Eilean Aigas

Eilean Aigas is a small island in the River Beauly, set in the Highland region of Scotland. A narrow white bridge links the island to the riverbank. At its north end stands a mansion, built in 2006 to resemble a 19th-century hunting lodge. The house replaced an earlier lodge once occupied by the Sobieski Stuarts. Compton Mackenzie and his wife Faith rented the island from 1930 to 1933. The estate has passed through several owners since the Lovat Frasers sold it in 1995. The island’s past includes the Sobieski Stuarts, two English brothers who claimed descent from the Stuart royal line. In the 1830s they moved to Eilean Aigas and filled the house with royal symbols. They designed much of the furniture themselves. Compton Mackenzie, a Scottish nationalist and writer, stayed on the island during the early 1930s. His wife Faith left vivid descriptions of the wild river scenery and the overgrown garden. Visitors cross the white bridge to reach the mansion and its grounds. The river flows past rugged cliffs on the north side, where pine trees grow from rock crevices. The garden, once tended by the Mackenzies, still shows traces of their planting. Inside, rooms recall the Sobieski Stuarts’ taste for elaborate decoration. The house sits quietly in the Highland landscape, a reminder of past owners and their stories.