Kinloch Lodge: Blue Skye thinking

It's all change at Kinloch Lodge, home to cook and The Scotsman food writer Lady Claire Macdonald and her husband Lord Godfrey Macdonald.

Although the couple pride themselves on the warm Highland welcome visitors have received since they launched their hotel and restaurant business more than 34 years ago, the hospitality industry thrives on innovation and the Macdonald family have made 2008 a year of development.

Perhaps the biggest change is the arrival of a new chef to run the restaurant. Marcello Tully, 38, who trained at Le Gavroche with the Roux brothers, has relocated to Skye with his wife and two young sons. As someone who is passionate about food, Marcello describes Skye as "a chef's paradise". Local produce including fillet of Mallaig-landed sea bass and Isle of Skye lamb fillet are staples on his main course dinner menu, alongside starters including peeled Isle of Skye langoustines and Kinloch's own cured organic salmon.

Marcello is working with Claire to expand the dinner menu, as well as adding one or two innovations of his own, particularly in how the kitchen is configured. Claire and her daughter Isabella, who has taken over the day-to-day running of Kinloch Lodge, joke that they are afraid to step into the restaurant kitchen as they have no idea what half of the shiny new machines actually do.

The dining experience has been further enhanced by Tom Eveling, Isabella's husband and Claire's son-in-law, who has introduced a wine sampling concept called Wine Flight which allows diners to sample a choice of different wines with their starter, main or dessert, or all three.

This is a great idea for gourmands who are into matching food with wine. When I ordered the fillet of Buccleuch Estate Scotch beef, which was served with pan-fried fresh foie gras, wild mushrooms and thyme, and a beef and port jus, I was served three glasses containing 50mls of different red wines to compare and contrast. Despite the increased number of glasses on the table, almost asking to be knocked over, we managed to keep them all upright, while tasting each other's choices and voting on our favourites.

There have also been subtle changes to the dining room at Kinloch Lodge. The walls are still a rich heritage green, but the tone has been subtly lifted.

The portraits of the Macdonald ancestors maintain their watchful gaze on diners, but with the clever use of spotlights, they are brighter, and seem slightly less imposing.

But the innovative changes are not just confined to the kitchen and dining room.

Kinloch's new suite, Loft na Dal, with glorious views over beautiful Loch na Dal towards the hills of Knoydart, allows guests to relax in a separate sitting room, complete with a flat-screen television and DVD player. Of course, it wouldn't be Kinloch Lodge without the addition of a basket of fresh fruit and a little pot of homemade vanilla fudge. And if you arrive late at night as we did, you can expect a platter of sandwiches and some mineral water in your room to welcome you.

When the meals are so delicious, it's important to make sure you have some exercise factored into your visit, if only to work up an appetite for dinner.

With bad weather forecast – although in Skye the weather changes so quickly that you can be back in sunshine after a half-hour rain shower – we decided on a coastal walk from Elgol. We might not have been on the high peaks, but the views of the Cuillin were still spectacular. We were not long into the walk, which begins where a rough track leads off the B8083 Elgol road in the direction of Camusunary, when we reached the Am Mam pass and a great view of the jagged peak of Sgurr nan Gillean at the far end of the long glen.

Our enjoyment, though, was marred by the litter strewn along the bay and the green pasture behind it at Camusunary. Huge plastic containers, bits of rope, cartons and, unusually, a baseball, were among the piles of debris that had been washed up by the waves. It was jaw-dropping to see such a mess in a wonderful place. Couldn't Venture Scouts or a team of young people looking for ways to earn their Duke of Edinburgh Award get together and organise a clean-up? Or maybe every passing walker could be asked to fill a rucksack and take the offending items away? Tourists from other countries would surely be baffled as to why we let an area of quite outstanding natural beauty get like this.

It wasn't really on our route home, but we couldn't resist a visit to the

Sligachan Hotel for post-walk refreshment. This hotel is well-known to walkers and climbers and has a proud history of hosting the first alpinists, as well as Munroists who began coming here to explore the Cuillin range in the late 1800s. A little museum is set up in the hallway outside MacKenzie's Bar to show off facsimiles of the original visitors' books signed by early walkers and climbers. Various bills of fare are also on display so you can see what the adventurers of old ate after a day on the hills. By the looks of things, beer was out and porter was in. Slightly dehydrated, I settled for a pint of fresh orange and lemonade while I admired the sepia prints of young men in their tweed walking outfits, so much cooler than today's dayglo Gortex jackets.

After a nice chat with some friendly Geordies on a mammoth cycling – and, by the looks of it, Guinness-sampling – tour of Scotland, we made our way back to Kinloch Lodge, newly grateful for our luxurious room as the heavens opened and our new friends pedalled off into the soft rain. sm

How to get there

Driving from the Central Belt will take four to five hours. Once over the Skye bridge, turn right at the roundabout, leading to Portree. Follow the A87 for five miles, then turn left on to the A851 to Armadale. The turn off to Kinloch Lodge is five miles down this road on the left. Follow the small road for about a mile.

Where to stay

Kinloch Lodge, Sleat, Isle of Skye, IV43 8QY, (tel: [phone] or 01471 833214, www.claire-macdonald.com). Rooms start at £150 a night in high season (1 May-30 September).

Kinloch's suite is £300 and Loft na Dal is £345 per night. Dinner is £48.95 per person.

And there's more

For residential cookery course reservations and enquiries e-mail [e-mail]

Scotsman Reader Holidays is offering a three-day trip to Skye from £325, departing 25 July. Call Brightwater Holidays, tel: [phone] quoting The Scotsman.