Boath House

There's a real sense of occasion when you dine at this magnificent Regency house. A crunchy gravel drive leads to one of Scotland's most special small hotels, a lovingly restored mansion in 20 acres of mature woodlands with an ornamental lake stocked with brown and rainbow trout - you can even have a mini safari in the grounds spotting badgers and roe deer. Owners Don and Wendy Matheson break the ice quickly with their chatty, hands-on enthusiasm and they have packed their elegant lounges and dining room with colourful ceramics, sculpture and vibrant paintings - in fact Boath is designated an art gallery and showcases works by many contemporary Highland artists. In the stylish, candlelit dining room, comfy high-backed chairs look through expansive French windows over the gardens and lake - you may even see trout jumping as you settle in a the six-course dinner. After all, interior splendour aside, one of the main attractions here is Chef Charles Lockley's inspired cooking. 'Let the ingredients do the talking' is the kitchen's ethos, but top-level technical skills founded on classics, backed by lively imagination and a virtuoso grasp of what works with what, and why, doesn't go amiss either. Ingredients are sourced by from the finest Scottish producers, and the walled garden does its bit in contributing organic fruit, herbs, vegetables and honey from the hotel's own hives. Curt menu descriptions do little justice to what arrives on the plate. Cured scallops might turn up with truffles and salsify; pork belly is teamed with chorizo and apple, and John Dory is accompanied by rice, crab and crosne (Japanese artichoke). Scottish artisanal cheeses arrive the French way before pudding, which might be white chocolate and tonka mousse with madeleines. If you want to really go to town, stay over in one of six tasteful bedrooms and pamper yourself with a spa treatment.

2m E of Nairn on A96 (Inverness to Aberdeen road)
Nearest station: Nairn

Find your way with AA atlases, books and maps
Plan a route to this location »  Boath House, Nairn