1. 66 .............................. Sunday, September 13, 2015 1SM
lP&O’S newest ship Britannia will star on UKTV’s
Battlechefs show when Marco Pierre White
judges the cooking skills of celebrities in a competi-
tive new travelling cookery show set at sea.
P&O Cruises is teaming up with Spark Media to
bring the show to its flagship entertainment channel
Watch. It will see ten amateur celebrity chefs includ-
ing Alex James (Blur), Keith Duffy (Boyzone) and
John Partridge (EastEnders) board Britannia and take
it in turns to command the kitchen.
Filmed over two Mediterranean cruises, each itiner-
ary will be host to its own self-contained competition
featuring five stars, who will each assume the role of
head chef and prepare a meal for the Captain and his
VIP guests. P&O Cruises’ marketing director Christo-
pher Edgington said: “We are very excited to be mak-
ing Battlechefs on Britannia.”
Battlechefs will air on Watch in 2016.
BARBADOS DIRECT
FROM GLASGOW
THERE are lots of reason to head to Barbados this year — not
least the start of new direct flights from Glasgow to this Carib-
bean gem with Thomas Cook.
And if you do decide to jet out on the new service there’s a
new 4H all-inclusive hotel for you at Sugar Bay Barbados.
Located in the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Historic
Garrison, on the south of the island, the resort is set on 5.5
acres with 150m of white sandy beachfront and lagoon.
Boasting 138 ocean, garden or pool view rooms and suites,
complete with their own private balconies, the hotel offers
boho-chic style with vintage furniture.
A seven-night stay at the new Sugar Bay Barbados starts
from £1,399pp, including flights with Virgin Atlantic from Lon-
don Gatwick. To book see hayesandjarvis.com or call 0843
249 5888. For more hotel info, visit sugarbaybarbados.com.
l GLASGOW-based Stewart Travel has joined
forces with Turkish Airlines to create an exclusive
collection of holidays to some of the world’s finest
destinations.
In addition to Turkey, key destinations include the
Maldives, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Singa-
pore. And as part of the venture, customers of Stewart
Travel have the chance to win a three-night break to
Istanbul. Delighted Brian Wright, Stewart Travel’s
marketing director, said: “There are some superb
offers for customers within this partnership.”
On offer are ten nights’ half board in Pattaya, Thai-
land from £999 per person or ten nights’ all-inclusive
in Sri Lanka from £1199 per person and three nights’
B&B in Istanbul, Turkey, from £299 per person.
For more details call on 0800 019 0063 or visit the
website to view the brochure stewarttravel.co.uk
l GLASGOW-based Stewart Travel has joined
NEW tour operator Battered Suitcase has launched a series
of custom-made holidays to Unesco World Heritage Sites
and historic cultural destinations across all five continents.
They include 14 day cultural heritage and natural heritage
tours of Argentina from £4,125 per person; 15 days discover-
ing China’s fascinating World Heritage Sites from £2,775; an
18-day voyage of discovery in Western Australia from £5,547;
eight-day heritage journey through Tanzania from £2,888;
ten-day cultural tour of Sicily from £4,594 and, just intro-
duced, four days in Bremen and Bremerhaven, Germany,
from £399.
For visitors wishing to explore the UK, the 11-day Highlights
of Great Britain tour takes is from £2,888, while Heritage
Highlights of London visits Unesco World Heritage Sites in
the capital and south over ten days from £2,100.
For more details see battered-suitcase.com or call 0800
689 1586.
SITE SEEING HAS
JUST GOT EASIER
BEYOUROWNBRAEV-HEARTWITHWONDER
TheGREAT
Outdoors
ONE of my favourite
movies growing up was
The Great Outdoors,
with John Candy and
Dan Aykroyd.
It’s a great flick about two
families who rent a lake-side
log cabin for a serene weekend
retreat.
Naturally, being a Candy
movie, it all goes spectacularly
wrong. But, that aside, I’ve
always wanted to stay some-
where similar at some point in
my life.
So when offered the chance
to stay in Scotland’s very own
luxury cabin resort, Eagle
Brae, I jumped at it.
My other half, Iain, and I
gleefully set off for the breath-
taking resort in Struy, Inver-
ness-shire, after a few days on
the west coast.
Pulling into the driveway of
the fabulous Eagle Brae, we
spotted seven grass-roofed
cabins peppered across a large
meadow overlooking the most
stunning views.
A little loch in the middle of
the meadow was teeming with
ducks, while mountain goats
lazily munched on grass
nearby.
Instantly, we knew this place
was the stuff of fairy tales. It
felt like we were on our own
movie set.
We were greeted at the
reception cabin by a stunning
Bernese mountain dog called
Kyla, along with her owner
Pawana Spencer-Nairn.
Himalayan-born Pawana and
her husband Mike started
work on the place ten years
ago, after moving there from
Jersey.
The land, all 8,000 acres of
it, has been owned by Mike’s
family since the 1930s.
Their original idea was to
build a Himalayan village but
they decided on a luxury log
cabin resort instead. And, in
2013, they finally launched.
They have scarcely looked
back. Availability throughout
the year is limited and it’s no
wonder — all 163 of their Trip
Advisor reviews have five-star
ratings.
At first glance our digs
looked a bit like hobbit homes
from Lord Of The Rings. But
we soon realised these stun-
ning structures are far from
pokey little underground lairs
as imagined by JRR Tolkien.
They are more like cedar
wood mansions.
Our cabin was called Strix —
the Latin name for Tawny Owl
— because you can hear the
bird regularly in our home
from home. And it can only be
described as magnificent. All
the cabins are hand-built from
giant western red cedar logs
from British Columbia in
Canada and have a fantasti-
cally cosy and unique feel to
them.
The living room is HUGE and
boasts stunning views across
the glen.
In the corner, there’s a wood
burning stove, healthily
stocked up with logs and kin-
dling. Large leather sofas are
invitingly placed in front of
the stove, while there is also
an open-plan kitchen and din-
ing area.
Pawana and Mike had also
prepared a welcome pack of
handmade and locally sourced
goodies, including Scottish ale,
handmade Scottish oat cakes,
elderflower cordial, shortbread,
whisky, a selection of chutneys
and jams and and some not so
local, namely Himalayan
incense sticks.
But what really stands out
are the hand-carved engrav-
ings and panels on the
wooden staircase.
Pawana proudly told us that
SMALLER cabins at Eagle Brae which sleep two are available from
£1,000 per week.
Larger cabins, sleeping four to six, cost from £1,250 per week.
Book at eaglebrae.co.uk, by calling 01463 761301 or by emailing
info@eaglebrae.co.uk
GO: EAGLE BRAE
lHealthlConsumer lMoney lGames lPerks lMotorsunday
.............................. Sunday, September 13, 2015
undayunday
the
S
1SM Sunday, September 13, 2015 .............................. 67
STAYINHIGHLANDSWILDERNESS
bols and animals, using stencils
sent from Scotland.
Everything in the lodges is
handmade, including woven
tweed curtains and cotton rugs,
custom-made hardwood kitchens
and furniture and Mike made
the antler chandeliers.
The staircase leads up to yet
another living room which
boasts two more leather sofas
and a flat-screen TV.
Downstairs is our stunningly
snug bedroom, with simple, yet
elegant décor. And next to it,
there’s the bathroom complete
with bath, shower, and hand-
made nettle soap.
Mike and Pawana have
thought of everything and it’s all
of the finest quality.
After a long drive, Iain and I
tucked into some goodies with a
glass of wine on the deck, tak-
ing in the sights. Then it was
time for dinner. One of the
highlights
of Eagle
Brae is
the con-
cierge and
meals ser-
vice.
You can
order all
of your
grocery
shopping
online and even
order a home-made
takeaway. A selection of ten dif-
ferent meals, made by Mike, is
available including Himalayan
curry, vegetarian lasagne and
venison pie.
Iain went for the curry while I
opted for veggie lasagne, washed
down with a bottle of red wine.
Pawana had said the service is
for busy mummies and daddies
who don’t want to cook on holi-
days. Genius.
The meals were fantastic, with
hearty portions.
We then curled up in front of
the fire with our books and
struggled to imagine anywhere
else we’d rather be.
After that, we took a little
walk to the resort’s micro-hydro
scheme — which is entirely pow-
ered by renewables.
It’s one of the very few tourist
desinations in the world which
offers completely carbon neutral
holiday accommodation and won
Mike and Pawana a Gold Green
Tourism Business Scheme award.
Feeling energetic after a fan-
tastic night’s sleep, we went for
a run through Glen Strathfarrar.
It’s privately owned, so is much
quieter than Glen Affric.
Turns out, the World Orien-
teering Championships were tak-
ing place that weekend, so a
team of army troops were hard
at work setting up for the big
event.
We were told the competition
would attract 450 athletes from
50 different nations.
They chose their location per-
fectly. It was one of the most
stunning glens I’ve ever seen.
And Iain has dragged me up a
lot of glens!
We only managed about 7k
before heading back home.
It was now time to crack open
a bottle of prosecco on the deck,
before tucking into a delicious
meal in front of a roaring fire.
Next morning, we
were greeted by the
fairytale scene of three
wild deer grazing on
the hills below us
before hitting the road
back to Glasgow.
It was the
cherry on top
of a fantastic
two days in
paradise.
NIAMH
ANDERSON
her brother-in-law in India
carved out designs of celtic sym-
bols and animals, using stencils
thought of everything and it’s all
of the finest quality.
WINGING IT . . . Eagle
Brae lodge was perfect
base for Niamh and Iain.
Bottom, Candy in flick
leaving Edinburgh on September 27.
See jet2holidays.com or call 0800 408
5594.
OR a week half-board at the 3H plus
Hotel Athina in Kavos, Corfu, is from
£423pp, leaving Edinburgh on October
23. For more information see thom-
son.co.uk or call 0871 230 2555.
£750:A week self-catering in
Wales staying at Castle
View Townhouse (Home ID 6541583) in
Conway, near the Snowdonia National
Park, is from £666 if booked
by September 20 for arrival
before September 27.
It has three bedrooms.
See holidaylettings.co.uk
OR a week half-board at
the 4H Admiral Hotel in Sor-
rento, Italy, is from £559pp
leaving Glasgow on October
23.
See your nearest Stewart
Travel or call 0800 091 2757
£1000:Grab a slice
of the Big
Apple with four nights’ room-
only at the 4H Wyndham New
Yorker Hotel, including flights
from Edinburgh on September 23 for
£780pp.
See awayholidays.co.uk or call 0208
705 0107.
OR America As You Like has a five-
night fly-drive to California from £995pp,
based on two sharing and including two
nights at the Whitcomb in San Fran-
cisco, three nights at the Best Western
Sandman in Sacramento and four days
car hire on selected dates.
See americaaasyoulikeit.com or call
020 8742 8299.
£100:Stay in a stately home fit
for those folk from Down-
ton Abbey with an overnight at Middlet-
horpe Hall, in York, a beautifully restored
William III country house, overlooking 20
acres of manicured gardens.
Owned by the National Trust, it has a
spa and rooms are from £99.50pppn
including breakfast. See prideofbritain-
hotels.com or call 0800 089 3929.
OR stay a Friday night at one of the
north east of England’s favourite hotels,
Lumley Castle, at Chester-
le-Street, County Durham
from £87.50pppn.
The 600-year-old near
historic Durham city, the
Metrocentre at Gateshead
and Newcastle city centre
has a fabulous dining
room. See lumleycas-
tle.com or call 0191 389 1111.
£250:Grab a bar-
gain stay at
House O’Hill Cottage in
Bargrennan, Newton
Stewart, Wigtownshire
(Property reference:
W41546) arriving Septem-
ber 21 for £185 for four nights. Sleeps
two in one bedroom with one pet wel-
come.
See welcomecottages.com or call
0345 268 0816.
OR grab an overnight stay with eight
nights’ parking at Manchester Airport
from £139 per double on September 26.
See holidayextras.co.uk or call 0800
1313 777.
£500:A week self-catering at
the 3H Club B Mallorca
in Magaluf, Majorca, is from £437pp
l Puzzles lTravel
MORE
PAGES
u
4 HOLIDAYSFORUNDER...
Conway, near the Snowdonia National
Park, is from £666 if booked
by September 20 for arrival
before September 27.
See holidaylettings.co.uk
the 4
rento, Italy, is from £559pp
leaving Glasgow on October
23.
Travel or call 0800 091 2757
£1000:Apple with four nights’ room-
only at the 4
Yorker Hotel, including flights
from Edinburgh on September 23 for
north east of England’s favourite hotels,
tle.com or call 0191 389 1111.
gain stay at
W41546) arriving Septem-