Balavil is the home of Allan and Marjorie Macpherson-Fletcher and their family. Built by James "Ossian" Macpherson in 1790, the house has remained in the family ever since and provides an exceptional centrepiece to the surrounding estate.

The house has recently been fully restored and decorated and is furnished in period style with much of the furniture and paintings dating from the early period of the house.

Guests are all encouraged to treat the house as their home. This is not a hotel but a friendly family home and our wish is to provide you with a shooting, corporate or pleasure visit where you and your party can relax and enjoy the peace of the Highlands in an atmosphere of comfortable elegance.

Accommodation for up to 20 people is provided in four double and six twin bedrooms, all with their own private bathrooms. The house has full central heating throughout. There is a fully equipped gun room with drying facilities and the estate office can provide comprehensive secretarial and communication services.

The 36' dining room can be used for sumptuous dinner or lunch parties, seating 30 at one table, or it can be arranged to suit more intimate occasions. The nerve centre of Balavil is the huge Victorian style kitchen which provides excellent home-produced cuisine. Seasonal game is a specialty of the house.

Strathspey is renowned for its high hills, clear rivers and its exceptional beauty. There are lovely walks on the estate and for the more energetic, there is golf on eight local courses, sailing, riding, tennis and a host of other leisure pursuits such as clay pigeon shooting and off road driving.

Balavil is one hour's drive from Inverness Airport and two hours from both Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Inverness to London railway line stops at Kingussie.

For those who wish to sight-see and shop, there are many historic castles from Blair to Cawdor and a wide range of antique, woollen and craft shops to browse through, not to mention the numerous distilleries where you can sample the Highland water.

The surrounding estate is run on traditional sporting lines and in season we can provide challenging red and roe deer stalking, grouse and pheasant shooting, and rough shooting for hare, rabbit, duck, woodcock and snipe. There is a three mile beat of the River Spey exclusively retained for house guests.

top of page