Arisaig House a little History

Arisaig House Cottages are sited in the mature grounds (approx 25 acres) of Arisaig House, the resident owners Ruth and Andrew Smither do the day to day running of the six properties, being on hand  to lend advise on things to do and see or to sort out any problems that might occur. Whether guests spend their days walking, painting, bird-watching, fishing, reading or simply relaxing in a comfortable property, the timeless beauty and peace of one of Europe’s last unspoilt regions will remain with them long after they leave.

The properties lie by the famous “Road to the Isles”, 32 miles to the west of Fort William and is thus located in one of the most scenically glorious parts of the Western Highlands of Scotland on the Atlantic seaboard, facing due south. This is an historic part of the country, for it was at Glenfinnan at the southern end of Loch Shiel, some 20 miles distant, that Prince Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of James 2nd, pretender to the throne, raised the standard of his father, the Old Pretender, at the commencement of the Jacobite Uprising in 1745. After his defeat by the English at Culloden, he escaped to Skye and thence to France from the Prince’s beach just 5 or 10 min walk from the properties, having hidden overnight in a cave which can still be seen today.

Philip Webb, the famous Victorian architect, was responsible for the design and construction of the house in 1864: it was in fact his first country house commission. The house which stands at the centre of extensive grounds of great natural beauty, is totally sheltered from the north and enjoys far-reaching views to the south and east of sea-loch and mountain, cradled as it were, in West Highland scenery at it’s most breathtaking. The broad terraces overlook the gardens which are filled with rhododendrons, azaleas and many rare and beautiful shrubs to delight both the amateur and the connoisseur. Seriously burned in 1935, then largely reconstructed in 1937 to the plans of a Scottish architect, Ian Hamilton, the house now has a somewhat 1930ish atmosphere

The house had a part to play in the Second World War for in the months following Dunkirk, Winston Churchill conceived the idea of forming an elite group, trained for the explicit purpose of dropping individuals and small groups into occupied Europe to harry the enemy from the rear, often in conjunction with the local Resistance. Thus the S. O. E. (Special Operations Executive) was born.

The Army requisitioned Arisaig House in 1941 and it was from there and a number of other satelite properties in the district, that civilian volunteers of the S. O. E. were trained for covert operations in Europe. Odette Churchill was among many who trained at Arisaig House. The Smither family have thought it appropriate to mark these unsung heroes and in 1988 commissioned a small hand-carved oak memorial, which hangs in the Inner Hall.

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Arisaig House Beasdale Arisaig Inverness-shire PH39 4NR