Press Trip
We’ve just returned from the most perfect little mini break to the Scottish Highlands and I wanted to share all the details with you and tell you why you simply must spend a weekend in the Scottish Highlands this autumn.
We stayed at Abbey Holidays Loch Ness, which is on the grounds of The Highland Club and a converted abbey, which was absolutely stunning and so much fun to explore. Our apartment was the Caledonian Old School 12 and it was really beautiful. We stayed with another couple but the apartment was a three bed so had plenty of space for us all during our stay. Ed and I took the mezzanine bedroom, which looked over the kitchen/dining/living spaces and out to the grounds through an arch window, so gorgeous! Our friends stayed in the downstairs ensuite, which had these amazing arched beams, both double rooms were amazing, and the twin room would be brilliant if you were also staying with children.
As the accommodation was quite far into the Scottish Highlands, we didn’t want to drive as it would have taken too much of the time we had so instead we drove to our friends’ house and then all flew from Luton airport to Inverness with EasyJet. I am a big baby when it comes to flying as I am claustrophobic, but the flight was only just over an hour so fairly manageable, and really straightforward. Unfortunately our outward flight was delayed by 2 hours, which did annoy me a bit as we had such a short time away as it was, but we had some snacks at the airport and chilled out before the flight, so it wasn’t all bad.
We had decided to book car hire rather than a transfer to the abbey, as it would have cost around the same amount and gave us more freedom. We did this via Booking.com and the car hire was with Arnold Clark. We hadn’t realised they were not on-site, but we were able to get a free shuttle over to where the car was from the airport, and it was in the right direction for us, so no big deal. We were also given a complimentary upgrade to a BMW, which was nice!
I would definitely recommend car hire if you are looking to visit the highlands as there are so many beautiful spots to stop and take photos from, it would have been hard to have been in a transfer to not have that freedom. We had booked a Tesco delivery ahead of time, which arrived just after we did, and it was great to have stocked up our apartment cupboards and fridge right at the start of the trip, without the need to take time going around the shops. The apartments are self-catering, and we had organised a couple of main meals, breakfast for each day and plenty of snacks and alcohol to keep us going during our visit.
After putting the shopping away and taking a little time to explore, we headed into Fort Augustus, which is literally right on the doorstep of the Abbey, and a lovely place to walk around by the canals. There are some gift shops and a couple of places to eat if you would rather have a meal out than cook. It is possible to not have a car if you are happy to stay local (or of course you could look into bus/coach excursions, or take a boat trip if you would like to go a bit further afield).
We had a swimming slot booked for 3pm which we had missed due to our delayed flight, but it was no hassle to book another one for 5-6pm. This is done via The Highland Club website, and is simple and free to do for those staying in the Abbey Holidays Loch Ness accommodation. The pool area itself was fairly small, hence the need to book slots ahead of time especially during busy times, but the pool was a good size and so atmospheric with the high ceilings and arched windows. It was really lovely to chill out and enjoy the facilities, which also included a sauna and steam room (though these did seem to malfunction during our time there, and we were unsure how to alert anybody to fix them, which was a bit of a shame).
I cooked pizzas from scratch, and had everything I needed to do this, which is always a bonus. The only bug bear was having one pizza tray, but really I don’t think many places would think to have two to be fair. The lounge wasn’t huge but big enough for us to sit and listen to music, and there was wifi which was easy to connect to.
In the morning we got up for the sunrise and went for a wander down to the shores of the loch. It was really quiet and atmospheric.
We then had a gym session booked. As the gym is small, it says to only have two people in there at one time which was a bit frustrating as a group of four, but not a massive problem. If you are a big gym goer, don’t expect anything too fancy equipment wise, but perfectly adequate for a quick workout. There was also a tennis court, again to be booked in advance. We had a 10am slot, and the rackets and balls were in our apartment ready to take down for this. There were only three rackets, which meant we needed to take it in turns to play, but again, not a major issue and we had a good time.
After breakfast and tennis we decided to head out in the car to explore a bit further afield and we ended up in Drumnadrochit, where we parked up and went off for a walk up a hill. This sounds fairly easy but I was sweating by the time we reached the top – I am not an outdoors activity kind of girl but I did enjoy the beautiful views from the top! I wanted to go and look around Nessieland, and then we called it a day and headed back to Fort Augustus for some lunch.
We decided to go down to the shores of Loch Ness, onsite of the Abbey, where we tried out battered Haggis at The Boathouse restaurant. The views were amazing, and I was surprised to not mind the taste of Haggis, which I found to be like a saltier minced beef. It was nice to have a drink and something to eat after our walk, but we didn’t want anything too heavy as that afternoon Ed was making his epic roast dinner – yum!
Again, we had everything we needed to make the meal, and it was lovely to be able to enjoy a delicious roast in such a beautiful setting. The perfect way to end a day of exploring the local area. That night we spent some time in the communal games room area, which had a chess board, pool table and various other games and books to enjoy alongside other guests. It was nice to be amongst other people as the abbey is so vast, it did feel like we were all alone in the grounds at times.
Afterwards, we had been told the Northern Lights might be visible, so we headed out at 11pm and 1am to try and catch them. We didn’t see anything extraordinary, however the pictures we took do have a green tint to the sky, so I reckon we may have kind of caught them! It was still really cool to be out with such a nice view over Loch Ness, and the perfect way to round off our trip before the next day’s flight back home.
Although our stay in Fort Augustus was short and sweet, we had a really lovely time and managed to fit in quite a bit to the weekend, without feeling rushed or worn out. It was the perfect mix of relaxing and making the most of the area and I would definitely recommend staying at Abbey Holidays Loch Ness as it is such a unique setting, and reminded us all a lot of Harry Potter, which is always a win in my books! If you stay for a bit longer or fancy exploring more than we did, I would recommend heading over to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, as that is where the train scenes were filmed for the film franchise (I have been on a previous trip and really loved how incredible the scenery was there). The Urquhart Castle ruins are also on the drive between Inverness airport and the abbey, so schedule in a visit if you like historical buildings, or just to take in the amazing views across the Loch. \
We were kindly gifted our accommodation at Abbey Holidays Loch Ness, however we paid for the remainder of our trip including flights, car hire and food/drink. All words and images are my own.
