Beautiful Highland lodge in landscaped gardens in scenic riverside village.

Description

Spean Lodge is an elegant stone country house set in magnificent surrounding gardens with a wide variety of mature trees and shrubs. The property displays a wealth of original features and includes an attached north wing called River House built in 1879.

The accommodation on the ground floor, including River House, begins with an entrance vestibule which opens into a welcoming reception hallway. There is a splendid formal dining room with open fire, fitted dining kitchen, laundry room, cloakroom, shower room, sitting room with wood burning stove and fitted dining kitchen, a double bedroom and library/morning room with open fire. To the rear of the ground floor of the property there is an additional shower room and WC, a sitting room with a feature marble fireplace, kitchen and office. The accommodation on the upper floor in Spean Lodge includes a wonderful drawing room with a striking fireplace and a bay window overlooking the surrounding gardens and mountains. There are ten bedrooms on this level, five with access to en suites. The beautiful upper landing on the first floor has two loft rooms off.

Spean Lodge has been a fine family home and has also been run as a B&B for 20 years (VisitScotland 4 Star Gold award). Three bedrooms have been utilised for the B&B and River House has been operated as a 4 Star self-catering holiday let.

Location

Spean Lodge is set in around 2 acres of magnificent mature gardens and is located within the popular riverside village of Spean Bridge which is 9 miles north of Fort William. The whole area is renowned as the Outdoor Capital of the UK with superb hillwalking, climbing, mountain biking, water sports and golf and is also a haven for wildlife. Spean Bridge is also within easy touring distance of some of Scotland’s finest destinations including Loch Ness, the Isle of Skye, Glencoe, Cairngorms National Park and Ardnamurchan peninsula.

There are many walking and cycling trails accessible directly from Spean Lodge. It is just a mile to the famous Commando Memorial and 6 miles to the Nevis Range mountain gondola and ski centre.

The village of Spean Bridge has excellent transport links as it is located on the West Highland Rail line connecting Glasgow and Fort William. There are also regular bus services to Fort William, Glasgow and Inverness.

Extensive village facilities include a grocery store, pharmacy, woollen mill, primary school, hotels, restaurants, micro-brewery and 9-hole golf course.

Historical note
A modest 18th century house was probably standing on the site of Spean Lodge when Thomas Telford, the great engineer, was commissioned to build the stone arched bridge over the River Spean in 1819. The Georgian core of the Lodge was extended in 1840 and the north wing was added in 1879. Four generations of the Davy family lived in Spean Lodge from the 1870s until the 1980s. The family’s money had been made in South America through their involvement with the lucrative export of guano (seabird droppings) to Europe which was used as a highly effective agricultural fertiliser.

George Davy (1838-1907) was educated at Eton and Cambridge and spent a number of years in the guano trade. He married Martha MacKay (1838-1905) of Fort William and they raised their six children in the Lodge. At one time there were fourteen servants in the property and George was responsible for funding the building of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Fort William High Street.

Lila Davy (1873-1949) was the eldest of the children and kept a diary recording the daily life of the household. During the First World War Lila became one of the most senior female officers in the British Army. In 1917 she was chaperone to Princess Mary, only daughter of George V, on a month long tour behind the Allied lines in France.

The Lodge stands in around 2 acres of grounds that were originally landscaped in the 19th century by a gardener from Kew Gardens in London. The specimen trees are covered by a Tree Protection Order and include redwood, cedar, copper beech and Douglas fir plus ancient rhododendron. The woodland character of the gardens and their sheltered position above the River Spean attract much birdlife as well as the occasional pine marten and red squirrel.

Square Footage: 6,059 sq ft


Acreage: 2 Acres

Directions

Travelling north from Fort William, enter Spean Bridge and the turning to Spean Lodge is found on the left hand side with a signpost opposite The Spean Bridge Hotel. Continue into the cul-de-sac and Spean Lodge is the country house on the right hand side. Alternatively travelling south from Inverness on the A82 enter the village over the river bridge, the turning to Spean Lodge is on the right hand side opposite the Spean Bridge Hotel. For Satellite Navigation the postcode is PH34 4EP.