Cally Palace, Dumfries & Galloway

Perfect peace We've all seen beautiful oil paintings of how golf used to be. Rolling countryside, the odd fourball in the distance. Space, calm.

No queues on the tee, no skyscrapers or holiday homes skirting the course. Nature and golf as one. In these days of high-tech course design, of utilitarian clubhouses, of conveyor-belt golf, it is still possible to enjoy the tranquillity that the game can bring to the soul.

Simply visit the Cally Palace and discover the genteel beauty of being part of an environment dedicated to reviving the romance of golf.

Set on the outskirts of the pretty village of Gatehouse of Fleet on the Solway coast, in grounds that cover 150 acres, the Cally Palace is opulence, it is splendour, it is peace, perfect peace.

Any time you want you can wander out and play a few holes on a course designed by Tom Macauley, opened in 1994, that offers challenge, superb greens and stunning scenery within the Galloway Hills. At the Cally Palace there is no stress, no fuss, no hassle.

From the breakfast table it is 60 yards to the first tee on a course that has no membership, no waiting lists, no competitions. Here you can't pay and play. The only way you can have a round is by being a guest at the hotel.

So often when we travel for our golfing holiday it can cake days to unwind. In the evening you dine on the finest local produce like wild Solway salmon in a restaurant which boasts an AA Roseette.

The food is glorious and the wine list expansive but affordable. If golf is not your way to build an appetite then walking in grounds that are bordered by 600 acres of the Fleet Oak Woods might do the trick, or swimming in the 15m pool or relaxing in the jacuzzi, sauna or solarium.

This is a very special place, a slow, tranquil place that is like a detox for your head. Cally Palace is operated by McMillan Hotels, a small family chain who also run another three establishments in the south west of Scotland.

The Fernhill Hotel is an attractive hotel overlooking the charming fishing village of Portpatrick with views over the Irish Sea. The North West Castle in Stranraer is famed for its warm welcome, hospitality and extensive leisure facilities including an indoor curling rink.

Finally the Kirroughtree House Hotel in Newton Sewart is an elegant country house with an award winning restaurant set in eight acres of landscaped gardens.