Review of Knoydart House, Highlands, Scotland

>> For contact details and to check availability, see our full listing of: Knoydart House

Knoydart House is a newly-built, luxury hideaway overlooking Loch Nevis in Inverie, Highlands of Scotland, one of the most remote villages on mainland Britain.

The modern wood and glass exterior of Knoydart House, Inverie. Photo: Rhiannon Batten

The accommodation
It’s safe to say that the small Highlands village of Inverie has never seen anything like Knoydart House before. Standing proudly above the village’s old stone cottages, this luxury new-build holiday property is not so much a statement as an architectural exclamation mark, all contemporary wood and glass, with an open-plan living room, dining room and kitchen looking out majestically across Loch Nevis. Owned by Ian and Jackie Robertson, who came to Knoydart from Aberdeenshire in 1992 and have been running Inverie’s Old Forge pub - the most remote in mainland Britain - since not long afterwards, it marks a new phase for the couple. Having long been asked for accommodation at the pub, they decided to change tack in 2010, building their fantasy holiday property a few doors along from the pub and putting the Old Forge on the market.

The main ground-floor bedroom at Knoydart House, furnished with antique tables, chairs and family pictures, looks out onto the water through ancient Scots pines.But if Knoydart House sticks out like a very stylishly bandaged thumb against the vernacular architecture that surrounds it, inside there’s plenty to appease traditionalists. Its bathrooms and kitchen may be resolutely modern, as is the wifi, but the five bedrooms - one kingsize, one twin and three that can be either superkings or twins – are furnished with antique tables and chairs, family pictures and, in the main ground-floor bedroom, a half tester that looks out onto the water through ancient Scots pines.

The activities
If you fancy chartering a boat for the day you can fix up a trip to Eigg, Rum, Canna, Muck or even Skye but most visitors come here to wallow in the glorious isolation of the Knoydart peninsula itself. Around its shores dolphin, seal and whale watching are all possible. Inland, 17,000 acres of woodland, moorland and munros are owned and managed by the Knoydart Foundation, a community-run charity. Ranger-led walks and activities take place here regularly but the Foundation also sells leaflets detailing self-guided walks and has set up two mountain biking trails.

Knoydart House provides a couple of bikes if you want to try out the latter but if the whole group wants to have a go you’ll need to take your own bikes as there’s no bike hire business on the peninsula. Pony trekking is also possible, and the peninsula has some great wild swimming spots. It’s not all about the outdoors though. On really dreich days, musical guests can make use of the property’s guitar and cello or, for ultimate pampering, head to the outdoor hot tub, or book a massage.

The food
If you don’t much care for cooking, forget it. Though you’re bound to book in for a supper or two at the Old Forge (plates of seasonal home-cooked venison stew, diver-caught scallops and fresh langoustines cost from around £8 - £15), and possibly at the even more remote Doune Dining Room, self-catering is the only option for most meals. As long as you have the patience to get to grips with the extremely hi-spec kitchen (it took us a while to work out how to use the oven), and room in your luggage for a recipe book or two, you’ll find it’s fantastically well-equipped whether you’re a seasoned gourmand or a simple egg-boiler. Do remember to stock up at the supermarket in Mallaig before you arrive, though; Inverie’s tiny village shop only stocks the absolute basics.

Rooms look directly out over the Loch. Photo: Rhiannon Batten

What makes Knoydart House green
Electricity comes from a small, private hydro scheme. Other green features include larch cladding, a thermal heat pump, a wood-burning stove that’s supplied with fuel from the Knoydart Forest Trust, half-flush loos, high grade insulation, energy efficient appliances, low energy lightbulbs and an OWL monitor to help encourage guests to keep energy use low. Glass, aluminium and paper are recycled and most of the cleaning products used are eco-friendly. Visitors are also encouraged to support local businesses including a community garden, local fish merchant in Mallaig and, of course, the local pub.

The hot tub looks out over the loch.How to get there
Inverie, the main village on Knoydart, is famously one of the most remote villages in the UK, accessed either via an 18-mile hike or a seven-mile boat ride. Though remote, it isn't perhaps quite as inaccessible as you might think thanks to this wonderful ferry service from Mallaig, whose train station is at the end of the scenic West Highland train line from Glasgow or Fort William. Trains can be booked via thetrainline.com. Then either catch one of two daily, 45-minute ferry services (five days a week in summer, three in winter) to Inverie with Knoydart Ferries (£18 pp rtn). On weekends, there are two daily, 20-minute water taxis with Knoydart Ferry (01687 462916; £20 pp rtn).

Top tip
Knoydart is big on the Scottish music scene. Try to time your trip to tie in with one of the Old Forge’s ceilidhs, a gig in the village hall or the annual Knoydart Festival, in spring, to experience the peninsula at its foot stompin’ best.

Verdict
A great way to experience what’s been dubbed one of Europe’s last great wildernesses without having to do away with luxury, Knoydart House will tick lots of boxes for lots of guests. It also has its heart in the right place; this may be a new kid on the block – and a very upmarket one at that - but it’s no upstart; Ian and Jackie have been helping the peninsula develop its tourism infrastructure for two decades and their experience shows, both in the finer details and in the way the guest experience here is rooted in its location.

>> For contact details and to check availability, see our full listing of: Knoydart House

The azure waters of the Loch. Photo: Rhiannon Batten