Toasted marshmallow, anyone? Scotland's 6 cosiest November events
Here are half a dozen dates for your diary
GOOD SPIRITS
On Saturday November 14, from 2-5.30pm, it’s time for the Stirling SpiritFest at Stirling Highland Hotel. Standard Tickets start from £39.50, including a goodie bag, or you can upgrade to a £54.50 ticket that also includes access to their guided Arbikie Distillery tasting at 1pm. Other brands of the 100 or so in attendance include the event organisers themselves, Stirling Gin, who are apparently Scotland’s smallest distillery, as well as Isle of Skye Distillers and Dark Sky Distillers.
STITCH AND SIP
A Coastal Weaving & Wine Tasting workshop is being staged at The Linnhe Storehouse & Café in Argyll on Saturday 21 November, as part of the venue’s plans for an ongoing community events line-up. From 4pm-7pm, £65pp, Gourock-based weaver and textile designer Heather Shields will lead a weaving workshop for up to 20 people. It will involve basic weaving techniques inspired by Scotland's ever-changing vistas. To accompany this creative sesh, there will also be a coastal-inspired wine tasting, led by Eva Franceschi from Corney & Barrow, and a selection of light bites showcasing the very best of local Argyll coast produce.
WINE AND DINE
The five-star Inverness hotel Ness Walk is holding an exclusive Tuscan wine tasting and dining experience with estates Biondi-Santi and Isole e Olena, on Saturday November 21. It will be hosted by Liberty Wines’ Lorenzo Tonelli, who will lead guests through a masterclass of five wines before a specially designed dinner, with matched wines from both estates, including a 2012 Champagne and a 2012 Vin Santo. Tickets are £195, or you can go for the Tuscan Reserve Experience and stay in the hotel for £570pp (based on two guests sharing) or two nights for £960pp, including a Jacobite Loch Ness cruise and a heavenly Champagne Afternoon Tea.
07748 930788, nesswalk.com
SAY CHEESE
If your favourite sort of cheese is squishy and as pale as Mary, Queen of Scots, then join Kristen Allan at Bowhouse, St Momans, on November 21, from 10am until 4pm, £130pp. She’ll be teaching participants how to make (and go home with) their own mozzarella, as well as stretched curd cheeses, burrata and stracciatella. There will be recipes, chatter, lots of cheese to take home, and a seasonal lunch is included in the ticket price.
MORE CHEESE
In other fromage-related news, Nor’ Loft has revived its winter Cheese Fondue Experience, in its Champagne lounge, which offers seventh floor views of Edinburgh. For £42pp, diners can enjoy a molten gruyere, emmental and white wine fondue, served in a traditional sharing pot. To dip, there is salame piccante, Cobble Lane cured frankfurters, crisp rosemary roasted potatoes, spinach and feta parcels, sun-dried tomato and garlic breadsticks, crudités and all the trimmings.
AUTUMN SPICE
Lean into autumn with a visit to Guardswell Farm in Inchture, Perthshire. They’re holding a Kindling event from Friday November 13 to Monday November 16. It’ll celebrate the season of slowing down, with yoga walks, donkey brushing and nature walks, but also, lots of cockle-warming food and drink, including marshmallow toasting and warming toddies. There are only 32 spots, across their accommodation offering, with prices starting from £470 for two people in shepherd’s hut, Kailyard.
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