Outfield Farm - Bothan Dubh

The one with the pond under it

Outfield Farm lets three cabins on the hill ground at Abernyte, and what separates this one from the other two is water. Bothan Dubh stands between an apple and plum orchard above it and a pond below, and its viewing deck runs out over that pond on a cantilever with cover overhead. The farm's tally of what turns up on the water reads widgeon, woodcock, swallows, swifts, moorhen, mallards, heron and roe deer, and the deck exists so you can watch them without going indoors when the weather turns.

The building is black outside, low against the bank, and inside is one open room with a king-size bed, a wood-burning stove, and a kitchen that looks out to the balcony. There are gas rings and a gas oven, and the stove will take an oven dish and a pan on top of it as well.

Outfield calls Bothan Dubh suitable for those with slightly reduced mobility, and says nothing of the sort about The Sheiling, which is up the hill with its bathroom in a separate building outside, or Whin, whose south deck drops into a gully. If ground and steps matter, ask about this one first.

The three cabins

Good to know

Features

Location

Where it puts you

Abernyte sits on the rising ground between Perth and Dundee, and the farm is straight about what that means: a car is pretty essential, though you can taxi in from either city's station. Those stations are around twenty to twenty five minutes away by road, and Dundee airport is twenty.

Perth is the easier of the two cities for a slow day, and Branklyn Garden is the pick of it for anyone who has spent the morning watching herons. The city has more whisky, gin and beer behind it than its size suggests, which our drink lover's guide to Perth goes through. Café Circa at the Scottish Arts and Antique Centre in Abernyte is the nearest coffee, open until about 4pm.