Deep in this historic Scottish region you’ll find a comfortable guesthouse with elegant interiors, where the understated beauty of natural materials shines, and fine dining from two exciting young chefs is served nightly.
“The highlands are like a bear in a cage,” says my driver Ronnie, who picks me up from Inverness airport. And as we snake through the countryside for the two- hour drive to the north coast, I start to understand what he means. Our destination is the eastern shore of Kyle of Tongue, and as we edge closer, wide roads give way to a single track flanked by ferns and swaying foxgloves as Ben Loyal looms in the distance. I’m here to stay in the latest Wildland property and between interior designer Ruth Kramer’s mood boards and the Lundies House Instagram, expectations are high.
As we pull into the driveway, the 17th-century rectory comes into view. It’s a simple stone manse, pretty and homely, with a hamlet of smaller stone buildings to the rear, in which hides a series of contemporary cottages wrapped around an outdoor fire pit. Ronnie offers me a little titbit on the main building’s history: there’s no front-facing window in the living room so parishioners couldn’t tell if Reverend Lundy was home or not.
I’m welcomed by Marta Verdú, the house manager, and take in the interiors; rustic woods and soft leather combine with beautiful stone and slate, layered with soft woollen blankets and sheepskin. I’m first to arrive, which means I get a look inside all of the bedrooms – being early is something I recommend, if you are as nosy as I am.
With contemporary lighting, artwork and Scandinavian and vintage furniture, each bedroom is individually decorated, yet still feels visually linked, with humble pine flooring throughout and sturdy stone fireplaces dressed with loose wildflowers. Marble sinks add a grounded sophistication, as does the hand-painted wild grass walls by Claire Basler in some of the bathrooms and the dining room.
Finally, I’m shown to my own room, the Flora Room on the top floor. The walls are clad in a mushroomy wainscoting, bar the living room, which is a deep khaki green, and a handmade feel abounds; from the basket weave rugs, the torched oak coffee table, sheepskin armchair and large stones as door stops. In the bedroom, beige linen blinds cover the small sash windows and I’m told the linen sheets have been dyed in Lithuania to Ruth’s specifications, and washed ten times to soften before use. I slip into a pair of Toast slippers as I await my afternoon snack; mint tea with a slice of almond cake served with a dollop of lemon yoghurt.
As the wind whips around and rain showers come and go, I pull on my coat and head out for a brisk walk. It’s not far to the watchtower at Castle Bharrich on the heather-laden hill that overlooks the Kyle. From here, you can see miles of once-forested landscape, which I’m told was long-since felled to build ships for the British navy. Wildland are aiming to rewild it, as part as its conservation programme, working with local conservation activist Thomas MacDonell.
Wildland is owned by Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen, the largest shareholders in Asos, the Danish fashion powerhouses behind Bestseller, and now the largest landowner in Scotland. The motivations behind this enterprise are still unclear and local sentiment seems to be neutral enough, with a healthy dose of village-mentality scepticism. The steel-reinforced platform I’m standing on has been a Povlsen contribution to the locality, and a Lundies House open day was recently held for those who wanted to check out the renovation and meet the team.
Staff are a friendly mix of locals and international hires, including head chef James Wilson who worked at Grön in Helsinki and the Ian Doyle-led Oaxen Krog in Stockholm, and sous chef Jack Newport who had worked with James previously. Together, they are bringing a foraging focus and somehow unifying fine dining with a very relaxed approach to food. Completing the family is Bailey, the adorable puppy of Marta and James, who are leading the team at Lundies.
That evening, James and Jack duck in and out of the rain to grill steaks and sea bream and char green beans on the fire pit. It’s all served sharing-style on the long table in the sheltered outdoor terrace, with crunchy creamed cabbage and baby potatoes. After dinner, I retire to the living room and note the pre-dinner gin selection has been switched out for whisky. I pour myself a Balblair, fold into an armchair and read until the long-stem candles and fire burn out.
The next morning, after a nutty granola breakfast, I borrow a Lundies electric bike to explore the coast. Taking a turn to Melness, I soon arrive at Skinnet Beach, which is a solitary paradise of deep sands and long grasses. It’s beautiful and remote, and with no phone signal there’s nothing to do but walk. Heading back for the evening meal, I manoeuvre around Highland cattle grazing on the roadside.
So casual is Lundies House that since there’s just two of us for dinner, we sit in the kitchen, designed by Plain English, and chat to James, Jack and Marta as courses and wine pairings are prepared and served. We start with sourdough bread and homemade butter with orache, followed by grilled chanterelles in a mushroom broth with pickled fennel, then potato cakes with fish roe and nasturtium leaves. Our main is medium-rare lamb from Donald Russell, served with peas and cabbage, and to finish, we have milk chocolate mousse with sorrel ice cream, an unusual combination but one that really works. Afterwards, it’s back to the living room again for a nightcap – this time a single malt scotch Clynelish, aged 14 years – and as the fire embers glow, I dread leaving this familial paradise.
After goodbyes, I hit the road and wind my way back to civilisation where reality awaits. Anne Storm Holch Povlsen says, “Our guests should leave Lundies House with the feeling like when they have visited their good friends”, and as I board a tiny Loganair plane back to Dublin, I can’t deny that this mission has been comfortably accomplished.
PHOTOGRAPHY Alexander Baxter & *Martin Kaufmann
PUBLISHED Image Interiors & Living magazine, November/December 2019