Gleneagles

Commissioned by the Caledonian Railway and opened in 1924 as a "Riviera in the Highlands", Gleneagles has spent a century perfecting the art of the grand Scottish estate. The main house sits at the centre of 850 acres of Perthshire glen — a self-contained world of fairways, moorland, stables and stalking country, reached by its own railway station and framed by the Ochil Hills.

Golf is the headline. Three championship courses — the King's, the Queen's and the PGA Centenary, which hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup — wind across the estate, and the roll-call of guests runs from royalty to the 2005 G8 summit. But the estate rewards the non-golfer just as generously: a British School of Falconry, off-road driving, gundog training, riding, shooting and fly fishing all operate from the grounds, alongside a full ESPA spa.

Dining is anchored by Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, which continues the late chef's legacy of Scottish produce given a French accent. Elsewhere the estate keeps things looser — a birdcage bar, a century-old Grand Ballroom, and long fire-lit afternoons that make a case for never leaving the building at all.