b'HERITAGE THE CARNEGIE CLUBAlso on the slate is a new outdoor centre. The Club recently refurbished the equestrian centre, bringing it up to 21st-century standards. Now it is the turn of the other country pursuits to have a new state-of-the-art home. Our next focus is to have a one-stop centre for the outdoor activities we offer, says Mr Crome. So we will create a new building that will put all the management and booking of the shooting, quad biking, canoeing and so on under one roof. We are aiming for that to be ready by the end of 2021. As Mr Short puts it: It is time for these areas of the Club to be brought up to the Skibo quality that members now expect.Given that he had a vision for Skibo when he purchased it, I ask Mr Short if it has been realised in the years since he took over. Yes. Theres always room for improvement, but I am very happy with what we have achieved. My aim was not, as with many other clubs, to chase0 2members to increase income. Skibo is not about turning a profit but2 1 about keeping the unique atmosphere and feeling we have created here, which is why membership is capped at 400. In one area, though, it has absolutely exceeded my expectations and that is with the staff. Members go out of their way to praise them and how they are taken care of, not in an obsequious way, as in some high-end hotels, but in a manner that really does make them feel at home. And that, without doubt, is down to Peter Crome. Mr Crome stresses the key to this lies in the estate staff s reverence to Skibos long tradition of hospitality. Andrew Carnegie was renowned for entertaining guests at the estate Opposite: the castlewith recreational pursuits and convivial dinner parties. The aim is to library. This page: produce from Skibosmake it feel like Andrew Carnegie left the day before, he says. glasshouses andHowever, The Carnegie Club is not immune to the worries of kitchen garden. Nextthe modern world, especially where the environment is concerned. page, from top: the scenic view from MrWhereas some of the larger hotel chains are only just announcing action Carnegies bedroom;on single-use plastics, Skibo has been in the vanguard of eliminating a bagpiper summonsnon-recyclables for some time now. It isnt easy in this business to do guests at mealtimesaway with plastics altogether, especially in packaging, but we are getting there, and it will certainly be one of the developments in the near future, says Mr Crome. We also grow an awful lot of our own produce. We know we can never be completely self-sustaining, but we do buy locallywe are careful to minimise our food miles and keep our carbon pic credit Niall Clatton; Chris Tubbsfootprint as small as possible. And we recycle all our food waste. We have a biomass system that heats the castle and lodges, which has significantly reduced the amount of oil we need to burn. Again, it isnt 100 per cent yet, but it is an ambition we can realise. Skibo looks to the future in other ways, too. We have the latest electric cars, for instance, says Mr Crome. We were ahead of the game'