Local facilities & places of interest
T
he Kyle of Sutherland not only offers nature, it is also steeped in Scottish Highland history, from the many Pictish settlements, Standing stones and Brocks to the Battle of Carbisdale where the Duke of Montrose finally met defeat and was later hanged for his infamous deeds.
On the opposite side of the Kyle to the Invershin Hotel stands Carbisdale Castle, monument to the former Duchess of Sutherland ( the Castle of Spite) who commissioned its construction, Its clock tower faces west away from Sutherland, it is reputed that she requested this direction so that the new Duke when journeying south on the recently constructed railway, although over shadowed by the Castle as he left Sutherland could not see what time of day it was.
WILD RIDES
The Invershin Hotel is perfectly placed to offer you
an unforgettable experience in conjunction with Wildrides Outdoor
Activities, a small family run activity centre offering a range
of activities on their Scottish rare
breed horses and ponies including Clydesdales and Rhum Highlands, Sled Dog treks in
the cooler months, and open canoe hire.
Following on to information on the exclusive packages
We are able to fully tailor packages, exclusive to the Invershin Hotel, that
contain any or all of our activities. Our friendly staff are happy to include
any special needs or requirements we possibly can including hen/stag parties,
youth groups, themes, and some disabilities.
Our standard riding packages are suitable for most
levels of experience and are extremely affordable with a 2 day package only
costing £175 per person + accommodation and meals. The two day package forms
the back bone of all our standard packages with extra days of activities
included or days off to allow legs and bums to recover! Here is an example of a
standard package below that covers 5 days and costs £280 per person +
accommodation and meals. Our 2 day
package is equivalent to days 1&4 of this package;
Day1 – Consists of a Q and A session, and orientation to the yard and horses. For the inexperienced we will give tuition in feeding, watering, grooming, and tacking up which will be followed by two one hour lessons in our well equipped outdoor riding school. These will usually be on two different horses to give you the opportunity to experience as many of the Scottish breeds as possible. You are welcome to finish the day on the yard helping out or take the afternoon off to go sight seeing.
Day2 – To ease you into a long time in the saddle gently we can take you on a half day hack across country to the top of the hill behind us where you can get a view of 2 coasts and seven counties on a clear day. You will be crossing burns and peat bogs, and discovering long forgotten drover’s trails.
Day3 – To get you rested and ready for the highlight of the holiday we recommend you take a day off to experience the areas other delights, such as top quality gift shopping, forest walks, beaches, distilleries and castles.
Day4 – We collect you by horse after breakfast from the hotel and make our way back to the yard through Balblair Wood to the West Airdens area of Bonar – to begin the day!
At the yard we will get fresh horses and head off across common grazings used by crofters that are covered in hundreds of 5,000 year old stone hut remains. Heading for the shores of Loch Migdale we will ride through ancient woodland showing examples of all our native flora and the opportunity to see some of the best and rarest Scottish wildlife. We break for lunch on the shingle beach at the bottom of the loch, and an opportunity to swim with the horses, before making our way up to the top of the hill for a view of both the east and west coasts of Scotland. Experienced riders can gallop up the hill and jump some small ditches, and for those with less of a need for speed the horses will amble on up giving you a great vantage point to make the most of the views over woodland, and heathery hill.
Once the horses have caught their breath after climbing we will make our way “off piste” back to Bonar across the open hill, crossing burns, ruined crofts, and overgrown cattle walls to the village and home.
Day5 – To finish off your perfect outdoor holiday with something relaxing we recommend you take out one of our family sized open Canadian canoes. If you have experience we can drop you off up river on the Kyle and you can paddle back down to the hotels own private jetty, or you can use it on Loch Migdale which is a safe closed body of water, and explore the crannog (ancient man made island with a house) at the west end which was visited by TV’s Time Team.
