Breaking and Entertaining

It is always interesting staying in the houses of other people.

This is not through shamelessly inviting myself to stay but usually through taking a week or two's rental of a cottage or residence for annual vacation. As a family we have had a wide range of accommodation. The criteria for that often make or break choice for holiday success or otherwise is broad.

The intended destination is a given, be it coast, country, commutabity to a city or just the wide expanses of nothingness. Critically is the suitability of the place to take the family unit. When our 3 children were little, there being only 5 years range in ages, there was no problem in opting for just the two bedrooms and a folding cot.

As they got older and larger in proportion we required four bedrooms. In the categories of holiday lets this tended to push us into the higher price brackets as by definition a 4 bed house sleeps up to 8 persons. In that perpetual conflict of parents versus pedantic local education departments our window of opportunity to book was restricted to the school holidays. We did try to extol to those with the power to grant in term dispensations the educational values of a cultural trip to other parts of the UK or wider afield but it turns out that sun worshipping, sampling local foods and visiting wineries does not fit the typical curriculum.

 I have always found that a bit short sighted especially if we are seeking to produce well rounded and informed future citizens.

We have stayed for our allotted week or fortnight in some fantastic holiday houses but also a few shockers.

In the former I would certainly place the Scottish shooting lodge and in the latter the Scottish estate workers cottage. Such diversity and social history between those two. The posh lodge had formed the sweetener in the deal for a Canadian Open Cast Mining Company to acquire a granite mountain which they subsequently and to this day whittle away at in a huge operation including a jetty in the Sea Loch to take huge ore freighters. What better way to avoid opposition from locals and neighbours than by buying them out

 There was good business to be had on the large landed estate with shooting parties in the season and tourists for the remainder of the year. The population of wild deer were obviously aware of the dates on the calendar as they strutted around on the front lawn in full view with no fear of being shot. As well as a beautiful uninterrupted view across the loch the towering ramparts of an iconic Clan Stronghold , inland views to tree clad mountains and purple heather moors the kitchen was top of the range and as for the Maytag semi industrial tumble dryer. Well, we almost felt like those perpetual, scrounging house guests at Downton Abbey . We did act out the role and even had a go at croquet on the front lawn.

We were most reluctant and very sad to vacate after our week but were somewhat comforted by the prospect of a follow on week in another part of Scotland

.There was some similarity at the workers cottage in terms of the local wildlife.

 A plaque of mice ran riot throughout our stay interspersed with the ominous sounds of a baited trap in action in the wee small hours.

We learnt , the hard way, that in taking a holiday let the price is usually the strongest indicator of quality.