Going Offroad for Father's Day

Inside every man, whether he’s a spring chicken or an adorable old rooster, an adventurous child still lives on. This makes a trip to Highland Offroad one of the most surprising and enjoyable presents you could give to any dad this Father’s Day.

Highland Offroad is situated in a tranquil country estate in Big Tree Country near Dunkeld, Perthshire. Although a rural idyll, the place is full of petrol heads who combine their love for the great outdoors with their love of engines and speed.

Graham Clark, Highland Offroad’s MD, has always been an adventure freak. “I was working in the North Sea, hanging on ropes off platform towers. In my spare time, for relaxation,” he says calmly, “I was a rally driver.” Before long, wheels replaced ropes as the main love in Graham’s life, and Highland Offroad was born. He’s been inviting men to do what men love doing for 23 years now.

Maybe your dad’s a daredevil, in which case an hour-long quad biking experience would be right up his street – although this particular street is strictly off-road. After a quick safety briefing, he’ll experience the sheer pleasure of taking a quad bike over a variety of tracks and obstacles on an award-wining assault course. Then it’s time to head off through the countryside, through 300 acres of undulating forest.

Highland Offroad instructor Jill Lawrie was born into a biking family; her first words were “moo moo” (no, not mummy, it was baby talk for motorbike). “This is such a beautiful place to be,” she says, “and it’s a real joy to put these machines through their paces and see what they’re capable of in the most extreme conditions."  

But if sophisticated cars are more your dad’s trip, then taking a modern Land Rover on the Highland Offroad assault course is an experience in itself. Its computerised system will switch the driving to cope with the most inhospitable of terrains. If dad’s half-way up a very steep hill, for example, and the instructor decides he wants to back down, the vehicle’s rear-view camera will click into action and the Land Rover will reverse down the hill automatically. There’s very little that this machine can’t handle.

Another option is to surprise him with a Land Rover trip to experience ‘Wild Perthshire’. Driven by a knowledgeable local guide – most likely former ghillie Bob “Eagle Eye” Edgar – he’ll be taken through some of Perthshire’s most spectacular scenery to view wildlife, fauna and flora. He may come across deer, squirrels, birds of prey such as osprey, golden eagles, buzzards and black grouse, and maybe even otters and pine martens. If he’s lucky, your dad could even witness the rare white stag who’s been seen in this part of the world.