There are 2 places that pull at my heart, South Africa and Scotland. I spent the first 25 years of my life in Southern Africa in the land that gave me adventure and the want to explore. I fell in love with burning orange sunsets, lightening purple thunder storms, animals and their right to roam, braais and all the food associated with it and family.

For the last 20 years, I’ve lived in Scotland. The land of my birth. A place of belonging and where home is. A place where I feel settled and content. Scotland will hold your hand and slowly move in for a tender kiss, it’ll then close its arms around you in a heart-warming embrace, then wrap you up in a tartan blanket, sit you down by a roaring fire and hand you a dram. I feel this every time I set foot in the Highlands - oh how I love bonnie Scotland!

CORRUNICH COTTAGE, CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

But what does this have to do with Corrunich Cottage - the wilderness retreat run by Ghillie Basan in the middle of the Cairngorms you ask?

It is here, where for me, these two worlds collide and intertwine in a beautiful conversation with food and drink at its very heart. Ghillie grew up in Africa and her stories of growing up there really resonate with me. We may have grown up in different worlds on the African content, but there is a kinship there, a knowing and an understanding of African life and the beat of their drum. Ghillie is also Scottish and her home and hospitality reflect this.

After a long drive through and over the Lecht, knee deep in snow already, we arrived at the gate near Tomintoul. Ghillie collects you from here in her landrover along with her two gorgeous labs Lily and Hootch.

Had my Citroen DS even made it up the slippery slope it would very much have disappeared beneath the ice puddles of the very first ditch we came across (and there are several of them). The path is more accessible in the Summer months.

Corunnich Cottage is a self catering cottage for 2 people next to Ghillie and her family’s home. It is spacious with an open plan kitchen, lounge area, large bathroom with shower and bath, games/exercise room with a large bedroom upstairs overlooking the lounge area. There is a wood burning stove, oil fired central heating, wooden floors and no phones. Bliss.

A WILDERNESS RETREAT WITH GHILLIE BASAN

You can walk outside and pick your own berries and vegetables (depending on the time of year you visit), go for long walks in the hills where you can spot roe deer, hares and grouse or wander over to Ghillies kitchen and cook up a feast with her if you’ve booked one of her cooking workshops.

Ghillie is a writer, broadcaster, podcaster, food anthropologist, host, chef, forager, entrepreneur, whisky lover, mum, friend and a beautifully independent woman.

Ghillie has written over 40 books for which she has won many awards, the latest being Spirit and Spice which also happens to be the name of her Hospitality and Experience side of her business.

It is the name of her new website which focuses on the Food and Whisky Experiences she runs for private and corporate groups at her home and other remote locations and it is the name of her food and drink Podcast. Spirit and Spice embraces her lifestyle off the beaten track, enjoying food with family and friends, cooking indoors and out, using local and wild produce and pairing it with whisky wherever possible.

For me the highlight of our trip was dinner spent with Ghillie around her kitchen island, helping (albeit it a little bit) in preparing dinner and spending time exchanging stories on food, whisky and family whilst drinking copious amounts of red wine, indulging in some phenomenal local produce and venison that Zeki (Ghillie’s son) had butchered a few days prior to our arrival, petting the dogs, eating more and finishing it all off with several nightcaps of whisky from nearby distilleries. The wee small hours crept up on us before we knew it, and we stumbled back across the garden to our lovely cosy cottage.

Mornings were spent looking out over the Cairngorms, sipping strong coffee and munching on bacon sammies by the fire; before we set off in search of a phone signal.

Life slowed down to almost a standstill pace as you watched the sheep in the fields munch happily away and you’d watch the weather roll in over the Lecht. It began to snow on one of the days changing this harsh but oh so beautiful Scottish landscape and you realise why Ghillie chooses to live out here in the Scottish wilderness. There is no where on earth quite like it.

I long to return here in the Summer and I have a feeling that all Ghillie’s guests leave feeling this way. If you want a place of utter escapism that’s breathtaking and only a couple of hours drive from major Scottish cities, then this is the Scottish break you need to book.

Prices vary depending on duration of stay and time of year but a 3 night escape mid May will cost you £365. Book your stay here www.unique-cottages.co.uk

Cooking Workshops

Day Workshops: £450.00 for 2 people, £500.00 for 3, £600.00 for 4-6 (includes the day spent cooking with Ghillie in her home, all the food, and a bottle of wine)

Residential Workshops: £600.00 for 2 people includes 2 nights in the holiday cottage and a day spent cooking with Ghillie in her home, all the food and a bottle of wine.

To book visit www.ghilliebasan.com

My Spoon Award : Tartan Spoon 10/10