A high-end holiday that costs the planet less

Is it possible to live in the lap of luxury without blowing your carbon budget? Sarah Baxter finds the answer in Scotland

One minute you are at Inverlochy Castle, guzzling fizz beneath crystal chandeliers and eating dishes devised by Michel Roux Jr on furniture gifted by the former king of Norway. The next, you are e-biking into a soggy smirr, trying to work out where Ben Nevis has gone. Yes, this was a trip of contrasts, but – surprisingly – no compromises.

Five-star travel can come with a high price tag, for both you and the environment, so for some time I had wondered whether I could have a luxurious holiday without totally blowing my carbon budget. Scotland seemed an obvious choice if I was going to put my plan into action: in 2021, VisitScotland became the world’s first national tourist board to sign up to the Tourism Declares climate initiative, and the country is gunning for net zero by 2045. Furthermore, my tailor-made, carefully thought-out small-group trip, organised by Wilderness Scotland, would combine castle stays and gourmet dinners as well as activities designed to connect with nature; it would also have an accurate carbon score, worked out via the company’s labelling scheme, with the impact offset via carbon mitigation projects.

My mission began aboard the Caledonian Sleeper. I didn’t sleep much, but didn’t care, happily cocooned in my cabin, snug and eco-smug as half of Britain slipped by outside. We rolled into Perth and, soon after, into Murrayshall Hotel. This baronial stone pile, dating to 1664, emerged beyond towering trees and golf tees in the mist-hung November dawn. Trails weave around the estate – the views from the Lynedoch Obelisk at sunset were spectacular – but we started with breakfast, and a chat by the fireplace with general manager Gary Silcock. The hotel’s Elòas dining room won Best Boutique Hotel Restaurant at the 2022 Boutique Hotelier Awards, he said, and big plans are afoot: a new spa, more rooms, even zip wires. Silcock was pragmatic regarding sustainability: “There is a move towards it now because it’s good for the finances.”

Murrayshall and nearby Fonab – a 19th-century castle turned 21st-century hotel – were opulent bases for exploring Perthshire with a green-luxe focus. For instance, we tasted jolly good fruit wines at nearby Cairn o’ Mohr, where all the ingredients are grown or foraged within a 16-mile radius. And we had a private tasting of the “world’s best truffles” with Iain Burnett, the Highland Chocolatier. Iain makes award-winning truffles using cream from local friesians and no additives. The results are exquisite, but it is a painstaking process. He is developing a vegan truffle and so far it has taken a year and a half.

But perhaps best was a private session with photographer David Russell. “Landscape photography is about forming a connection between you and the land,” he explained as we tramped into Tummel Valley. To less-attuned eyes, the damp day might have seemed a wash-out. “Work with water,” David advised. “Look for patterns, ripples, leaves on stones.” The luxury was having the time to look.

Scotland continued to be outrageously photogenic as guide Alan drove us north into the Highlands. Travelling

in November is a low-impact choice – you are certainly not contributing to overtourism at this time – but it is a meteorological gamble. Indeed, the weather shifted from driech to dazzling via double rainbows; the aforementioned e-bike trip was certainly a damp undertaking. But it was always dramatic, with autumn still clinging on, the hillsides a collage of deep-green spruce, golden larch and flaming beech.

The month certainly didn’t diminish

Skye’s appeal. Having driven over the land bridge, our first appointment was with John Macrae of the John Muir Trust. And if he was trying to impress us, he couldn’t have picked a better rendezvous: at the base of Bla Bheinn, one of Scotland’s finest hills, where the Red and Black Cuillin ranges meet. Specifically, we met John by the composting toilet, built by the JMT in 2019 to help manage the growing problems of littering and human waste disposal here. Wilderness Scotland is a John Muir Trust Peak Partner and makes donations towards its work on Skye, which includes peatland restoration, tree replanting and maintenance of hiking trails. Later, we walked a little of one such trail through wild Glen Sligachan, with the rounded Red Cuillin rising on one side, Sgurr nan Gillean on the other.

On Skye our home was Kinloch Lodge which, though indisputably luxurious – my bathtub looked over Loch na Dal; the food was some of the best I have ever tasted – felt like the house of a chic, rich aunt. From here we deepdived into the landscape with Mitchell Partridge, Kinloch’s expert ghillie who knows every eddy and clump of bog myrtle on the island.

Here we also enjoyed a quirkier indulgence. Sustainability consultant Rupert Hutchinson has upcycled a horsebox into a mobile, wood-heated sauna; his idea is to drive it to wilderness places to better connect people to nature. Today, he had driven it to us. We stewed nicely inside, looking out to the loch, before the perverse temptation became too much: I dashed outside and gasped myself into the navy chop.

It was excruciatingly cold. But a private whisky tasting in the lounge soon warmed me up. As we swilled 10-yearold Talisker by a roaring fire, we learned about the Skye distillery’s peaty, salty flavours and its eco initiatives, from reducing packaging to partnering with conservation organisation Parley to protect 100 million square metres of ocean.

The elegant cosiness of Kinloch coupled with Skye’s unyielding wildness were as intoxicating as a night on the single malt. Sadly, we had to leave, but there was time for one last treat. An Crubh is a café, shop and hub in Sleat, opened in 2017 – beforehand, locals had to use two litres of diesel just to buy a pint of milk. Though community-built, its design is five-star, especially the studio space, with its huge picture windows framing the mountains. It was here that Rhona Coogan gave us a yin yoga class.

“Yin is all about stillness,” she explained as we sat on our mats. “It’s ideal for this time of year, when things slow down.” After 45 minutes, we ended in shavasana – corpse pose. I laid under a woolly blanket, body stretched, mind relaxed, content doing nothing. The ultimate luxury.

Sarah Baxter was a guest of Wilderness Scotland (01479 420020; wildernessscotland.com) which offers customised itineraries from around £4,000pp, based on five nights. She was hosted at Murrayshall, Fonab Castle, Kinloch Lodge and Inverlochy Castle, all members of Luxury Scotland; for further information, see luxury scotland.co.uk. For more on sustainable Scotland, see visitscotland.com