Sue Gaisford, The Independent on Sunday, 18 July 1999

Rosemary Shrager is one of Britain's great cooks... She is expansive, generous, voluble, enthusiastic, totally unpatronising and great fun... On the first day, Rosemary reassures her class: I'll tell you what we're doing each day, but if you already know how to make gravadlax or stuff a squid – or just feel like walking, or fishing, or staying in bed – well, that's fine. Please yourselves. It's supposed to be fun!...

Classes happen in the morning and the early evening. The afternoons are free for snoozing or exploring the unspoilt wilderness, spotting circling eagles and shy deer. One day, there was tea with a kindly tweed-weaver, who dyes her own yarn with lichens from the hillside. Another afternoon, there was a long, sunny picnic on the island of Taransay, with nothing but sheep and seagulls for company, returning sunburnt and relaxed.

At first sight, this holiday seems pricey, but it is genuinely all-inclusive. You can drink as much as you like and live like a lord. The castle is comfortable, luxuriously furnished, scented with flowers and decked with antlers and sporting prints.