Hot tub. Those two words are guaranteed to trigger joy and excitement in my two children.
When I dropped the words into the conversation followed by “riverside lodge”, they were giddy at the prospect of a family holiday in the October break – and at the fact we were able to take our crazy chocolate Labrador with us too.
We were booked in to stay at Braidhaugh Holiday Lodge and Caravan Park in the charming Perthshire town of Crieff. I have very happy memories of spending similar family holidays as a child at Crieff Hydro, and I was keen to share the beautiful location with my youngsters.
I’ve been fortunate to visit Perthshire many times, and it is always at its most majestic in autumn. It’s difficult to do the scenery justice with words, the rainbow of autumnal colours a sight to behold. Reds, yellows, greens, oranges – so vibrant.
We received a very warm welcome when we checked in, and within a couple of minutes we were on our way to Tummel, our lodge for the week.
Set in a pretty spot next to the River Earn, Braidhaugh Holiday Park offers a range of accommodation including wooden lodges, glamping pods, caravans and camping pitches. Many of the homes have the all-important hot tubs, which are a boon whether you are travelling with children or not.
Our lodge was spacious and well kitted out with everything we needed: a flatscreen TV on the living room wall, TVs in both bedrooms, a fully fitted kitchen, toilet with shower, and the hot tub that we could use as we pleased.
The décor was centred on wildlife and I particularly liked how the woodland backdrop in the shower room enhanced the feeling of being surrounded by nature.
Crieff is a great location for many different activities. There are lots of golf courses and distilleries in the area, and any number of outdoor pursuits. I mentioned Crieff Hydro earlier on, and it is one of the biggest activity providers in the region.
Whatever you fancy taking on, the Hydro probably has it. And non-residents are welcome to book activities too. You can choose from archery, rifle shooting, tennis, quad-biking, horse-riding and much more. But we fancied trying something new, so chose an alpaca-trekking class.
We were part of a larger group and got to choose our own alpaca from the four resident animals: Ghost, Casper, Harry Potter and the wonderfully named Chewpaca.
Being obsessed with the boy wizard, my nine-year-old daughter insisted we ask for Harry Potter – so named due to a white flash down his black face.
For the next hour, we led Harry around the old golf course, taking in the beautiful views as we tried to keep our sometimes cantankerous alpaca on the straight and narrow.
It was a fun session and quite a different experience.
Another must-visit facility in the area is Macrosty Park, a couple of minutes’ drive from the holiday park.
It’s a sprawling park with large areas of grass, a river, band stand and children’s playpark. The perfect spot to tire out our dog – and children, who enjoyed playing on the zipwire, climbing walls, swings and trampolines.
Another great energy burner is the Knock, the hill that overlooks Crieff. You can park in the town and make a longer walk of it, or start off from Crieff Hydro. It is a fairly short trek up through picturesque woodland, but it is quite steep, so it’s a good workout for the quads.
The views going up and from the top are a good reward, and there is a plinth at the summit pointing out towns and mountains in all directions.
For a more sedate pastime, we made our way to the Caithness Glass visitor centre just along the road from our lodge, where we watched highly skilled workers creating impressive pieces of glassware right in front of us.
My daughter chose a glass (for a small fee) which she was able to paint and then heat under lights. The whole process took about half an hour and she was delighted with her creation.
While she was doing that with her mum, my son and I had a look around the shop and art gallery, which also sells antiques.
Crieff Visitor Centre is also located here and has a shop and a large café.
Talking of eating out, make sure you book ahead if you fancy going for a meal. It took me four attempts to find anywhere with availability on the Thursday night we were there. Crieff is clearly a popular place.
We were in luck though as we enjoyed a fantastic meal at the cosy Delivino restaurant in the town centre, which serves up good food and friendly service.
After our meal, we walked the mile back to the lodge and treated ourselves to one final soak in the hot tub underneath a canopy of stars.
Our friendly resident robin joined us and we enjoyed listening to the sound of an owl hooting in the distance as a bat fluttered high above us, once more feeling at one with nature.
It was the perfect way to finish off another wonderful family trip to picturesque Perthshire.
TRAVEL FACTS
Braidhaugh Holiday Lodge and Caravan Park
South Bridgend, Crieff PH7 4DH
Call: 01764 652951
Visit: largoliesureholidays.co.uk
Crieff Hydro: crieffhydro.com
Delivino: delivino.co.uk
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