The Scottish house of your dreams has come up for sale beside a loch in the heart of the Highlands
Lairg Lodge is a glorious Highland retreat in a spectacular location. Penny Churchill takes a look.


Sutherland is one of Scotland’s most remote and sparsely populated areas. It’s a place of dramatic mountains, silver sand beaches, soaring cliffs, deep caves and rich flora and fauna, which make it one of the last truly natural and unspoilt places in Britain.
It is, in short, the Scotland of your dreams — and a suitably fantastical house and estate has come up for sale in one of it's prettiest spots: Lairg, on the southern tip of Loch Shin.
Savills’s Edinburgh office seeks ‘offers over £2.4m’ for Lairg Lodge and its River Shin Fishings, a compact and highly manageable estate on the shores of Loch Shin, which, for many years has been the treasured Highland retreat of a family from the south of England.
At its heart stands Lairg Lodge, a comfortable, 10-bedroom Victorian lodge built for the Duke of Sutherland in 1879 and set in 184 acres of private grounds.
This is not the home that will attract jet-setters seeking the marble-floored bathrooms and surround sound systems you'll see in commuter belt mansions. It's a home that's full of history and love, quirks and charm.
While the lodge's appearance is breezily, almost exotically antiquated, the place has been very well kept, updated and improved — there are no maintenance headaches, from what we can see, leaving you free and easy to soak in the views from the huge picture windows.
And at the end of each day, after dinner at the dining room table and perhaps a game of snooker, the bedrooms above are big enough to (and currently house) four-poster beds.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
If fishing is your sport of choice, you should absolutely cast your line in this direction. The estate operates a successful holiday enterprise based around 3½ miles of double-bank salmon and sea-trout fishing and four additional properties overlooking the loch.
Short-term lets include Phil’s House and Reid’s Cottage, rated four star by the Scottish Tourist Board, which attract repeat visitors year after year.
For sale via Savills — see more details and pictures.
The return of the golden eagle to southern Scotland: How the king of birds is set to make a comeback beyond the Highlands
Already firmly established in the Highlands, these majestic raptors are now being reintroduced in southern Scotland. Joe Gibbs investigates their
Credit: Galbraith
A highlands estate with over 900 acres of pristine Scottish landscape — and two houses powered by wind turbines
Your heart is sure to be in the highlands after viewing all that Challenger Estate has to offer, says Penny
Credit: Skibo Castle
Skibo Castle: Carnegie’s Highland paradise
Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale
A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.
-
White sand beaches, smuggler's coves, teeming wildlife and a ruined castle in a Scottish island that's on the market for the first time in almost a century
Just off the west coast of Scotland lies Shuna Island, a true playground of open spaces, natural beauty, wildlife, beaches and — yes — a castle. And it's looking for a new owner.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Can you feel the quiz tonight: Country Life Quiz of the Day, June 17, 2025
The Lion King meets rhurbab and custard in today's quiz.
By Country Life Published
-
White sand beaches, smuggler's coves, teeming wildlife and a ruined castle in a Scottish island that's on the market for the first time in almost a century
Just off the west coast of Scotland lies Shuna Island, a true playground of open spaces, natural beauty, wildlife, beaches and — yes — a castle. And it's looking for a new owner.
By Toby Keel Published
-
'One of the 10 most perfect houses in Britain' has come to the market at £9.5 million
Penny Churchill looks at the magical Maperton House.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
17 outstanding homes for sale across Britain, from under £250k to £6.5 million, as seen in Country Life
Something for every budget in this week's round up of homes across the country that have come to market via Country Life.
By Toby Keel Published
-
An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country Life
An Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
By James Fisher Published
-
Soft tones and a sense of place: A Mayfair duplex that breaks the modern mould
A new designer-led residence at 60 Curzon in Mayfair reminds us that everything new doesn't necessarily have to look it.
By James Fisher Published
-
'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham Estate
With 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
By Penny Churchill Published
-
The reality of 20 years of house price rises in Britain, from the places that have had a charmed life to the spots where it's a struggle to move back home
At first glance the ups and downs of the property market seem to even out over time — but dig in to the numbers and you'll see wild regional variations which paint a very difference picture. Annabel Dixon analyses new research which tells the story.
By Annabel Dixon Published
-
A historic Yorkshire hall, meticulously restored to its former 18th-century magnificence
Womersley Park is a masterpiece and one of Yorkshire's great historic houses. And it could be yours.
By Penny Churchill Published