My Perfect Weekend in Scotland

Ideal weekend companion: My husband Rory would love building up an appetite by walking round the scenic spots and then tasting up some of the best produce that Scotland has to offer.

 

Best place to take them: We live in Edinburgh, which is always lovely - I do enjoy a morning visit to Edinburgh Farmers’ Market on Castle Terrace.  It runs every Saturday and I love the fresh mozzarella, divine Scotch eggs, wee venison pies and award-winning cakes and pannacotta: perfect picnic fodder!  This weekend, we’ll just have a bit of breakfast here, though - perhaps some gourmet porridge - before heading over the Firth of Forth to Fife and its pretty coastal path.

 

The Fife Coastal Path meanders through fishing villages and over sandy beaches.  I’d take the Elie to Anstruther stretch through the colourful East Neuk and its fishing harbours.  In August, the Pittenweem Arts Festival uses some of the lovely little houses as galleries, giving you an opportunity to take in the artwork and see inside the traditional cottages.  By Elie, Ardross Farm Shop is a great place to stock up on local produce before we head home again - it’s right on the coastal path.

 

The next day we might spend in the hills in Perthshire.  You can do wildlife safaris there to see the deer but I really like walking through the woods and catching a glimpse of the red squirrels.  Atholl Estates is a wonderful place to spend the day and get a flavour of the Highlands.

 

I should also say that as it’s my perfect weekend, a lie in or two would definitely be included.  We have a baby daughter and sleep is priceless at the moment!

 

Great meals: In Fife, we’d stop at the Anstruther Fish Bar, an award-winning fish and chip shop with super-sustainable credentials.  We’d eat our haddock and chips on the seafront, overlooking the harbour and avoiding hungry seagulls.  Just the job on a sunny day - and this is meant to be one of the sunniest parts of the UK!

 

In Perthshire, I love the home baking at the Blair Atholl watermill.  It’s one of only a few working watermills that still produces its own flour.

 

One weekend item you couldn't be without: With all the local produce we’d come across, I’d be pretty foolish not to bring a large hamper with me so that I could stock up and bring some goodies home with me.

 

The perfect end to the perfect weekend: An evening stroll down the Water of Leith walkway, one of Edinburgh’s hidden gems, would hit the spot.  The walkway comes to an end in Leith itself, the old docks area of the city.  Along The Shore are a great variety of gastropubs serving up top notch seafood.  There are also three Michelin-starred restaurants. The idea of an evening down here watching the sun come down, sounds perfect.

 

Martha Bryce is Food and Drink PR for Visit Scotland.

 

Details of the walks given here can be found in a book produced by VisitScotland, ‘Surprise Yourself with an Appetite for Adventure’.  The book contains a number of routes across Scotland that allow you to try out different active pursuits (walking, cycling, sea kayaking, canoeing, surfing etc) and combine them with great places to eat along the way. This can be downloaded free of charge from suprise.visitscotland.com

 

It's time to challenge Scotland! If you would like to feature inThe Perfect Weekend please email ladyadventurer@ladyadventurer.co.uk. We are looking to include cities through to villages from right around the world.