An unspoilt retreat in a unique location: a large, characterful house on the shore of Loch Nevis, on the wild Knoydart peninsula — with a wartime past as one of the SOE’s secret Highland training schools.
Glaschoille sleeps eleven across six bedrooms on two floors. The living room is warmed by a log fire, and there is a private garden with a barbecue, off-road parking and free WiFi. It is a house made for gatherings: family reunions, a group of friends with the hills to themselves, or a celebration that deserves a setting like this one.
The house stands two miles from Inverie village, at the western end of Inverie Bay, on the shore of Loch Nevis — set among spectacular scenery, with stunning views and an untouched, mountainous landscape all around. Knoydart has no road connection to the rest of the country: the house can be reached by boat from Mallaig, or, for keen hill-walkers, on foot by an eighteen-mile route over the Munros.
The result is a rare kind of quiet. Guests have logged more than fifty species of bird in a fortnight, watched a sea eagle circle above the house, and seen otters at the water’s edge and stags and wild goats on the hill.
By road. Drive to Mallaig through the scenic “Road to the Isles”. From Mallaig Pier, the ferry to Inverie is run by Western Isles Cruises, who recommend booking your crossing in advance. The house is two miles from Inverie, where the ferry lands.
By rail. Trains run regularly to Fort William and on to Mallaig — around an hour and a half from Fort William.
By air. Glasgow International is about 143 miles from Mallaig (around 3 hours 15 minutes by road); Edinburgh about 169 miles (3 hours 45 minutes); Glasgow Prestwick about 173 miles (4 hours).
During the Second World War, Glaschoille was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and used as a Special Training School, designated STS 24b — one of a cluster of requisitioned houses in the remote west Highlands where wartime agents were prepared for work behind enemy lines. Inverie House (STS 24a) served a similar purpose on the same peninsula.
What was taught at Glaschoille is not recorded in detail, and the house has kept its counsel ever since.
Glaschoille is as well suited to a wedding as to a long weekend: milestone birthdays, anniversaries and retirements are all celebrated here, with the loch and the hills as the backdrop.
Inverie, with its shop, tearoom and the Old Forge — the most remote pub on the British mainland; the path to Ladhar Bheinn and Knoydart’s other Munros; boat trips on Loch Nevis; wild swimming from the shore; and gentle walks along the bay.
A Victorian farmhouse at the heart of the Lindsay estate, sensitively restored and hung with pieces from the family’s own collection. Built for time with family and friends.
A two-bedroom bothy on the Fife coast, close to the family’s seat at Lahill — near enough to Incharvie to take both for a larger gathering.
Two double bedrooms in Inverie, a short walk from the Old Forge — the most remote pub on the British mainland — and set among some of Scotland’s finest walking.