A project to restore a fire-hit country mansion overlooking Loch Ness is moving forward, with a deal struck to bring the surrounding land into the same ownership.
The Boleskine House Foundation is currently working to bring the B-listed Boleskine House back to its former glory.
Now the charity has bought the adjacent coach house and remaining estate from departing charity trustee William Banks in a £165,000 deal, ensuring the land around the property remains under its control for years to come.
Although the first priority is restoring the house, the coach house could eventually be turned into a museum or an information centre for visitors to find out more about the history of the grounds.
Keith and Kyra Readdy, who purchased Boleskine House last July, thanked Mr Banks for his option of first refusal to the charity after putting forward their own personal funds to assist Boleskine House Foundation reach the latest milestone.
Mr Readdy said: “We are very excited.
“It is really important to us that we are able to do this.
“It means the charity can now own the majority of the estate lands now and we won’t have to really worry about coach house not being part of the trust anymore.
“The coach house is a grade-B listed building and the charity will ensure it is protected under the circumstances that it needs to be.
“Essentially now that the purchase is out the way it allows us to focus on the main house first.
“There haven’t been any discussions over what we are going to do with it yet.
“It will be restored subject to all the different planning permissions but it probably won’t be for another few years before we take a look at it.”
Mrs Readdy added: “The land is so close to Boleskine House, and indeed to get to the coach house you have to go through the main gates of Boleskine, so I think the idea of that land being owned by anybody other than the charity would not have been a good thing.
“The coach house could be a great base to accommodate talks on the history of the house, it could operate as a museum, operate as a semi visitors centre or host weddings, so there is a huge variety of purposes for that building and there has got to be a very considered approach.”
The listed building possesses a colourful past, having once been owned by Clan Fraser of Lovat, occultist Aleister Crowley and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
Tonnes of debris have been removed in recent months from the main building, uncovering previously undocumented artefacts.
To support the work, visit www.boleskinehouse.org/funding-and-donations/
