Stuart Minting takes his family on a break in a woodland lodge at Blair Castle, in the Cairngorms, gets close up with nature and discovers the property’s rich history

WE'RE high in the Cairngorms, in a glen that feels like the roof of the world, and several pairs of binoculars are fixed on a rocky outcrop featuring a clump of heather twigs.

While our eyes would have passed right over it, our award-winning wildlife safari guide Sandy Reid, who has worked the 145,000-acre Blair Atholl Estate for 58 years, tells us it's an eyrie, home to one of the three golden eagles which command the skies of the remote area.

We shelter from icy winds behind a Land Rover in the hope of catching a glimpse of the bird, but today, Sandy eventually says, our luck is not in.

The white hares have also gone to ground, however, the knowledgeable and engaging former stalker showcases the area's bountiful fauna, including black grouse displaying and an array of red stags against a backdrop of spectacular scenery, which relatively few have been privileged to visit.

As North Yorkshire residents we're used to the beauty of the North York Moors, Yorkshire and Durham Dales and Northumberland, but here, north of Pitlochry, just 90 minutes from Edinburgh, the wonders of the landscapes are on another scale.

"It's best to get out in the early morning when the deer are down from the hills," Sandy says. "They are the opposite of sheep, you see. They come down and graze at night and go back up in the morning. The sheep, however, they graze in the day then go up at night and lie."

He points out a cluster of sturdy ponies in a nearby field. "We do the stalking the old traditional way here," he says. "Everything comes in on the ponies. We put the stags and hinds over the back and the grouse in panniers."

All too soon and the memorable safari is over, but the silver lining is that we've returned to our Highlands base, a tropically-warm Scandanavian-style woodland lodge, with large windows giving views of the surrounding forested snow-capped mountains.

Whether we look outside or indoors, everywhere there's pine. The open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge area is well stocked and has high-quality appliances for self-catering and comfortable furnishings and offers more style, space and comfort than static and touring caravans.

The bedrooms are cosy too, but what makes the lodge impressive is its location. It's close enough to the A9 to offer easy access to explore the area, but sufficiently far to be able to drift off to the sounds of a river running through a gorge and a parliament of owls hooting. And the nearby Blair Atholl, with its inn, shops and railway station is not too big to spoil the dark sky stargazing opportunities this area presents.

From the lodge there's a plethora of woodland and riverside trails, pony trekking, vintage tractor and trailer rides, cycling and fishing, so we don't feel the need to jump in the car to go anywhere. The spacious site's games room, with its table football, table tennis and pool, offers a distraction during a shower.

While holidays here are clearly for lovers of the great outdoors, from the lodge's verandah there are also glimpses of Blair Castle, the crowning glory of the caravan site.

A tour of the expansive property reveals an interior decorated with a staggering collection of stag antlers and weapons, alongside artworks and treasures from around the world. It is its rich history which stands out. Guides tell us how it was the last castle to be held under siege and has welcomed figures including Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Queen Victoria. At the end of a stay at the castle, we're told, the latter monarch thanked its staff by presenting them with her Colours, creating the Atholl Highlanders, Europe's last remaining private army.

It's more than two decades, we're told since the Duke of Atholl, one of Scotland's biggest landowners and also one of Britain's richest men, gave his ancestral home and much of his land to a charitable trust, and the results of work to open it up to visitors are impressive.

The castle grounds also boast a ruined kirk, a stunning walled garden featuring lakes with islands, a deer park and walks to a gothic folly.

For a change of scene there's window shopping at the House of Bruar - known locally as the Harrods of the North - just a few miles up the road and when we feel like a break from cooking we head to The Red Brolly Inn, just off the A9 at Ballinluig, near Pitlochry.

It's fresh and modern inside, and we're served with hearty and tasty local fare such as chicken breast stuffed with haggis, Scotch beef and Lai Fail Ale pie and clootie dumpling as well as crowd-pleasers such as burgers and pasta dishes.

After the meal we've taken on enough energy to tackle a Munro or two, but instead the owners of the family-oriented inn proudly show us their latest addition to their venture, a smart room for parents to stay in with up to four children.

As we leave the inn and return to our lodge, we chat about the warm welcome we've received everywhere we've been. Other than the spectacular landscapes and abundant wildlife, it's that whichk4i makes us keen to return again and again.

For details, visit blaircastlecaravanpark.co.uk or call 01796-481263 and theredbrolly.co.uk or call 01796-510300.