Set against a stunning backcloth of moody hills, the Prince’s House dates back to 1658 when it started life as a “change house” providing shelter and fresh horses for travellers traversing “The Road to the Isles.” It stands close to the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745, an act that signalled the start of the Jacobite uprising. Although there are no records of the Prince ever staying here, there are suggestions that he may well have dropped in for a “wee dram.” By the 1840’s the “Stage House,” as the building was then known, had become a notable coaching halt for Victorian travellers. Its keeper had even achieved a modicum of fame as the tallest man in Scotland, although there is some debate as to his exact stature, six feet seven according to one account, seven feet six according to another!

It is, of course, inevitable that some of those who have crossed the threshold of this delightful white-walled house, have chosen not to leave, and at least two ghosts are known to haunt it. One is a grey lady who in the past appears to have been sighted regularly on the stairs, although the current proprietors, Kieron and Ina Kelly have yet to make her acquaintance. The other is the ghost of a bearded highlander who occasionally wanders the building, bothering nobody as he keeps to a well honed routine that he no doubt established in life and is loathe to give up in death.