With around 30,000 lochs and lochans strung across Scotland like a scattering of glassy beads, nearly 2% of the country is estimated to be covered in fresh water. Gleneagles sits at a pivotal point on the gateway to the Highlands, within a stone’s skip of some of the most beautiful stretches of water found anywhere in the world.
As the land dips and pools with these cool, dark waters, life forms: a natural rhythm that has rippled here for millennia. Long after such spaces were formed by glacial erosion and subsequently filled with flora and fauna, we humans began to harness their power for both sustenance and sport. From the essential skill of fishing through to the restorative pull of cold water swimming, Scottish lives across the ages have continually returned to these vital sources.
The opening of Gleneagles over a century ago coincided with a fascination with Scottish sporting pursuits, popularised by King George V who was a regular visitor to Balmoral and an avid fly fisherman, having been famously quoted as saying, “I am never so happy as when I am fishing the pools of the Dee”. At the time, where royalty led, the aristocrats followed, with notable society subsequently gathering from the Highlands to the Borders with rod and line, seeking not just fish but fellowship and the quiet pleasure of being outdoors in the style of their ruler. But it wasn’t just a pursuit of the wealthy. Across society, these traditions were often passed down through generations, with stories traded and told around peat fires of that one elusive fish that got away or the early mornings when the loch water was like glass under a sky painted pastel at sunrise.
It is from this layered heritage that Frandy – located on the original Gleneagles Estate, which was founded in the 12th century by the Haldane family, and from which the hotel takes its name – finds its inspiration. Born out of a love of water and a reverence for the timeless rhythms of littoral life, Frandy is designed to be more than just a sporting spot. It is a celebration of the very experiences that have drawn people to Scottish waters for centuries: the joy of casting a line at dawn, the sense of achievement that comes from navigating a quiet cove with nothing more than a paddle and a good dose of determination for the dopamine hit a breathtaking dunk from the bank can induce.
At Frandy, guests will be able to explore the water by canoe or kayak, fish from the bank or by boat or indulge in our new sauna space, complete with a cold dip for those who are feeling particularly brave.
