If you have ever wanted to step into a book, this is the cottage for you. Set in a remote location, deep in the heart of whisky country and surrounded by wild, picturesque hills, Corrunich is the subject of the enchanting book The Moon's Our Nearest Neighbour. The property belongs to the book's author, Ghillie Basan, who lives in the main cottage with her two children and two dogs. To let out as a wilderness retreat, she has converted a detached barn into a spacious, open-plan cottage which is warm, light and airy with wooden floors, oil-fired central heating and a wood-burning stove. There are three single beds in the converted hay-loft, or two can be pushed together as a double to accommodate a couple. There is also a large bathroom with a roomy shower and a bath. A door leads from the cottage into an adjoining fitness room, equipped with table tennis, a rowning machine, cross and AB trainers and weights, all of which can be used at your own risk. This leads in turn into an area equipped with washing machine, drier and freezer and finally into the old stables which house the firewood and an atmospheric whisky den.
This property is unique as the owner, who is also an internationally acclaimed food and travel writer, is around if you need any help. She is able to converse in French, Italian and Turkish if required. Equally, she is quite happy to leave you alone if you are seeking solitude. She runs cookery workshops (details on request). You may help yourself to the vegetables, herbs and berries growing in the garden in the summer months and there are plenty of wild mushrooms in the woods round about. The property is located up a shooting track (care required when driving) where the views are stunning. You can just walk out of the door into the hills and enter a wilderness filled with roe deer, hares, grouse, buzzards and golden eagles. The clear, starry nights are magical and the northern lights make a regular appearance. Corrunich is ideal for hill walkers, bird-watchers and cross-country skiers. It is also well-situated for fishing in the Avon, Livet and Spey rivers and there is pony-trekking, downhill skiing and golf in the area. For those interested in whisky, there are distilleries dotted around the countryside, and the village of Tomintoul (shops, hotels, pubs) the highest settlement in the highlands, issome 12 miles away.
In winter, Corrunich is for the truly adventurous, who, at times of heavy snowfall when even the owner's Land Rover may not be able to get through, will not mind donning boots and full winter clothing to walk in and out with their luggage in rucksacks - just over a mile, so possibly unsuitable for children then- and even being snowed in for days! Their reward is a truly magical experience, (plus some great ski-ing) which they will dine out on for months to come.
Heating is by oil-fired central heating (INCLUDED) and wood-burning stove. Bed-linen and towels are INCLUDED. Sorry, no pets. No smoking within the cottage.
