Location

Balcraggie House lies in Glenelg, quiet and secluded peninsula that is situated on the Highland mainland, directly opposite the Isle of Skye. It is home to a small community of scattered crofts and small villages with a resident population of around 200 people. It is a contrast of mountains, glens and sea, full of natural beauty and wildlife, with much of interest to see and explore.

The land around is crofted with some arable land and parks for cattle and sheep. Hills rise up on both sides of the glen and are home to sheep, red and roe deer, foxes and badgers, wildcat and pine marten and a variety of birdlife including golden and sea eagles.

We are one mile from the centre of the village of Glenelg where there is a well-stocked shop (with off-licence), a coffee shop, and excellent Inn which specialises in seafood and other local produce.

The Glenelg peninsula abounds in antiquities, there are several ancient broch towers dating back two millennia or so. All of them are easy to reach and fascinating to explore. There is a ruined barracks dating back to the time of the Jacobite rebellions, and there are several hill forts and other remains from the Iron Age and Bronze Age.

Some four miles from the house is the secluded archipeligo and bay of Sandaig, famous as the setting for Gavin Maxwell’s ‘Ring of Bright Water’. The open strand of Bernera Beach is just one mile distant, and a little beyond that is the community-owned ferry which plies back and forwards to the Isle of Skye from Easter through to October. This is a great place to observe the local sea-life which includes everything from otters (there is an otter sanctuary) to sea eagles and even the occasional passing whale.

The road which leads to the village goes on another nine miles to the hamlets of Arnisdale and Corran where it ends (tame red-deer stags and a ‘tea-hut’ are big attractions here on the banks of Loch Hourn). On the way to these places, you pass the beaches and islands of Sandaig where Gavin Maxwell lived with his otters and wrote “Ring of Bright Water”. You can reach this little paradise by way of forestry tracks.

There are many other wonderful walks along the shores and in the hills of Glenelg. There are many antiquities to be discovered there – hill forts from the Iron Age, the best preserved Brochs on mainland Scotland and the Hanoverian Barracks from the 18th Century.

For serious hill walkers, the house is within easy reach of several munros.

Eilean Donan Castle is a short drive away, and there are many attractions on Skye including many excellent places to eat. Kyle of Lochalsh and Plockton, both some 25 miles away, also have fine eating places and a variety of well-stocked shops.