Staying at Castleton, with its six bedrooms and a staff of locals, feels like visiting an old friend – albeit one who has a large pile in stunning Scottish countryside. There used to be a castle on the site of this Victorian hotel, so my husband and I were able to enjoy a romantic pre-dinner stroll around its old moat. Castleton is now framed by fields of summer berries, a plot where plump Tamworth pigs roamed, a pasture of grazing Highland cattle, a knoll with egg-laying quails, and a vegetable patch – the products of all of which can crop up in the £35 three-course dinner. Carrots fresh from the garden accompanied my roast loin of Glen Isla venison. Smoky roast salmon was also proudly Scottish, as were the ruby fruits in my iced raspberry parfait. Rachel de Thample.
Castleton House Hotel
Glamis, Angus.
Tel 01307 840340;
castletonglamis.co.uk. Doubles from £180b&b
Prices correct at time of publication.