Murthly Terrace, Birnam, PERTHSHIRE PH8 0BG. Telephone: 00 (0)1350 727324
www.waterbury-guesthouse.co.uk

Jim and I decided to have a little Spring break in Perthshire on Birnam in Dunkeld, a place we had been planning to return to for a while. Last year when he was playing at the Perthshire Amber Festival we managed to get a wee bit lost and drove through Birnam and Dunkeld a couple of times. Even in our stressful situation we were impressed by this lovely little place and thought 'we must come back here'. So we did, and stayed at The Waterbury Guest House. This turned out to be a fantastic choice.

The building, with its distinctive spire, is easily spotted on the main road in Birnam. It dates back to 1800's and was previously the manse to Manse to St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Only a short walk from Dunkeld, it's an ideal base to explore beautiful Perthshire.

I was delighted to find out that the young proprietor, Chantal Winning, was a Westender. A year or so ago she followed her dream and moved to Birnam with her family to open The Waterbury and she is making a fine job of running this enterprise. (Some of you Westenders will no doubt recognise Chantal as she often helped out in The Grosvenor Cafe, that fantastic West End institution run by her mum, Ghislaine Winning), who now spends half of the year in her native France with husband Larry. (Chantal's ability to speak fluent French plus several other languages has proved to be a real asset at The Waterbury.)

She has certainly applied all her acquired knowledge and skills to The Waterbury, making it a particularly attractive, comfortable and welcoming environment. She explains that her aim is to "make certain of a very warm and friendly welcome and that your comfort and enjoyment is our main priority".

At The Waterbury, they pride themselves on the quality of food served and we had the most delicious breakfast in the spacious dining room. Not only did it tast delicious but lots of added little touches made it just that bit different. The porridge served with the whisky cream was particularly tasty. We opted for the vegetarian option full breakfast and Jim took a bit of convincing that his very tasty vegetarian sausage was not meat. Everything was delightful and beautifully presented. Lashings of extra coffee on offer and first class service.

We finished off our coffee in the comfortable and relaxing lounge, where there is access to Wifi so that you can catch up on any correspondence.

At The Waterbury a lot of thought has been put into catering for the various needs of guests and apart from the charming rooms you have access to other amenities such as a large drying room and rod store, "particularly useful for those who enjoy the outdoors".

Apart from fishing, there are lots of activities in the immediate area such as golfing, walking, cycling, Whisky sampling and much more. Chantal will also arrange guided tours of the area and can help with travel to and from Glasgow & Edinburgh Airport. You are also very close to the bustling city of Perth and Pitlochry, a popular tourist destination with great festivals including Perthshire Amber Festival.

After spending a day outdoors you can return to The Waterbury and relax in front of the fire and enjoy a drink - available from their honesty bar. There are games and books available for you to choose. All the very comfortable rooms have tea making facilites and television/DVDs and lovely fluffy towels with complimentry toilertries, so perfect for relaxing.

An exceptionally comfortable place to stay with everything you require to make your visit most enjoyable. I think we will definitely be back for more. The other guests we spoke to during our visit were of the same opinion.

Some of the Guest Comments:

Anne & Sandy (Florence) Visited 06/09/08
" A lovely stay, everything great, well done. 5 stars!"

Francesco (FG Italia) Visited 10/08/08
"Good. Very, very good! This guesthouse is WONDERFUL!"

Ray & Donald, Glasgow. Visited 01/08/09
" Best B&B we have stayed in! You have thought of everything! Congratulations! & good luck! We will recommend you to our friends.

Vidal ( Paris, France) Visited 13/08/08
" A wonderful stay in your guesthouse. Breakfast was an outstanding mix of tastes and the room was superb. Your single malt dram is excellent. .nice welcome!"