No toil and definitely no trouble: the stage is set for a relaxing break in this luxurious bolthole
I’m not usually one for drama. The adrenaline rush, anticipation, the big reveal: it all leaves me a little exhausted, to be honest. But, at Dunsinnan Farm & Estate, in the Perthshire village of Collace, at a tiny retreat I’ve escaped to for the weekend, the spectacle of Macbeth’s Bothy has won me over. And, there’s a particularly inviting bed waiting for when it all gets too much for me. But more on that later.
Owners Alice Sinclair and her husband Alex are no strangers to this part of the country, where the brooding Sidlaw hills ooze the kind of dark Shakespearean theatre of the bothy’s namesake. The estate (all 2,500 acres of it) has been in Alex’s family for generations, and when he and Alice returned for good four years ago, they set about looking for ways to evolve the estate.
Renovating some of farm buildings seemed like a good starting point, and they took on much of the work themselves. What is now Macbeth’s Bothy was then a modest shepherd’s retreat, a place to shelter while tending the flock, but Alice could see its potential for holidaymakers in search of something special. She collaborated with Jill Wordsworth at Edinburgh interior design practice Fantoush on an assured, sumptuous scheme that took this humble dwelling in an unexpected direction.
When Jill described how she planned to lean into the Macbeth connection (the Bothy is at the foot of Dunsinane Hill, a key location in the Scottish play) and go with a drama-laden interior, Alice was all for it. Jill steered it away from being too literal or clichéd: “We avoided any obvious Shakespearean references, didn’t over-use tartan and treated the interiors more like a set,” explains the designer.
Whatever it lacks in floor space it more than makes up for in impact as rich colours, layered textiles and luxurious finishes all ramp up the drama. The kitchen has a dining nook and leads through a glass-paned door (whose heavy curtain gives a nod to the theatre) to the bedroom suite. This is a boutique affair decked out in saturated tones from Little Greene, with an oversized bed dotted with cushions for lounging and a pair of armchairs flanking an occasional table set up for games or reading.
“It’s a bit of escapism,” acknowledges Jill. “We have really leaned into moody colours and patterns – things that you might not want to have all the time at home – and focused on layering textures, blending traditional pieces with modern ones, so that the furnishings feel lived in and organically collected.”
“We’ve tried to do things sustainably, sourcing locally and keeping things native to Scotland wherever we can,” adds Alice. “The wood cladding here was reclaimed from The Fife Arms hotel in Braemar, for example.” Indeed, the welcome basket is crammed with local treats such as Monimail Orchard apple juice and Your Piece shortbread.
There’s a perfectly nice shower room but it’s hard to resist heading through the French doors to the outdoor bathhouse where a freestanding copper tub awaits, lit by candles and fairylights and sheltered in case of a downpour. The sensation of warm bubbles on gooseflesh in the night air is thrilling, an invigorating indulgence that probably only feels right on holiday. But that’s what a long weekend escape is for, surely – just enough low-stakes drama to make you feel alive again.
