The Fife Arms in the Scottish village of Braemar has launched a new offer for solo travelers in partnership with local artists. As part of the boutique hotel’s three-night “Artful Solo Traveller” package, guests can select from three accommodation options and enjoy an artist-led sketching or a creative writing class; a tour of the hotel’s art collection that includes more than 16,000 antiques, artworks and curios by artists including Pablo Picasso; a two-hour, head-to-toe Albamhor Signature Deluxe Treatment; daily breakfast; and private transfers to/from Edinburgh. Welcome amenities will include a V&A Collector’s Edition copy of “Treasure Island,” as well as a constellation journal crafted by Juju Books, a Glasgow-based bookbinding studio run by Gillian Stewart.
The two-hour creative-writing workshop is hosted by Aberdeenshire-based poet Gillian Shearer. She talks freely about her creative processes, describing how some of her best-known works have come to life, including the poem she penned in collaboration with the community of Braemar for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The process is designed to get all writers of all levels out of their heads and into the world, all while making the written process a lot more fun.
The wild-sketching session is held by Mel Shand, an Aberdeenshire-based artist whose illustrations are inspired by the Scottish seasons, Doric folklore, and native animal and plant species. Participants can pick the hotel’s garden as the backdrop or venture to the hills, where they will work with Shand to capture the plants and flowers, migratory birds such as osprey and resident black grouse, or simply see where inspiration leads.
Fife Arms’ gift shop offers a range of art supplies such as sable-hair paint brushes, reed pens and botanical writing inks, handcrafted by some of the best local and regional artists.
For more information, visit www.thefifearms.com.
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