Ah, the Fife Arms. A sort of royal Highland fantasy meets a stay at a faintly bonkers art museum, which has transformed the pretty little town of Braemar, not far from the royal Balmoral Estate. There are more than 16,000 works of art in the hotel, with every Picasso, King Charles watercolor, and taxidermied haggis playfully but beautifully curated by the art-dealer owners Ivan and Manuela Wirth.
In fact, everything here is done with total conviction, from the wild swimming and sauna experience led by local Annie Armstrong to the freeform whisky tastings led by Angus Upton at Bertie’s Bar, who’s fond of linking drams to Brian Eno or Swedish schlager music, French armoires, or late-stage capitalism. If nothing else, come for black pudding bonbons with spiced plum ketchup at The Flying Stag, where the staff have a sense of humor drier than the hotel’s single cask whisky. The Fife Arms is, above all, good fun. There’s not another hotel like this—definitely not in Scotland, and probably not anywhere else.
Packing-wise, there are competing instincts at play here. One is that I’m at the normcore/gorpcore end of the fashion spectrum, as defeatist as that is to admit—and part of what I love about the Fife is that it really isn’t snooty. Arriving in your hiking gear and ruffling one of the staff pooches is fine here—everyone gets the same welcome. At the same time, the village does have a certain royal-warrant style, ideally accented with Barbours, Land Rovers, and Labradors—a style that’s slyly played with at the Fife Arms shop, one of the great hotel stores, where you might pick up a Giles Deacon tartan cape or find yourself yearning for a waxed cotton Glens kit bag in collaboration with Aberdeen-based deadstock brand Fernweh. Below is a mash-up of what I actually packed, and what I realized I probably should have.
Where I stayed
A few things I loved about this hotel: the over 16,000 pieces of art, including a few Picassos, none of which takes itself too seriously; the warm, brilliant, funny staff; and the fact that it’s dog-friendly.
What I packed
Vivobarefoot Forest Tracker Esc shoe
With irregular-shaped feet, I’m a convert to barefoot shoes, and I love these hiking versions, which strike just the right balance between hard-wearing and comfy. They saw me through an educational 10-mile trek across the Balmoral Estate with Walk Braemar’s Alex Smith, which covered everything from royal etiquette to ant politics and the complexities of rewilding. They just about work for a fish pie or pork and haggis sausage roll at The Flying Stag, too.
Classic Beaufort Barbour jacket
I was actually wearing the now-sold out Gleneagles x Barbour jacket, which was veering into faux pas territory (it’s okay to be polygamous with hotels, right?). But this is Barbour territory, and you’ll be comfortable bumping into Ivan and Manuela Wirth, Fife’s art-collector owners, in a classic waxed Beaufort.
R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman boots
The boots I miss the most are an old pair of RM Williams Chelsea boots, which will feel about right around The Fife: elegant, well-crafted but not at all fussy, and easily good enough for a stroll around Braemar, possibly to the site of the famous Highland Games that happen here.
Chapman Troutbeck fishing bag
There are great fishing bags at The Fife Arms shop, but my sister brought her Chapman fishing bag, which was a city-to-city crossover hit long before everyone got those Uniqlo crossbody bags. With just the right pocket configuration, it feels at home in the wilds of the Cairngorms.
Thomas Farthing Geary flat cap
The last time I attempted a flat cap, my girlfriend laughed at me. But if not at The Fife Arms, then when? I’m secretly waiting for the moment my masculinity is mature enough to rock this sort of Peaky Blinders fishing for rainbow trout vibe.
Peregrine Aran jumper
Braemar has hit the record books as the coldest spot in the UK, so solid cold-weather gear is essential. I like a good cable knit, and this Peregrine version looks just about spot-on—and maybe even worthy of a set dinner at the Clunie Dining Room, the smarter of The Fife Arms’ eating options.
What not to pack (but to buy while you’re there)
Here are just a few highlights from The Fife Arms shop, one of my all-time favorite hotel shops, and a cheat’s shortcut to smart and occasionally playful Highlands style.
Alba fragrance
This unisex fragrance is a collaboration between The Fife Arms and Julian Bedel of Argentine ethnobotanical perfumers Fueguia 1833—with subtle but curiously addictive notes of Scots pine, bog myrtle, and heather. My sister, a Santal 33 devotee, kept going for sprays and ended up buying a bottle.
Tartan cashmere scarf
The Fife Arms has its own tartan, loosely based on the Duke of Fife’s tartan, but reworked by the Scottish weaver Araminta Campbell. This scarf doubles as a useful staple and a memento of your trip.
Fernweh for The Fife Arms backpack
I’d never heard of this Aberdeen-based brand before visiting the hotel, but seriously coveted its bags. There’s a smaller crossbody version and a handheld Glens kit bag, but I’d have gone for the classic backpack, made with deadstock Scottish waxed cotton and tanned leather from Scotland’s last oak-bark tannery.
Oak fishing nets
Listen, you probably don’t need a handcrafted Scottish oak fishing net, and you almost certainly don’t have luggage space. But I couldn’t stop gazing at these things, made by Highlands fisherman-craftsman John Bell—each one a 14-hour labor of love, designed so that large trout and salmon can lie comfortably in the water before release. Or it could just adorn a cabin wall.
