Crieff
Scottish Country Dancing at Crieff
Update: Last booking date 31st March 2012
2012 will mark our 16th year of dance holidays at the Crieff Hydro. The season will start on Friday 8th June 2012 and conclude on the morning of Friday 15th June 2012.
There's a brand new dance band line-up for 2012. Included are favourites Ian Muir, Sandy Nixon and George Meikle, and also our "new for 2011" band, Jim Lindsay, who was a real hit. Due to demand we've added Nicol McLaren and Gordon Shand. The 2012 holiday therefore has a really exciting and unique band selection.
Where else can you dance to six top bands on a perfect sprung dance floor and stay in a wonderful hotel .... all in the same holiday?!
We also have new hosts for 2012. After 15 years at the helm, Richard and Dawn are off to expand their escorted expedition tours so they've invited Graham and Caroline Hamilton to host Crieff 2012. Graham and Caroline are keen Scottish country dancers and together they have run the Summer Tuesday season of dances at St Columba's Church in London since 1995. Graham also plays drums in a Scottish dance band. He started playing for his father's band in the early 1980's and joined the Craigellachie Band in 1988. Additionally, Richard considers Graham to be one of the best MC's he's seen for years, plus we know from personal experience that Graham and Caroline are great organisers and friendly, caring hosts.
The 2012 holiday remains 100% a Furlongs event and Richard and Dawn will be making all the normal arrangements, handling bookings, and planning the regular Crieff extravaganza. Bookings are now open. For all the details follow the tour information links shown above.
Photo credits: Scottish dancers, Crieff Hydro, Bedroom, Meikle Restaurant, Carvery © Crieff Hydro Ltd
Our Inside Track
Back in 1986, Richard and Dawn Furlong combined their occasional hobby of Scottish dancing with their day-to-day livelihood of holiday organising, and arranged an escorted dance holiday to Denmark. Since then they have organised dance holidays in nearly 20 countries worldwide.
Unlike most dance tour organisers who often buy an existing holiday package and simply add dance evenings, Richard and Dawn have always designed a tailor-made tour by researching first-hand and contracting suppliers individually. This allows Furlongs Travel to provide a much better quality holiday and excellent value for money.
Apart from the obvious essentials including comfortable accommodations and good organisation, two of the key elements of a successful dance holiday are the venue and music. Over the years Furlongs have arranged private dance events in some stunning places ... including Kilkenny Castle in Ireland, Auckland and Christchurch Town Halls in New Zealand, and the Banff Springs Hotel in Canada. Dance venues are always negotiated for private use and naturally we prefer a wooden floor. A dance band always accompanies a Furlongs dance holiday. Frank Reid and His Band have accompanied numerous Furlongs tours worldwide, and David Cunningham, Ian Macphail and Sandy Nixon have also enjoyed foreign tours with the "Furlong Family".
In 1991 we were invited by Jim MacLeod to run a dance holiday at the Stakis Dunblane Hydro in Perthshire. Following fifteen highly successful visits to Dunblane and with Jim on the verge of retiring, we moved our Scottish base camp half-an-hour up the road to the newly refurbished Crieff Hydro. Here, since 1997, we've enjoyed excellent hospitality and we've danced exclusively in the hotel's main ballroom to the top Scottish bands. We engage six bands during our week at Crieff. For 2012, the line-up is Jim Lindsay, Nicol McLaren, George Meikle, Ian Muir, Sandy Nixon and Gordon Shand!
As many of our dancing clients continue to tell us, there are dance holidays ... and then there are Furlongs dance holidays.
If you fancy something a bit special, do join us.
Holiday Dates
Friday 8th June 2012 for 7-nights.
Choose two or more consecutive nights or book one of our convenient holiday packages.
New line-up of dance bands for 2012
- Friday 8th June: Jim Lindsay and His Band
- Saturday 9th June: Sandy Nixon and His Band
- Sunday 10th June: George Meikle and His Band
- Monday 11th June: Nicol McLaren and His Band
- Tuesday 12th June: Dinner Party with entertainment
- Wednesday 13th June: Gordon Shand and His Band
- Thursday 14th June: Ian Muir and His Band
Holiday Packages
Convenient weekend, 5-night and 7-night packages are available or, subject to room availability, you may choose any 2 or more consecutive nights during the dance season.
Itinerary
Friday 8th June - Furlongs Travel hosts, Graham and Caroline Hamilton will welcome you to the Hydro. This evening you are invited to a carvery buffet dinner in the Meikle Restaurant, with after dinner tea and coffee served in the Winter Gardens. A full programme of dancing follows, with live music from Jim Lindsay and His Band in the Main Ballroom.
Saturday 9th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant followed by an optional morning dance class. Carvery buffet dinner followed by dancing to Sandy Nixon and His Band.
Sunday 10th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant. Carvery buffet dinner followed by dancing in the main ballroom to George Meikle and His Band.
Monday 11th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant. Optional morning dance class. Carvery buffet dinner followed by dancing to Nicol McLaren and His Band.
Tuesday 12th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant. Day excursion from the Hydro, with private coach transport included (full details yet to be announced). Special 4-course served dinner in the Hydro's magnificent Drawing Room, with entertainment to follow.
Wednesday 13th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant. Optional morning dance class. Carvery buffet dinner followed by dancing to Gordon Shand and His Band.
Thursday 14th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant. Carvery buffet dinner followed by dancing to Ian Muir and His Band.
Friday 15th June - Breakfast in the Meikle Restaurant before a leisurely departure and fond farewells.
Extra nights?
It's easy to extend your stay and add extra nights at Crieff before and/or after the dance dates. The extra night rate is £85 per person per night inclusive of dinner, bed and breakfast.
Photo credits: New entrance at the Hydro © Crieff Hydro, Queens View and Drummund Castle Gardens near Crieff © Visit Scotland / Scottish Viewpoint.
Award-winning accommodation at the Crieff Hydro
Crieff Hydro is arguably the most comprehensive resort hotel in Scotland. Centrally located in 900 acres of Perthshire countryside the Hydro offers an unrivalled range of facilities and pursuits for all ages. The original hotel building has been carefully extended and refurbished over recent years and the majority of the hotel's 200+ en-suite bedrooms are now to a good four-star standard. All bedrooms have private facilities, hair dryer, tea and coffee makers, TV and direct dial telephone. There are spacious public rooms including a choice of restaurants and bars, plus a wonderful sprung wood floor main ballroom.
What we particularly like about the Hydro is a continual desire to improve accommodations, facilities and service with guest satisfaction clearly in mind. You may enjoy over 40 onsite activities from swimming to bowls, golf, tennis, croquet, plus woodland walks and nature trails. One of the latest additions is a spacious new front entrance and reception.
Our dance holiday offers a choice of standard twin, double or single bedded rooms, and executive twins or doubles. Single rooms have the same facilities as standard twins and doubles although many feature a shower unit rather than a bath tub. Singles have one bed and some rooms are not overly spacious but there is no single supplement. Executive twin and double rooms have the additional facilities of a trouser press, room safe and decor of the highest standard. They normally offer the best views and are situated in the Ferntower Wing and in other areas of the hotel. Executive rooms are subject to a supplement of £15 per person per night. Crieff Hydro also offers four-star and five-star self-catering chalets and lodges. We don't normally offer a self-catering option because our evenings are dinner-dance events but if you'd prefer a self-catering package please let us know and we'll see what we can do.
For more details about the Crieff Hydro, including online virtual tours of accommodations, please visit www.crieffhydro.com
Holiday Prices
2-nights from Friday 8th June 2012: £208 per person.
5-nights from Sunday 10th June 2012: £520 per person.
7-nights from Friday 8th June 2012: Save £25 = £703 per person.
Any 2 consecutive nights: £104 per person per night.
Extra nights outside the dance dates: £85 per person per night.
Prices are per person sharing a double or twin, or in a single room. All dates subject to availability.
What's Included?
- Nightly accommodation at the 4-star Crieff Hydro.
- Sharing a double or twin, or sole occupancy of a single room.
- Full Scottish buffet breakfasts.
- 3-course pre-dance carvery buffet dinners.
- Dancing to live music nightly except Tuesday.
- Optional dance classes.
- Tuesday excursion including private coach transport.
- Tuesday special 4-course served menu in the Drawing Room.
- Tuesday dinner party with professional entertainment.
- Hosted throughout by Graham and Caroline Hamilton.
How to book?
You may book online, by telephone to 01580 240240 or by post to Furlongs Travel, PO Box 44, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 4TQ.
The deposit payable on booking is now £75 per person with the balance payable by 8th March 2012. For bookings made after 8th March 2012, the full amount is due on booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is some useful holiday information about the Crieff dance holiday. If you have any questions not covered here, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Clothing
There’s no holiday dress code but smart casual perhaps best describes previous trips. Gentlemen generally wear the kilt and the ladies their normal dance dresses for dancing. We schedule a short break between dinner and dancing, but it is best to come to dinner dressed ready to dance.
Coach excursion
If your stay includes the Monday and Tuesday nights why not join our complimentary daytime excursion on the Tuesday? This will include private coach transport from the Hydro and entry to a local attraction. Further details to follow.
Contacts
The Crieff Hydro address is Ferntower Road, Crieff, Perthshire, PH7 3LQ and the hotel telephone number is 01764 655555.
Credit cards
The Hydro accepts Access/Mastercard, Visa/Barclaycard, American Express & Diners.
Dance programmes
Our dance programmes deliberately feature widely popular dances so guests from all around the UK (and abroad) can get together and enjoy a full evening of social dancing. To ensure balanced and popular programmes we may include some dances in more than one programme during the holiday. Please note we do not call or recap dances. However dance crib sheets will be available to download from our brochure page, and can be sent to you on request. Dance programmes for 2012 are yet to be set, but some examples of our 2011 programmes are shown below.
Friday 10th June 2011
A TRIBUTE TO THE BORDERS (R Goldring SCD Leaflet 11)
CRAMOND BRIDGE (V Farr London Jubilee)
THE NEW SCOTLAND STRATHSPEY (E Elder 50th Anniv Coll)
FATHER CONNELLY’S JIG (J Drewry Donside Bk)
RAY MILBOURNE (D Haynes Carnforth Coll 1)
THE CASHMERE SHAWL (I Boyd Strathtay Album)
THE NURSERYMAN (S Brown RSCDS Bk 37)
THE FISHERMAN’S REEL (S Petyt Dunblane Holiday)
SPIFFIN’ (D&A Quarrie+Friends)
GENERAL STUART'S REEL (C Menzies RSCDS Bk 10)
CULLA BAY (A Dix RSCDS Bk 41)
WHITE HEATHER JIG (J Cosh 22 SCDs+2)
MRS STUART LINNELL (John Bayley)
NEIDPATH CASTLE (D Haynes RSCDS Bk 22)
THE BEES OF MAGGIEKNOCKATER (J Drewry Canadian Bk)
MRS MACPHERSON OF INVERAN (J Drewry Bon Accord Bk)
Saturday 11th June 2011
THE DUKE OF ATHOLL’S REEL (Skillern RSCDS Bk 16)
SHIFTIN’ BOBBINS (R Clowes Ormskirk 6)
SUGAR CANDIE (RSCDS Bk 26)
HOOPER’S JIG (MMM 2)
SCOTT MEIKLE (A McLean Laurieston Coll 1)
THE ROBERTSON RANT (D Winchester RSCDS Bk 39)
POSTIE'S JIG (R Clowes Ormskirk 5)
MISS JOHNSTONE OF ARDROSSAN (R Goldring 14 Social Dances)
THE STARRY EYED LASSIE (M Sprague RSCDS Bk 23)
THE IRISH ROVER (J Cosh 22 SCDs+1)
ST COLUMBA’S STRATHSPEY (V Sproule & S Gillan)
QUARRIES’ JIG (K W Smith RSCDS Bk 36)
WEST’S HORNPIPE (5 Traditional SCDs 1965)
MACDONALD OF THE ISLES (D Haynes Carnforth Coll 2)
IAN POWRIE’S FAREWELL TO AUCHTERARDER (B Hamilton)
MONTGOMERIES’ RANT (Castle Menzies RSCDS Bk 10)
Sunday 12th June 2011
MRS STEWART’S JIG (F Ligtmans RSCDS Bk 35)
NONE SO PRETTY (T Wilson RSCDS Bk 19)
CHERRYBANK GARDENS (J Drewry Bankhead Bk 1)
JOIE DE VIVRE (I van Maarseveen RSCDS Bk 39)
POLHARROW BURN (H Foss Glendarroch SD Sheets)
THE GENTLEMAN (R S Huxley RSCDS Bk 35)
JAMES GRAY (R Burrows RSCDS Bk 42)
SWISS LASSIE (R Betsche RSCDS Bk 39)
THE BLUE MESS JACKET (D Henderson Kinclaven Bk)
NAPIER’S INDEX (B Charlton RSCDS Bk 45)
THE PIPER & THE PENGUIN (R Goldring Scotia Suite)
BUTTERSCOTCH & HONEY (J Attwood Alexander Leaflet 24)
THE DIAMOND JUBILEE (R M Campbell RSCDS Bk 31)
THE SAILOR (RSCDS Bk 24)
Monday 13th June 2011
LADIES FANCY (RSCDS Bk 13)
MAXWELL’S RANT (Rutherford RSCDS Bk 18)
S-LOCOMOTION (K Jones RSCDS Bk 41)
THE WEATHERCOCK (V Hughes Leeds Silver Jubilee)
THE FALLS OF ROGIE (J Attwood Alexander Bk 1)
MISS GIBSON'S STRATHSPEY (D Haynes SCD Leaflet 10)
MISS HADDEN’S REEL (RSCDS Bk 23)
THE BLACK MOUNTAIN REEL (D Haynes Carnforth Coll 3)
IAN POWRIE’S FAREWELL TO AUCHTERARDER (B Hamilton)
J B MILNE (H Foss Angus Fitchett Album)
MORAY RANT (J Drewry Silver City Bk)
FOLLOW ME HOME (E Briscoe RSCDS Bk 38)
REVEREND JOHN MACFARLANE (G Morris RSCDS Bk 37)
THE ROBERTSON RANT (D Winchester RSCDS Bk 39)
JENNIFER'S JIG (J Drewry Silver City Bk)
MAIRI’S WEDDING (Cosh 22 SCDs+2)
Wednesday 15th June 2011
EH3 7AF (R Goldring RSCDS Bk 40)
THE REEL OF THE 51ST DIVISION (Atkinson RSCDS Bk 13)
MARGARET PARKER’S STRATHSPEY (J Drewry RSCDS Bk 31)
THE JUBILEE JIG (SCD Leaflet 19)
THE RECUMBENT STONE (J Drewry Greenburn Bk 3)
BALMORAL STRATHSPEY (J Charles RSCDS Bk 22)
QUARRIES JIG (K W Smith RSCDS Bk 36)
THE REEL OF THE ROYAL SCOTS (R Goldring SCD Leaflet 7)
INCHMICKERY (R Goldring 14 Social Dances)
JOHN OF BON ACCORD (R Goldring RSCDS Bk 33)
ALISON ROSE (D Ivory Imperial 2)
SETON’S CEILIDH BAND (B Fordyce Morison's Bush Coll)
THE BLOOMS OF BON ACCORD (J Drewry Deeside Bk 2)
THE MINISTER ON THE LOCH (R Goldring 24 G & S Dances)
MAJOR IAN STEWART (J Drewry RSCDS Bk 35)
THE DUKE OF PERTH (RSCDS Bk 1)
Thursday 16th June 2011
MACHINE WITHOUT HORSES (Rutherford RSCDS Bk 12)
BRATACH BANA (J Drewry Bon Accord Bk)
THE BELLE OF BON ACCORD (J Drewry Deeside Bk 2)
THE WILD GEESE (RSCDS Bk 24)
THE ANNIVERSARY REEL (S Muir RSCDS Bk 36)
KILKENNY CASTLE (B Forbes Craigievar Bk 2)
MCLEOD’S FANCY (J Drewry RSCDS Bk 33)
THE PLANTATION REEL (T Moretti Pinewoods Coll 2)
THE LUCKENBOOTH BROOCH (J Dickson Glendarroch Sh 28)
A TRIP TO BAVARIA (J MacGregor-Brown Collins Pocket Ref)
THE DREAM CATCHER (E Orr RSCDS Bk 45)
PELORUS JACK (B Skelton RSCDS Bk 41)
THE EARL OF MANSFIELD (J Drewry SCD Leaflet 15)
THE WIND ON LOCH FYNE (J Dickson Dunedin 1)
THE BEES OF MAGGIEKNOCKATER (J Drewry Canadian Bk)
MONTGOMERIES’ RANT (Castle Menzies RSCDS Bk 10)
Holiday insurance
It is not a requirement of our terms and conditions that you have insurance for this holiday in the UK but we strongly recommend it. If you book and then have to cancel, you will be liable for cancellation charges so we recommend you protect yourself accordingly.
How to Book?
You may book online, by telephone to 01580 240240 or by post to Furlongs Travel, PO Box 44, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 4TQ. The deposit payable on booking is £50 per person with a second deposit of £100 per person due on 1st October 2011, and the balance payable by 8th March 2012. For bookings made after 1st October 2011, the deposit due on booking is £150 per person, with the balance due 8th March 2012. For bookings made after 8th March 2012, the full amount is due on booking.
Meals
Evening meals on our dance nights are buffet-carvery style in the Meikle Restaurant. A typical dinner menu includes a daily soup, salads, cold meats and seafood; a choice of entree and a selection of fresh vegetables served by the Hydro chefs from the carvery; plus a choice of desserts (for example, fruit crumble and custard, fresh fruit salad, gateaux, cheese and biscuits. After dinner tea and coffee is served in the Winter Gardens. On the Tuesday evening you'll enjoy a special Dinner Party in the Hydro's magnificent Drawing Room. Our Tuesday dinner is a 4-course, served menu. For each dinner there is a vegetarian option and most special diets can be catered for, assuming you tell us in advance please.
Tipping
Standard hotel service charges are included in your holiday cost. Additional gratuities are at your own discretion.
