Our two-night golfing break at Murrayshall Hotel, set in spectacular rolling Perthshire countryside, was blessed with beautiful weather as the thermometer rose to a balmy 25 degrees.
The original Murrayshall House, which has undergone several modernisations down the centuries, was built in 1664 by Sir Andrew Murray, son of the First Lord of Balvaird, a direct descendant of the Earls of Mansfield, the most recent of whom still lives nearby at his historic ancestral home, Scone Palace.
The magnificent Murrayshall mansion and the two top class golf courses surrounding it are just a leisurely 90-minute drive from Aberdeen.
Soon after checking into our lovely room overlooking a sunny terrace I caught up with Murrayshall professionals Alan Reid and Richard Holt before heading for the first tee of the Murrayshall championship course as my wife settled in for two days in the lap of luxury.
In 1981, when Hamilton J. Stutt, a founder member of the British Association of Golf Course Architects, was presented with a blank canvas of 350 acres of gently undulating terrain he used all his imagination to produce a challenging course with fairways bordered by mature woodland and several burns gently meandering through the landscape.
In 2000 Scotsman Stutt returned to create another masterpiece on the steeper slopes, the Lynedoch, carefully carving his way through a Scots pine forest to reveal magnificent views which stretched for miles.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing the championship course, in particular the 135-yard par 3 fourth hole over a lily pond and onto a large green, unfortunately I was through the back with my tee-shot and had to settle for a four, but the setting, with banks of rhododendrons in full bloom on the left, will live long in my memory.
Happily the course was relatively quiet so I was able to appreciate the amazing views the higher holes in particular afforded, and the buzz of a couple of training aeroplanes from nearby Strathallan airfield, one of them coloured bright red, only added to a colourful Perthshire tapestry.
Three and a half hours later, having carded a fairly respectable net one-under par 71 off my handicap of 18, I just had time to freshen up before heading down to the Old Masters restaurant for dinner.
My wife started with cauliflower and cheddar souffle, piccalilli, cheddar crisp and foam, while I opted for cream of leek and potato soup.
For a main course I opted for Isle of Ghia halibut with a crab and parsley crust, sweetcorn risotto balls, confit fennel and sauce vierge, while my wife chose hand-dived scallops accompanied by smoked black pudding, pickled apple, pancetta and pea puree. Both dishes were beautifully presented and absolutely delicious, complemented superbly by a bottle of Featherdrop Hill sauvignon blanc 2011-12 from Marlborough in New Zealand.
We shared a tasting plate of warm pistachio souffle, coconut and malibu panna cotta and white and dark chocolate mille feuille for dessert before relaxing with a post dinner liqueur in the drawing room.
John, the Moldovan waiter, looked after us tremendously well throughout, and again at breakfast the following morning before I teed off on the Lynedoch with a more than satisfying par four at the tricky 359-yard dog-legged left first hole, guarded by a deep ditch in front of an elevated green.
Now you could say it went downhill from there on in, but technically it was more of an uphill struggle, at least until I reached the 15th tee, the highest point on the course, adjacent to the 14th green, where my 20-foot putt earned me an extremely rewarding par five.
The tee at the splendid 15th, Lynedoch View, has to be seen to be believed as you are perched about 300ft above the fairway below, reminiscent in many ways of ‘the Preisach’ at Hopeman, incidentally 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie’s favourite par-3, or the equally spectacular “Clivet” at Royal Tarlair.
In the end I came in with another net one under par 68, I was very satisfied indeed by that score on a beautiful golf course which afforded even more spectacular views than the championship course the previous day.
As Scone Palace was less than three miles from Murrayshall, we decided to pay a visit, and what a good decision that turned out to be.
The grounds were magnificent, the strutting peacocks only added to the atmosphere as we sat outside in brilliant sunshine, a few yards from the Stone of Destiny, and enjoyed a scone at Scone.
Our guide, Iain, was a veritable mine of information about this five-star red-sandstone tourist attraction steeped in history, originally the site of a 12th century Augustinian priory, and where kings of Scotland were traditionally crowned.
That evening we dined in Stutt’s bar, effectively the clubhouse, and an excellent choice it turned out to be as Murrayshall head chef, Craig Jackson, was responsibly for this fine establishment as well, and the service we received from Ashleigh, a cheery lass from Blairgowrie, was exemplary.
While I started with sweet potato and cranberry soup, my wife enjoyed smoked haddock, mussel and cockle chowder with crusty bread. I stuck with one of my favourite mains, breaded haddock with chips and peas while my other half opted for the chargrilled sausage of the week, pork and mozzarella served in a giant Yorkshire pudding with bubble & squeak, caramelised red onion gravy and seasonal vegetables, accompanied by a crisp pinot grigio.
Dessert was equally delightful, my wife declined but I plumped for a traditional sticky toffee pudding.
Before heading home, as I had enjoyed a couple of refreshing glasses of local ale, Ossian, during our stay at Murrayshall, we decided to visit the Inveralmond Brewery in nearby Perth to see how it was made.
Young Kieran’s enthusiasm for brewing was so infectious that before bidding him goodbye we just had to purchase a wee keg of Ossian and a pair of engraved glasses to heighten the experience.
Before heading home to the Moray coast to a less than tropical eight degrees, we took a detour to visit our old friends, Helen And Gerry, in beautiful Plockton.
En route we vowed that as we enjoyed our short stay in glorious Perthshire so much, we will return, sooner rather than later, if only to master those two wonderful Murrayshall courses, the championship and the equally spectacular Lynedoch.
THE HOLIDAY
Murrayshall Hotel & Golf Courses, Scone, Perthshire. Phone 01738 551171. www.murrayshall.co.uk
Bed and Breakfast with a round of golf on each course at £89pp based on two people sharing a superior double or twin room (Sunday – Thursday).
Murrayshall Mondays – enjoy a bacon roll and coffee before playing 18 holes on the Murrayshall course for £25pp.