Scotland Travel Blog November 08

"Bed & Breakfast with Class"

Some of the most enjoyable aspects about our research for Secret Scotland are the interesting people that we get to meet and the unusual places that we visit. I can't imagine how, in my previous life, I would have had the opportunity to be served lunch by Sir Peter Erskine, but that was one of my recent highlights.

I should explain that this priviledge was not being bestowed upon me for any reason more noble than the fact that I was visiting Cambo House to view the B&B accommodation that this very grand country home has to offer. After an enjoyable lunch washed down with some delicious homemade apple juice, I was taken on a guided tour of the house by Lady Catherine.

B&B accommodation in Scottish Castles is something that we are frequently asked about, but there are very few places that offer the sort of medieval castle experience that people want. We do know where to find places with thick stone walls, flagstone floors, vaulted ceilings, suits of armour and turrets, but these places are usually charging £100+ per night! At the other end of the scale, you find B&Bs with the title of "castle" in their name, but they are little more than country house hotels.

Cambo House goes some way towards filling the gap between these two extremes. It has the regal distinction and authenticity that is lacking in hotels which tag the word "castle" to their name, but it offers accommodation that is more "Brideshead Revisited" than "Braveheart". You won't find cannons, dungeons and battlements, but you will find portrait lined hallways, four poster beds and a great billiard room.

Guests really can live like Lords and Ladies with free run of the house's antique filled rooms. You can even eat your breakfast at one of those great long tables where you need to call upon a servant to pass the salt from one end to the other!

I expect that most children would love to stay in Cambo House too. It feels a bit like Hogwarts School with its grand wooden staircase and the family portraits lining the corridors. The estate also has its own resident pigs, some of whom are venerable old ladies that were rescued from an unpleasant fate. If you time a visit for March, you should be able to meet the new piglets. Always a winner when it come to cuteness!