A few years ago, Prince Charles took the cup and saucer he had been given from a kilt maker in Inverurie and added a glass of whisky. It seemed fitting for a man with such strong ties to the UK’s northernmost country. The royal family has always loved Scotland, with its rugged, wild landscapes, stark, icy beaches and impossibly remote islands where puffins, kittiwakes and razorbills outnumber humans. The unwavering tradition here must also be part of the appeal, but King Charles and Queen Camilla are also quick to embrace change. Last month, they visited Ballater, just down the road from Balmoral, to check out the Fish Shop, their rather glamorous new local restaurant, sister to the much-lauded Fife Arms hotel in nearby Braemar. Here, you can get cod and chips that are a whole new level. Scotland is regenerating and looking great.
NEUK-EST
East Neuk is where discerning Edinburghers head on Friday nights. The pretty fishing villages and sweeping views of the Firth of Forth northeast of the capital have always been a hit, but recently this stretch of Fife's coast has become a foodie hub that's attracting much wider attention. Sleep in the stylishly designed cottages of Banchory Farmfrom where you can reach the action in 50 minutes by car along the water. Book in advance for a lunch table at The Kinneuchar Inn with its revitalised, locally-focused menu that’s anything but a pub. A Michelin star can be found in Anstruther at The Cellar, after which you can fuel up with a creamy flat white from Baern CafeÌ. For a more sustainable takeaway treat, track down Falmouth College of Art graduate Bjørn's Runic Liewho creates stylised, pop-colour, watercolour prints of East Neuk gabled houses.
EDINBURGH
The capital's grand old Balmoral Hotel has long been the best place to stay. But Edinburgh's latest opening, the heels clicking Gleneagles Townhousefrom the team behind the mothership behemoth in Auchterarder, Perthshire, is the one to book now. With a chic address on St Andrew Square and a flurry of plush cushions and fringed sofas, it has more than a whiff of a certain club in London's Berkeley Square. The hot spot of the moment is Bard in LeithCurators Hugo Macdonald and James Stevens’ shop-cum-gallery-cum-craft movement, which champions the country’s best designers and makers. It showcases those who are reviving historical methods (look out for the carved farmers’ milking stools in Shetland) as well as those who are exploring more modern innovations, such as 3D-printed vases made from recycled and bio-based plastics.
Loch Fyne
On the west coast of Argyll and Bute, this is the longest of Scotland's sea lochs. It's that kind of easily accessible wilderness, less than two hours from Glasgow, but with a rawness that makes it feel much further away. Much has been made, and rightly so, of the excellent Inver with its menu of earthy, rooty delights (rhubarb clam, sea buckthorn-marinated oysters) as well as the neat shepherd’s huts and contemporary cabins in which to spend the night. Further north, the Friday night pop-ups at Ardkinglas Estate are a little less buttoned-up but equally delicious. Chef William Hamer showcases the thrill of cooking over a fire with his brand new Wild Kabn Cuisine dinner clubs, where the five-course meal might feature langoustines straight from the lake and grilled vegetables picked from the walled garden.
Issy von Simson is the editor-in-chief of Loupe, subscribe to the newsletter here.
