find out more on Balintaggart Farm on their website >>>