The ultimate shoot lodge

Perfectly appointed, sumptuously decorated yet practical where it counts, these splendid sporting boltholes are bringing the outside in while keeping comfort and connection at their heart

- Amanda Morison

WHILE THE sporting lodge has its genesis in solid but simple accommodations built for warreners, the rabbit gamekeepers of Norman times, the brief from the Victorian heyday onwards has been 'party on in opulence'.

Look at Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford's Endsleigh in Devon: a functional hunting lodge on the Tamar that she transformed in the early 1800s into a picturesque cottage orné Marie Antoinette would have been proud of. Or Belvoir Castle, rebuilt in romantic Gothic Revival style in 1832, with a King's suite created for the Prince Regent and Elizabeth Saloon in Louis XIV style complete with panelling bought from Madame de Maintenon, Louis' second wife. No wonder guests, including Queen Victoria, would stay for weeks.

At heart, this is the kind of welcome that today's sporting lodges are all about. There might now be helipads and hot tubs but the chandeliers, hand-painted wallpaper and sofas to sink into are about a sense of comfort and sociability. George Dunnett, owner of House of the Northern Gate in Caithness, agrees: “Luxury is a baseline. Everyone might love a wild day on the moors but we want to come home to roaring fires, deep baths and outstanding food.”

Samantha Campbell-Breeden owns Somerset's Bittescombe Lodge & Deer Park with her husband. The couple bought the estate for its superlative shooting – “crane your neck because the birds are so high” said one guest.