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- 1. food&TRAVEL Outward Bound From fishing to foraging and birds to beaches, get out and try something new, says Rose Gamble 1Ardanaiseig, Highlands FISHING Sitting serenely on the banks of Loch Awe, the former country seat of the Campbell clan quietly combines superb service with a lived-in homeliness. Interiors are baronial in style with all the antique furnishings, brocades and oil paintings befitting a grand old house, brought boldly into the present with a lick of lime green or petrol blue paint. It shouldnt work but it does. The 16 bedrooms (ask for a garden view) have simple, white-walled bathrooms. The wine-red library comes complete with a blazing fire, while the airy dining room is the spot for watching the sun rise (or set) over the water. Executive chef Gary Goldies five-course tasting menu is a feast. Watercress soup with poached quails eggs, buttery hake, pink Aberdeen Angus beef and creamy coffee panacotta. Tuck in with gusto in the knowledge that outside there are exhaustive heathery highlands to traipse over. If you are keen to fish, stroll across the lawn to the six-mile expanse of Loch Awe, one of Argylls most popular angling lochs, and rightly famous for its huge Ferox trout. The hotel will arrange lessons, permits, a guide or equipment or, for a simple life, you can have a go at hooking a rainbow trout in the hotels large pond. Doubles from 贈140, B&B. ardanaiseig.com EAT, DRINK, ESCAPE November 2013|COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | 95
- 2. 3Penrihw, St Davids, Wales Foraging You can bathe in bladderwrack, snack on pepper dulse and eat lava with roast lamb. Who knew seaweed was so versatile? Penrihw, a former priory in pocket-sized St Davids, provides a handy base to forage from. The seven-bedroom bolthole is a short hop from seaweed-strewn Caerfai Bay and is surrounded by plentiful hedgerows and woodlands. Under the watchful eye of expert forager Julia Horton-Powdrill, gather hogweed, navelwort and wild sorrel, pluck toad flax from faded stone walls and munch on three-cornered leek and black mustard seeds. Head chef Jonathan Voyce whips your findings into supper stinging nettle soup, rabbit loin with sea beets and scurvy grass followed by zingy, green fennel sorbet. Breakfasts are equally impressive, with orange-yoked eggs, buttery Welsh cakes and plenty of fresh fruits. The decor may not delight boutique hotel buffs, but the views over the cathedral are lovely, and a lingering sense of reverence adds to the appeal. Ideal for keen foodies. Doubles from 贈550 for a Wild Dining Weekend for two. retreatsgroups.com 2Hell Bay, Bryher, Isles of Scilly Bird watching Hell Bay, on tiny, windswept Bryher (the smallest of the inhabited Isles of Scilly) is as remote as it comes. The d辿cor is breezy and beachy. The 12 suites brandish sea-blue fabrics, bare wood and the odd accent of canary yellow, while somehow staving off nautical naffness. There is a fabulous restaurant serving up a flurry of fish dishes, followed by crumbly Cornish cheeses and velvety ice-cream. If the weathers good eat on the terrace: the views over the windswept Atlantic bay are dramatic, especially when the seals pay a visit. There are no cars on Bryher, a handful of houses, one pub and a shop, so the order of the day is to explore. Wander on empty beaches or brave a swim. For keen ornithologists, the islands are heavenly. Internationally famous for migrant birds, autumn is the ideal time to spot sandpipers, tawny pipits and barred warblers as they arrive from Scandinavia and southern Europe. If you are after something structured, sign up for David Rosairs guided tours, which take in Trescos Abbey Gardens along with birding boat trips to the uninhabited outer islands. Doubles from 贈135pp, plus dinner, hellbay.co.uk. Five nights birdwatching holiday, 贈1055. islandventures.co.uk 4Hawkes Point, St Ives, Cornwall ART The bleached seascapes of the southwestern tip of Cornwall have long attracted artists. Hawkes Point, a cluster of 15 beach house style apartments, lets the backdrop do the talking. Each apartment flaunts floor-to- ceiling windows overlooking Carbis Bay, with the Atlantic graciously framing the slick curve of sand. Decor is crisp, with stripes in cool ocean hues. Fluffy white towels, Ren products, flat-screen TVs and enormous double beds add to the luxe feel. A hamper of local bacon, fresh eggs and feather-light scones are delivered on arrival so theres no need to schlep straight out. St Ives, with its burgeoning caf辿 culture and restaurant scene, is a 20-minute coastal path walk away. But you come for the art. Painters have been flocking to nearby Newlyn since the 19th century, so the Newlyn School of Art, which opened last autumn, rolls in effortlessly on a tide of tradition. Hunker down in the airy studio for Jesse Leroy Smiths collage course, or trample the Cornish moors, sketching the crumbling harbour walls and smoky sea-scenes as you go, in the wake of venerable tutor, Paul Wadworth. from 贈750 for a two-bed apartment for three nights. hawkes-point.co.uk 96 |COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.CO.UK | November 2013 Food & Travel 損 Escape