By Stuart Forster
The grey disk gains trajectory from behind a grassy hillock and I track it with the shotgun my cheek rests against. Drawing the jutting gunsight forward, just a tad in front of the approaching object, I squeeze the trigger and the weapon recoils into my shoulder. The clay pigeon shatters.
Twenty minutes ago I’d not so much as held a shotgun, never mind fired one, so a sense of surprise precedes the elation of hitting the target. The instructions we’ve received at the shooting range that’s part of SCHLOSS Roxburghe’s 300-acre estate have been clearly and calmly delivered, helping me feel like a natural at clay pigeon shooting.
It’s just one of the ‘country sports’ offered at this luxury hotel in the Scottish Borders. Archery is another and multicoloured targets are arranged on the lawn by the conservatory of the manor house where guests check-in. So too is fly fishing on the trout loch or the twoand-a-half mile stretch of the River Teviot that are part of the estate.
“Always give us a call first
ask about what the river is doing if you’re wanting to go fishing. We can check what our country sports instructors say and we can check availability for you,” suggests Jack Cameron, Groups and Events Coordinator at SCHLOSS Roxburghe, when I ask what he’d recommend to guests who want to make the most of their stay.
“Come when the fires are on, come when it’s cold: it’s always lovely,” he adds, recommending a winter break while gesturing towards one of the grand fireplaces that remain purely ornamental on warm and sunny autumn days like today.
I started the morning with a pre-breakfast stroll on the golf course, whose signature fifth hole was still shrouded in mist when I reached the tee box that normally offers views of the Victorian viaduct spanning the Teviot. Being an awful golfer, my only shots were with my camera.
That said, teeing up a few drives on the driving range was fun. The Toptracer technology installed there enabled me to simulate playing holes – badly, of course – on a handful of the world’s top courses.
Last night’s top course was tender venison served with braised red cabbage and parsnip plus a rich jus. That was in Charlie’s, where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. Tonight I’m looking forward to dinner in Sunlaws, the property’s fine-dining restaurant, whose menu, like Charlie’s, draws on regional and seasonal ingredients.
Charlie’s is within the Estate House extension that holds 58 of SCHLOSS Roxburghe’s bedrooms. Completed in 2022, it also hosts the gym and spa, where I earlier steeped in the hot tub after sweating in the Finnish sauna and lazily swimming a couple of lengths in the heated outdoor pool.
Sunlaws, meanwhile, is in the manor house that has 20 guestrooms and suites. Its library has been converted into Bar 1745, whose name references the Jacobite Rising that reputedly saw Bonnie Prince Charlie stay on the estate. It was there, after dinner, that I participated in a whisky tasting led by Carrie-Anne Jones. The leather-backed books, wood shelving and comfy armchairs were an ideal backdrop for Carrie-Anne to share her knowledge of whisky.
From there it was a five-minute walk to my cottage. It is one of 51 added to the estate during the course of 2024. Their kitchens give guests a self-catering option while staying at SCHLOSS Roxburghe.
Formerly owned by the Duke of Roxburghe, this luxury hotel now has owners from Germany, where the word ‘Schloss’ means ‘palace’. It’s proving a grand place to enjoy a break in the countryside.