"It's s**** being Scottish!" roared Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting.
"We're the lowest of the low." It is one of the most famous passages from the film, but also one of the most inaccurate. For Corrour Station, where the scene was shot, is anything but low. At 1350ft above sea level, Corrour is the highest mainline railway station in Britain. It's also one of the most inaccessible, with the nearest public road more than 17 boggy miles away. If you're not into long-distance hiking, the only realistic way to get there is by train.
In other words, it's not the sort of place where you would expect to find luxury accommodation, exquisite hospitality and a restaurant that could give any top-end city establishment a run for its money. Yet this is the package on offer for guests at the Corrour Station House Restaurant, an outpost of enterprise on the part of owners Ollie Bennett and Lizzie MacKenzie.
We arrived on the train from Glasgow and were delighted to find we had been given the Monarch Suite, probably the best of the three en-suite guest rooms. Throughout, the accommodation is tasteful, but the allure of Corrour unquestionably lies outside.
For the angler, a scattering of nearby lochans is an irresistible draw, and even my ham-fisted casts drew a couple of trout. We then headed for the hills for a spot of munro-bagging, dragging ourselves up nearby Beinn Na Lap, its 3067ft summit all the easier to reach when the train has done almost half the work for you.
Yet even a modest bit of mountaineering builds up the appetite. Fortunately, this is where Station House comes into its own, with Bennett's cooking the ideal restorative for weary legs and hungry palates as he makes resourceful use of the best local ingredients. Venison, as you would expect, figures large on the menu, but Bennett's repertoire is wide, skilful and executed with engaging enthusiasm. Remoteness adds to the experience, but you would admire food of this quality anywhere.
Alasdair Reid was a guest of Corrour Station House Restaurant, Corrour Estate. B&B from £40 per person, based on two sharing. Visit corrour-station-house-restaurant.co.uk or call 01397 732236/ 07786 216350.
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