Forest Holidays Strathyre

There are some lovely walks nearby, and the loch is wonderfully still and peaceful. Along the way we saw waterfalls where salmon return to spawn. Our accommodation was very comfortable and had plenty of equipment, including a cooker, microwave, coffee machine, dishwasher, hot tub on the decking, barbecue, and patio table and chairs. The Retreat cafe is a great place to meet up over freshly cooked treats, and the shop has useful things you might have forgotten to bring. The location is lovely and all the staff were helpful, friendly and professional. A great break away.

We’ve already booked our next Forest Holiday, so I’ll be curious to see how things are then. On this visit, the welcome grocery pack seemed smaller than it was a few months earlier, and the website confirmed it had been reduced. I hope that’s not a sign that standards are slipping. The service itself was good. One other thing I wondered about: why do some cabins have dressing gowns and others don’t? We usually stay in dog-friendly cabins and they normally have them, but ours here didn’t. The cabins sit quite close together on either side of a long drive that follows an old railway trackbed, and the place felt less foresty than some of the other Forest Holidays locations we’ve visited. I’m a fan and have been to two over the past few years while working our way around the country.

The walking trails were great and felt safe. My son rode off on his bike by himself without having to worry about traffic, though you’re still close to loch Lubnaig, so little kids need watching. We were told that next time in summer we should avoid a lodge near the loch because of the midges. Lodge 3 suited us perfectly, right beside the clubhouse and just off the main entrance. It backs onto the forest, and one morning around 5 a.m. an owl was outside our bedroom window. My wife loved that. The lodge was spotless and had everything we needed, and the jacuzzi was fantastic and cleaned every day. We ate at the clubhouse, where breakfast was great, especially the vegan breakfast my wife loved. We also got takeaway pizzas that were absolutely bloody great. The gift shop had just about anything you might need at reasonable prices.

We had a nice few days in a cosy cabin with a log burner, hot tub, outdoor seating and barbecue. Shame the weather didn’t cooperate for using the barbecue, though we weren’t really expecting it to at this time of year.