Strathpeffer Introduction

Attribution: unknown (The ruin of Free Church in Jamestown)

Welcome to Strathpeffer

Strathpeffer stands in a beautiful setting at the head of the Peffery Valley, 200 ft. above sea-level and guarded to the North by the massive bulk of Ben Wyvis. Strathpeffer is a unique place in that it is the only remaining Scottish Spa. The benefits of its waters were first recognised during the latter half of the 18th. century, although the first Pump Room was not built until 1819. In 1861 a larger Pump Room was built , but this has now been demolished. That site is now occupied by The Tasting Pavilion and Tourist Office. The waters contain Sulphur and Chalybeate (Iron) but only the Sulphur Wells are available at present.

The outstanding Victorian Architecture of the village owed much to the development of the Spa, as does the presence of some outstandingly beautiful trees. The village has several small but interesting shops, most clustered around the Square. The old Railway Station has been converted and now houses the Highland Museum of Childhood, a wood-carver’s workshop and some craft shops.

Several walks exist around the village, giving beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. For the energetic, there is also a splendid 18 hole Golf Course. The population of Strathpeffer is in the region of 1200. A large percentage of its inhabitants are retired. Those employed are involved in Tourism, Forestry, Farming and crofting, with quite a number commuting daily, either to Dingwall or Inverness. The village boasts two vey large hotels (over 100 bedrooms each), several hotels and guest houses, Bed and Breakfast accommodation and self-catering establishments.

Strathpeffer is a good centre from which to explore and visit places of interest, including Loch Ness, Cawdor Castle, Dunrobin Castle and Gardens, Culloden Battle Field, John O’Groats, Skye, Inverewe Gardens with many other diverse and interesting places within easy reach. Hill-walking, sailing, horse riding, tennis and golf can all be sampled without travelling far.

The water feature in the Square, built in the early 1990s

Attribution: unknown

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Strathpeffer » Strathpeffer Places » Strathpeffer Residential
Dunnichen
Dunnichen
Dunnichen
Dunnichen
Dunnichen today. Dunnichen (formerly Rondebosch) was built in 1902 for a South African on a grand scale, rich in overall form and exquisite in detail, and never sub-divided, in spite of its size, unlike other villas of the period.
No. 8 Kinellan Drive is a typical council house with an attractive garden.
No. 8 Kinellan Drive is a typical council house with an attractive garden.
Manderley
Manderley
The drive to Manderley showing on the skyline one of the carved stags that used to adorn the entry gates to Brahan Castle
Manderley
Manderley
The drive to Manderley showing on the skyline one of the carved stags that used to adorn the entry gates to Brahan Castle
Manderley - pond and front of house
Manderley - pond and front of house
The drive to Manderley showing on the skyline one of the carved stags that used to adorn the entry gates to Brahan Castle
Sunlight on Manderley
Sunlight on Manderley
The wonderful view down the Strath to Dingwall from the garden of Manderley
The wonderful view down the Strath to Dingwall from the garden of Manderley
The wonderful view down the Strath to Dingwall from the garden of Manderley. Manderley - For a contemporary house I think Angus Macdonald's "Manderley" is a worthy example of the period, also in a piended style with strong overhanging eaves, reflecting the owner's times working in the Far East. It is set on the hillside above the village with spectacular views down the strath to the Cromarty Firth. [Sadly, Angus Macdonald died in 2010.]
Raven Cottage (c. 1900)
Raven Cottage (c. 1900)
Raven Cottage (c. 1900) A very plain but elegant and well proportioned large white harled house of about 1785, the farm-house of one of the three original farms at the head of the valley.
Rondebosch in the 1930s
Rondebosch in the 1930s
Rondebosch (now Dunnichen) in the 1930s, with Provost Andrew Murray (Dingwall) and his wife Margaret.
Rondebosch (now Dunnichen) in the 1930s, with Provost Andrew Murray (Dingwall) and his wife Margaret.
Crancil Brae
Crancil Brae
One house not selected by Mr Murray is Crancil Brae, the photograph of which was taken early in the 20th century by the owner, T Wellwood Maxwell, the Strathpeffer chemist.
Kinettas (1999)
Kinettas (1999)
Kinettas (1999 ) A very plain but elegant and well proportioned large white harled house of about 1785, the farm-house of one of the three original farms at the head of the valley.
Raven Cottage
Raven Cottage
Raven Cottage An early cottage, originally thatched, tucked into the slope, now surrounded by Victorian villas and dominated by Cromartie Buildings, but it would have been in green fields at one time.
Timaru
Timaru
Timaru, completed in 1877 to the design of Inverness architect Alexander Ross, is a glorious essay - or at least the frontage is - in carpenter's Gothic style with finely carved posts and balusters and eaves boards. It was built for a retired New Zealand sheep-farmer and has an air of far-off lands about it.
Santrothen
Santrothen
Santrothen (beside the former filling station) is an interesting example of 1950's bungalow style with a part-piended (hipped) and slated roof and bold facing brick detail over entrance and at windows on the front elevation.
Castle Leod 2021
Castle Leod 2021

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