Heart of the highlands

Mairi MacDonald visits Loch Torridon Country House Hotel

Many years ago Lord Lovelace, a few friends, his ghillie and a handful of staff would set out with a pony or two around the head of the loch to the shooting lodge Beinn Damph for an annual event.

There they would stay for a few weeks, stalking the hills during the day returning to the roaring fires and hearty meals by night.

The lodge, as lodges go, was modest. Room enough for the laird, his staff and some friends. Set at the bottom of the hill, sheltered amongst trees, the lodge looked north over the hills rather than west down Upper Loch Torridon.

Today the view is the same; the fires still roar and the meals are still hearty; but the Beinn Damph lodge has crept quietly into the 21st century. Loch Torridon Country House Hotel is a small pocket of luxury in one of the most remote corners of Britain, Wester Ross.

To get there is by choice not by chance but once there the stay is worth it.

A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World and included in the Top 200 hotels in Britain for 2002/3, the intention is understated luxury. The majority of the 19 bedrooms are huge with panoramic views over the loch and hills. The en-suite bathrooms have large roll top baths. The bar is stocked with 250 malt whiskies. The drawing room with its Victorian zodiac ceiling is well-used with its roaring fire and stack of magazines.

And the food!

The hotel prides itself on its kitchen garden that provides most of the fruit, vegetables and herbs for the table. Fish is fresh from the loc...

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• By : Mairi MacDonald
• In : Best of Scotland
• Issue : 14
• Page : 66
• Words : 961