This document summarizes a family's weekend trip exploring the Pitlochry area in Scotland. Some of their activities included feeding ducks by the river, going on a safari at Highland Safaris to see animals like red deer, visiting the discovery trail and panning for "gold," stopping at the Highland Chocolatier, staying at the well-appointed Logierait Lodges, visiting Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre which has a variety of animals, exploring Blair Castle and its gardens, having lunch at the Red Brolly Inn, and considering white water rafting with Nae Limits in the future. The family enjoyed interacting with nature and animals while participating in various outdoor activities around Pit

1. Boasting
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Auchingarrich
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thecouriermagazine
37
Weekend Break
travel36
thecouriermagazine
info
Exploringlandofmake believe
H
e stood tall on the boulder,
sword aloft, and claimed his
kingdom. Trusty hound by his
side, he leapt down and headed off
in search of adventure.
But before we learn more about our
hero, let’s go back to the start, the best
place to begin. The Boy Who Would Be
King had travelled north with only a small
retinue (mum, dad, two sisters andYoda —
the hound, not the Jedi master) to spend a
few days in a foreign land (Perthshire) in
search of fortune and glory. Base camp
was to be Logierait Lodges by Pitlochry,
situated right by the banks of the River
Tay, evergreens rising on the hillsides all
around.
Our first mission took us to the river
and, children’s nets in hand, we set off to
feed the ducks or even land a sea dragon
or two. Much fun was had searching along
the riverbank but the ducks weren’t fussed
for our offerings and the sea dragons
had obviously stayed out at sea. Perhaps
the couple fishing with a net from their
small boat, with black labrador sitting
comfortably at the prow, had better luck.
Undeterred, we headed out in search of
treasure (what use is invading another land
if you’re not going to loot it?). Highland
Safaris at Aberfeldy offers mountain and
forest safaris (animal lovers can also cycle
and walk on some packages) as they head
outtoviewreddeerorevenagoldeneagle.
Those with smaller children (our youngest
is not yet two) may not want to spend any
moretimeinacarwiththemthanisstrictly
necessary, and a barn encounter with red
deer and a barn owl might appeal more.
As is often the way, though, it was not
the animals but the small playpark sandpit
that proved most fun for our youngest
daughter, while the other two headed up
into the hill on the discovery trail to learn
about the geology of the area and take
in the view of Scotland’s longest glen,
Glen Lyon. They were, understandably,
delighted to find great lumps of “gold”
just lying beside the path; very handy if
you’re going to run a kingdom or amass a
war chest.They were less successful at the
gold and gem panning flume outside the
centre but had plenty of fun trying to add
to their wealth.
On the way home a pit stop at The
HighlandChocolatierinGrandtullyproved
a highlight for the adventurers’ mum, for
whom a visit to the Scottish Chocolate
Centre was like the mothership calling her
home. It is the truffles which have earned
widespread success for the award-winning
Iain Burnett (single-source cream and
cocoa beans from the tiny Atlantic island
of Sao Tome are key) and they did not
disappoint our resident chocoholic. The
children were grinning widely, too, though
we reaped the whirlwind when the sugar
rush kicked in and the staff had to batten
down the hatches.
Our weary band was ready for tea and
this proved a far easier task than it has on
previous caravan trips, with underpowered
ovens, a shortage of room and lack of
supplies. The spacious lodge (ours had
two bedrooms but there are also one and
three-bedroom lodges and a larger cottage
available) was well appointed with all the
necessary white goods, TV/DVD player
and so on, and it was a pleasant surprise
to find several small but necessary things
such as washing up liquid supplied.
The lodge and its amenities may have
impressed his parents but the once and
future king was more taken with the space
under the raised balcony — a perfect base
for StarWars figures.The next morning he
must have chosen Luke Skywalker’s desert
planet home, Tattooine, as his playground
because he emerged covered in dirt and
dust — to his mother’s delight — as we
piled in the car to head for Auchingarrich
Wildlife Centre.
Set in the hills near Comrie, the centre
has outdoor and indoor play areas, a café,
shopandahostofexoticandfarmanimals.
Yoda, kept on the lead, was allowed in and
one kind staff member even fetched him a
bowl of water.The lemurs, though, did not
welcome him.
Boasting everything from pigs to
prairie dogs and meerkats to monkeys,
Auchingarrich is a great place for animal
lovers. Holding tortoises and chicks was
a particular highlight for the children. A
pitstop in Crieff even saw The Boy find
somewhere to wash the dust off.
The section of MacRosty Park where
jets of water shoot up through the play area
BarrieDaglishleadsapartyofintrepid
youngadventurersintotheunexplored
wonderlandofPitlochryandenvirons
Above: a lodge at Logierait by Pitlochry was the
base for Barrie and his family’s short break. Right:
another view of the lodges. Far right: Nae Limits
offers white water rafting for adrenaline junkies.
zz Logierait Lodges. Tel:
01796 482253. relax@
logieraitlodges.com
zz The Highland
Chocolatier and Scottish
Chocolate Centre. Tel:
01887 840775. www.
HighlandChocolatier.com
zz Blair Castle. Tel:
01796 481207. www.
blair-castle.co.uk.
zz The Red Brolly Inn. Tel:
01796 510300. stop@
theredbrolly.co.uk
zz Nae Limits. Tel: 01796
482600/0845 017 8177
www.naelimits.co.uk;
info@naelimits.co.uk
surface was a big hit with all three and
they were soon soaked through.
The children’s laughter continued at
the end of the day when, on the grassy
strip outside the lodge, the prizes were
handed out after some fiercely-contested
sprints. It may or may not be true that I
finished outside the medal positions.Also,
I can neither confirm nor deny that those
finishing ahead of me were running in
their pyjamas and wellies.
OurlastdaysawusheadforBlairCastle
and it was there, on the path to the walled
garden, that our hero found his branch —
I mean sword — and our tale began. The
walled garden is a fine spot and feeding
the ducks proved endlessly interesting for
our youngest. The adventure playground
was also a hit and let the kids burn off
some energy before we toured the castle.
Dressing up and a challenge that
involves searching for different items or
imagesheldthetrio’sattention—although
the smallest hunter’s noisy tantrum may
have broken the concentration of some
visitors.
Food was needed and so our next stop
was for lunch at the Red Brolly Inn.
Owned by the proprietors of Logierait
Lodges, the Red Brolly has a café, bar, and
restaurant and its pub grub was welcome
after our busy morning. The Red Brolly is
just off the A9, at Ballinluig, and a short
walk away from the Nae Limits Outdoor
andActivity Centre.
Ourchildrenarestilltooyoungforwhite
water rafting but I’ve been canyoning with
Nae Limits and I’d highly recommend it.
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