by It is easy to see why the Romans and the local Votadini tribe once fought over the Pentland Hills and why Sir Walter Scott praised her in verses. This is Edinburgh’s mini-Highlands, an escape that is hidden in the eyes of the strong tourist capital.
The Pentlands are a literal oasis because they are lovingly abbreviated from the city’s inhabitants; The BOONTIFUL reservoirs found here are the source of Edinburgh’s tap water. A dozen summit climb here (Spott Law on 1,900 feet [579m]), give way to tumbling glaciers. The Water of Leith, the Edinburgh halves, is one of the rivers that produce the pentlands.
They are also a metaphorical oasis and have been on the prehistoric period: The Hill Fort and the basement on Castle Law were early signs of people’s preference for the area. In the present, it is the task of the Penicuik estate to lure visitors.
Forget the prose of the same name nearby: If the 9,000 hectares of pentland Hills Regional Park are the Highlands in miniatures, then the Penicuik estate of 3,100 hectares is the pentlands in microcosm.
Ed Clerk, son of Sir Robert Maxwell Clerk, the 11th Baronet, is the driving force behind Penicuik Estate. His 80-year-old father remains his “most trustworthy consultant”. The employed dynasty has lived the Pentland since 1654, a rare unbroken descent in Scotland.
The old Penicuik house sits in the heart of the estate
As Ed proudly shows me, it is clear that the landscape is his heart: “We were always very passionate in this corner of Scotland and what we can do. We are proud of what we have and about sharing it beyond the property.”
Ed does not have to make a hard sale. One of the most famous writers of Scotland, Sir Walter Scott – a big fan and family friend – has already done it for him.
Scott enthused in the 1790s that “the beauty of the place and the flattering hospitality of the owners were combined to remind every one or two days.”
He may have entered even more purple prose when he visited today. Last year the property revealed half a dozen luxury huts and I lived in the Stall Park, the house of the old factor.
This Grand Stone building was excellently invented by interior designs by Edinburgh Fantoush with many marble and hardwoods, but also emphasize the subdued tones and comfortable fabrics that make a country house worth living. It is a calm luxury of the old world when you have a modern design touch, the essence of the reinvention of Penicuik Estate as a home from home.
Stable Park, the house of the old factor, is one of several luxury huts on the 3,100 hectare location of Penicuik Estate
In another sense, the employees were always passionate about the pentland and nature. Polymath Sir John Clerk, the second baronet, was a key figure in Scottish Enlightenment (at which Voltaire stated that it was “from Scotland that we receive taste from epic poetry to gardening in all arts”).
The employee was also a poet who brought the size of classic influences to Midlothian, inspired by his Continental Grand Tour. It also planted more than half a million trees, an epic regeneration company, one of the first Scotland.
The nine miles (15 km) hiking trails of Penicuik Estate go for a walk, the richly structured layers that have been woven into the landscape for centuries of baronets must be relieved. It is about walking with the inspiring spirits of their illustrious friends, including the celebrated poet Allan Ramsay (who enjoys greater immune on the site) and the architect William Adam.
Penicuik Estate offers nine miles
It is about feeling the power of enlightenment, with its physical embodiments, the darkness of the 40 m long tunnel of the Hurley Cave inspired by Naples, the counterpoint of which is the Knightslaw Tower, a light fire that emits into the broad world.
The vision of Baronets employed continues to live in an estate in eternal transformation. Ed has started an ambitious 100-year-old restoration company, restored nature and revived the legacy. They share both people beyond Penicuik.
At the center of the ongoing renewal is the Penicuik House -The Great Old Stable Block, into which the employees have moved in when the Palladian miracle, that it was an old Penicuik house, was made immovable after a devastating fire from 1899. The employees recovered the content of the old house and their imprint can still be felt in the exclusive opening of the reborn 16-bedroom openings as an event location for weddings, wellness retreats and dinner clubs.
Penicuik House is sitting in the heart of continuing renewal – Alexander Baxter
There is also Arcadia, a pop-up boutique hotel experience in September, in which the guests summon themselves with a six-course dinner by Chef William Hamer from Wild Kabn Kitchen and are known for his open cook.
As a result of these efforts, the Penicuik House immediately becomes one of Scotland’s most remarkable accommodation. There is nowhere else with a historic pigeon -topocot (a pigeon piece), which is housed in a replica of a Roman temple. The wasteful art collection of the family adorns the walls, in addition to striking modern works in a collage of old and new ones, the glasses.
Tartan Twee, under the expert guidance of an old friend of Eds, is stuck away, the celebrated interior designer Charles Orchard. Period Furniture was preserved in addition to the “architectural recovery” (as ED called it) from Old Penicuik House, including marble mantle, statues, huge architraves and shutters that have switched on your site to create a cladding. The bread oven, which once fed the property, is brilliantly revived as a Hammam in the Master Suite.
The interiors were dominated by designer Charles Orchard – Alexander Baxter –
ED is interested in emphasizing the environmental reporting information from the Penicuik House, and it is refreshing that this is not a box-ticket token. All real estate objects are heated by a state-of-the-art new biomass distribution heating network, which is supported by your forests, with the electricity for the pumps compensated for by solar.
The plans include four other bedrooms in the Penicuik House and ambitions to revive half a dozen dilapidated properties. There is also the building permit for 28 Scandi-Chic designer cabins, which immerse yourself in nature and countless activities, from wild swimming and feeding for food to e-bikes and guided hikes. A comprehensive goal remains the rebirth of the old Penicuik house, which was created in 2014. At the moment we can only enjoy a look at the sights.
Writer Robin McKelvie in the Pentland Hills – Robin McKelvie
The rest of the pentland also waved, whereby countless paths seduce all from dog masses to cyclists and horse rings. After a life-affirming Yomp-up-Ost and West-KIP, I end my increasingly seporific weekend in the stable park-es not to relax in the Penicuik estate-with a soaking in the outside of the outside of the hinge, followed by a festival that was cooked by the Edinburgh Catering Company.
“We obtain everything on their plates from here. This part of Scotland offers so rich”, the chef Russell Smith is irradiated.
When I get into Cedar Plank smoked salmon and perfectly pink Scottish Rib Eye, it feels like I have entered a TV-advert order from Scotland. A slope house, which instead of being a tedious five -hour drive to the north, is one oasis less than half an hour from Edinburgh.
Essentials
The Penicuik House opens in August and offers at least two nights for up to 32 guests who start at B&B base of 5,400 GBP per night.
A stay in a house with a bedroom for the estate costs from 220 GBP per night; The stable park with four bedrooms costs from £ 500 per night, self -sufficiency.
