At a Glance
Set within a protected Caledonian pine reserve not far from Loch Ness, the luminous 10,000-acre Glen Affric Estate, with its masterfully renovated Victorian-era hunting lodge, lives up to even the most romanticized visions of Highland splendor.
Glen Affric Estate is available for exclusive use only and is not open to the public. To inquire about rates and availability, contact Indagare's bookings team at bookings@indagare.com or (212) 988-2611.
Indagare Loves
- A 10,000-acre forest all to oneself
- Deer-stalking, horseback-riding and fly-fishing at one's whim
- Log fires, cashmere blankets and whisky nightcaps at bedtime
Review
The road leading into Glen Affric is unmarked and unpaved, a long and lovely route veiled in pine boughs like the passageway to Narnia. As my driver and I descended deeper into the glen on an evening worthy of a Gothic novel, we seemed to have lost our way circling the threshold of an enchanted wilderness. When we finally arrived at the lodge, exhausted after a long day of travel, the night had grown too dark for exploring. Soothed by a mug of homemade spiced apple tea and a welcoming fire, I fell asleep listening to cold gusts break against the house's 19th-century stone façade. Beside the cashmere-sheathed hot water canteen that had been tucked into the covers of my bed, I felt deliciously, existentially warm. The next morning I awoke to the views of the glen I had missed the night before: directly in front of me—a magnificent mountain lake, gently rippled and draped in mists, and around to the left—a pair of hardy dun-grey Highland ponies grazing a sliver of shoreline.
Glen Affric Lodge is set dramatically on a knob of land that juts into Loch Affric, so that even indoors, the glimmer of water is never far outside one’s field of vision. Lovingly and painstakingly refurbished by David and Jane Matthews of Eden Rock - St Barth's, the handsome old house is now as splendidly comfortable as it is beautiful. Its sitting rooms and reading nooks are warmed by log fires and subtle traces of tartan, and its hallways are liberally adorned with art from the Matthews' enviable collection. Eight cozy bedrooms, outfitted with butter-soft sheets and the most luxurious of duvets, seem to have been specially selected to encourage lazy mornings and afternoon naps. The house party setup is ideal for groups of couples or several generations of family, with many merry dinners to be savored around the sixteen-seat dining table.
The lodge's natural setting is the stuff of any sportsman's fantasy; its forests are thick with red deer, its lochs with trout and its moorlands teeming with partridges and pheasants. There are sculls for exploring the far corners of the loch and Argos for scaling the rugged ridges that frame the glen (its poignant landscapes, as seen from their heights, do not fade quickly from memory). Soggy afternoons need only a game of billiards, a movie in the cinema room or an extra dram of whisky by the fire. And so life at Glen Affric oscillates between these two most primal pleasures: the thrill of nature and its elements and the solace of hearth. The intimacy of the lodge enhances the majesty of the glen, and the glow of the drawing room is even sweeter for its tantrums of weather.
When gales roll in, the road leading out of the glen sometimes becomes impassable, leaving the estate temporarily cut off from the world. Set to operate with a certain measure of self-sufficiency, Glen Affric is provisioned with its own wine cellar, larder and greenhouse, along with a small but able staff. Of the several freestanding cottages on property, one once belonged to the lodge's original stalker. His son, who was born at Glen Affric, still lives and works on the estate. When I met him, he and an accomplice were engrossed in the task of butchering a large animal, and next door in the carpentry workshop, a colleague was busy repairing a table. They are veterans of the glen, versed in its rhythms and accustomed to living close to the land.
Glen Affric may have been artfully restored and stylishly redecorated, but the spirit of the place, like its transcendent beauty, is masculine and raw.
Written by Cabell Belk
