The Fife Arms (Aberdeens)

“Built in the 19th century, The Fife Arms Hotel is a Braemar landmark…Its size is evidence of the popularity of Braemar in the wake of Queen Victoria’s visits and her purchase of Balmoral, just 15 minutes from the hotel.” That would be the Victoria whose husband Albert introduced driven bird shooting to the UK and the same Balmoral where the Windsors still go to shoot birds (lots of birds). And this would be the Scotland that sells its wildlife on a grand scale to gun-carrying tourists. Chances are then that the Fife Arms wants a slice of the pie…and with a little bit of digging (it’s not in the Main Menu) under ‘Sporting Class‘ there are ‘opportunities’ to kill the local wildlife including taking ‘The Macnab Challenge’ – “The ultimate Scottish achievement, start at dawn and stalk and shoot a deer, catch a salmon, and bag a brace of grouse in one day! Are you up for the challenge? From £9,500 for the experience.” Achievement…being led to see wildlife and killing it for almost the equivalent of a quarter of the average UK annual wage…