An intriguing backstory…
It’s a venerable house sitting quietly alongside Loch Ness. It’s also a place steeped in history, myths and legends.
Today, its new owners are putting the finishing touches to a massive restoration project which aims to protect the past of this unique site.
There’s everything here: one previous owner was linked to the Jacobite Uprising and another fled scandal before heading to the US.
And let’s not forget the time when it was owned by the infamous occultist, Aleister Crowley.
And we haven’t even got to the part where Boleskine House enters into the pantheon of Rock ‘N Roll legend status when Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, purchased it in 1971 (he sold it in 1992).
‘From a historical point of view, it’s extraordinarily important,’ explains Keith Readdy, Trustee and Chairman of The Boleskine House Foundation.
‘It was listed as a B listed building which is the Scottish equivalent for a Grade 2 Listed building in other parts of the UK. As a residence, we believe it goes back to the 18th Century.’
‘One of the really interesting things about the restoration is that the building revealed itself to be much older. So, there’s a lot of unwritten history that we don’t really know about but we know that there’s something smaller there before.’
‘Architecturally, it’s a unique building. It’s a Scottish building vernacular so it’s got epic Georgian proportions, but, it’s also modest in a strange way, so it’s a stately home, but, it’s not a grand stately home.’
‘Showcasing fading and dying heritage trades’
It was originally built as a hunting lodge in the late eighteenth century. At around the same time and the estate’s owners were busy dabbling in the politics of The Jacobean Rebellion.
Some were subsequently executed at the Tower of London following the failure of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s claim for the throne.
The owners were persona non grata – even though they weren’t even present at the 1746 Battle of Culloden. More than 150 years later and another anti-establishment figure was set to take over the deeds.
‘There’s a lot of early 18th century Scottish history to the house, but, of course, it has a very unique angle to the history with Aleister Crowley so that brings in the whole esoteric side of things.’
‘And then we have a rock star that lived there so there’s a history of music and the history of rock n roll with it. So, there’s a blend of Scottish history and a blend of unique heritage.’
‘So, from a historical point of view, it’s got a lot of interesting stories to tell. And one that we’re prepared to entertain people with.’
Ten years ago and disaster struck Boleskine House as a devastating fire rendered it uninhabitable. For many people, it was a sad moment for the area as the building’s history is an intrinsic part of the fabric of Loch Ness’ heritage.
Hope for the site’s future arrived in July 2020 following its most recent purchase and planning for its restoration began in earnest. The Boleskine House Foundation was formed. The charity received £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
‘Can this actually happen? Can we actually do this?’
‘From a personal standpoint, I came from hospitality and entertainment, in my early adult years, but, I was also an academic and a historian working in religious studies and the history of the esoteric,’ says Keith.
‘I just like old buildings and this was an opportunity. It was almost a kind of challenge. Can this actually happen? Can we actually do this?’
‘Since that guiding point of doing a restoration project like nothing else, it’s turned into a much larger community project where we’ve had volunteers that have been involved.’
‘And the original aims have broadened with all of the nature restoration and reinvigorating the lands around it and showcasing fading and dying heritage trades. I’ve learned a lot with that.’
‘I just like old buildings and this was an opportunity. It was almost a kind of challenge,’ says Keith Readdy, Trustee and Chairman of The Boleskine House Foundation. Image: © Boleskine House Foundation.
‘Being a part of a restoration project like this has really shown the importance of what it means to be part of a heritage project.’
Fast forward five years and the finishing touches are being put in place to restore this property back to its former glory.
Indeed, as I write, so images are being posted on its official social media account showing light streaming from the windows as the sun sets over Bonnie Scotland.
‘We’ve basically rebuilt a ruin’
‘It’s been absolutely monumental, we’ve basically rebuilt a ruin. It was just standing walls. There were three phases.’
‘The first phase was the remedial work to make it structurally safe then we decided to undertake phase two which was the external fabric. And that was a monumental task in itself.’
‘Painstaking hours with the architects to reimagine the status and grandeur of what this building would be: everything from architecture to engineering to heritage and from stonemasonry to traditional Scottish roofing to stone carving.’
‘We had to get heritage stone masons involved. Hand chiselling mullions and window rivets and chimney coping stones to replicate what it looked like. The whole point of conservation is you try to save what’s there.’
‘If you can’t save what’s there then you have to replicate what was there. So, masonry was one of the biggest first things and then we got the joiners involved for the roof structure.’
‘The whole point of conservation is you try to save what’s there,’ says Keith Readdy, Trustee and Chairman of The Boleskine House Foundation. Image: © Boleskine House Foundation.
‘After that, putting 50,000 Ballachulish slates that were all reclaimed. We had to put Ballachulish on because that was a condition of our Listed Building consent.’
‘It’s a nice thick chunky slate which is absolutely suitable for the tough Highland weather on rooves. And then, of course, all of the internal design that’s gone in.’
‘We’ve carved some decorative fireplaces inside to heritage wood panelling. It’s all been part of the restoration so it’s exciting to be at the end of it.’
‘Not of the sensationalist Hammer Horror’
Boleskine House is surely a place which will be high on any Scottish historian’s Wishlist for preservation work.
Afterall, its’ name is not only synonymous with the Jacobite Uprising of the 18th Century but also with the infamy of Aleister Crowley who bought it in 1899 for £2000 (that’s more than £1/2 million in today’s money).
Crowley was a renowned occultist of the day. His influence is so great that he was the (very) recent subject of an hour long BBC Radio Four documentary.
Rewind to the sixties and he even made it onto the front cover of The Beatles’ album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Aleister Crowley is included on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (top row, second from the left). Image: Shutterstock.
Crowley’s time at Boleskine saw him practice ancient rituals at the site. The Boleskine House Foundation recently shared an article onto its Facebook page from The National Library of Scotland.
The piece examines Crowley’s time on the shorelines of Loch Ness and talks of his apparent interaction with various spirit entities.
It’s a point raised in Aleister Crowley: The Beast Demystified (Roger Hutchinson). The author provides a substantial list of ‘startling consequences’ resulting from Crowley’s attempts to interact with various spirit entities.
More than 100 years later and it’s reassuring to hear that the site is a place at peace with itself. Harmony has been restored.
‘I’d say there’s an absolute feeling (there) but not of the sensationalist Hammer Horror that most people would expect,’ says Keith.
‘The atmosphere there probably facilitated my, almost knee jerk reaction, to purchase it. There’s a profound stillness and calmness of the land.’
Loch Ness at sunset. Image: © Boleskine House Foundation.
‘It’s very reflective to be there’
‘There’s just this serenity of being there on the banks of Loch Ness being surrounded by this ancient woodland which is called the Farigaig Forest, the wildlife there and the remnants of stories from around there which have been around there for centuries.’
‘You can feel a real antiquity to the place. You can almost feel it. It’s very reflective to be there. It feels very contemplative when there’s not machinery and drills going on.’
‘So, for me, it’s place that really invites a level of introspection and creativity and a depth of spirit.’
‘Touching on Crowley, he was somebody who travelled the world. He loved hiking mountains, he loved being in nature.’
‘I imagine what I’ve just described was probably what made him what to be there. And I imagine that’s what pulls most people to want to be in that area in general.’
Crowley was eventually forced to sell the property as his descent into financial despondency was beginning to show. He headed to warmer climes and established a commune in Sicily.
The year was 1923 and the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, was keen to flex his muscles and fortify his power, having only recently established himself as the country’s leader.
By that point, Crowley had been on the island for around three years – and scandal was swirling around his activities. His commune was reputed to see ‘scandalous practices’ taking place.
Crowley’s ‘Abbey of Thelema’ became further embroiled in intrigue following the death of one of his acolytes. It was the final straw. The dictator ordered the Englishman to leave.
‘Most pivotal moments in Crowley’s life’
‘If you look at Crowley as a cultural figure, a historic figure, his ownership of Boleskine House was of a very short period, given his entire life. He only owned it for 14 years or so.’
‘And in that 14 years, these were some of the most pivotal moments in Crowley’s life. He wasn’t there all the time, he was doing lots of mountaineering trips, he did some of his most significant mountaineering feats during his ownership of Boleskine.’
‘He took his K2 expedition in 1902, he was in Mexico with a very well know mountaineer at the time, Oscar Eckenstein, in 1900, he attempted Kangchenjunga in 1905, but that expedition met with failure with an avalanche on part of his company.’
Kanchenjunga peak, viewed from Gangtok, captured in the early morning sunshine. Image: Shutterstock.
‘He was Crowley the mountaineer during this period of his life. For him, this was also a highly developed time intellectually, and, if you want to say, magically speaking.’
‘He penned some of his most important and influential esoteric writings between 1903 up to about 1914 when he was about to sell Boleskine. So, the most important time for his mountaineering and his esoteric period was when he owned this house.’
‘The more prolific esoteric and mountaineering Crowley where he achieved a lot of feats in his life happened prior to 1915, prior to his selling of Boleskine House.’
‘The harmony of the natural heritage’
It would, perhaps, be wrong to solely focus on the spiritual folklore surrounding Aleister Crowley. He authored scores of books. And yet, polite society shunned his beliefs.
For some, the mere mention of his name could result in an ‘attack of the vapours.’ Possibly with some justification. Smelling salts would surely be need to be summoned to counter his summoning of a very different kind.
The Thirties saw him face colossal financial struggles and he eventually ended up in Hastings. It’s a seaside town sited near to the various schools he had once (unhappily) attended.
He died on Monday, 1st December, 1947. A massive thunderstorm engulfed the area at around the same time of his passing.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Zeus’ lightning bolts had their say in Crowley’s death. Afterall, at one time, the press had even dubbed him as being ‘the wickedest man alive.’
Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. Certainly he was up against tough competition for the title during the first half of the Twentieth Century.
Back to Boleskine House and life rolled on for the house with a view over Loch Ness. Various incarnations followed. A guest house. A holiday home.
And then there was the 2015 fire which rendered it uninhabitable. Today and the future is looking to be definitely upbeat.
‘Five acres of wildflower meadows’
‘The short term plan is to get it finished and to get it opened and to allow people to visit. Long term is to keep it open most of the year as a heritage site.’
‘We’d like it to be a place where people can learn about history and learn about the traditional building crafts that we’ve put in and the different types of skills that we’ve used.’
‘The kind of artistic inspired internal elements that we’ve put in, the esoteric, nature, preservation, biodiversity.’
‘The estate’s become one of the largest biodiversity projects in South Loch Ness. We have put together five acres of wildflower meadows which took a little while but it’s established now and it looks beautiful in the Spring and Summer.’
An aerial view of the southern part of Loch Ness, Scotland. Image: Shutterstock.
‘That will be one area that we want people to visit. We’ve put up Bee Hotels and we hope to have Information signs about our biodiversity projects.’
‘We’ve also started a wetlands restoration project – there’s a wetland behind the house with a very old Victorian retaining wall with freshwater pond. So, we’d like to bring in elements of restoring the wetlands, information boards and workshops for that.’
‘And that people can enjoy being in nature and seeing the wildlife and enjoy the pine martens and the deer that frequently share the land with us.’
‘We sat still for a while and listened to what the house wanted to be’
‘We sat still for a while and listened to what the house wanted to be and we felt it needed to sit within its natural surrounds. We wanted to not only facilitate the interest of the built heritage but bring it into the harmony of the natural heritage.’
‘Basically, an arts, cultural and heritage centre that will be in place for fun is the long term goal where workshops can be had, nature, exhibitions, a place for mental health and wellbeing, self-guided tours.’
History is all about preservation. The preservation of buildings. The preservation of memories. That the very being of the building itself can bear witness to a plethora of events and emotions – negative and positive.
The future of Boleskine House, as a place of peaceful tranquillity, seems assured with plans for mindfulness and retreats to be held there. The team is also strongly focusing its energies on the environment.
Over the years, Boleskine House has certainly seen its fair share of change. With work nearing completion, it’s now becoming set to face the future with a fortified purpose.
‘I think in the coming years, it will be a place of fun, entertainment and learning. I guess the question is: what can we not do with it?’
This article was originally published on 4 December, 2025.
Breaktime News’ Preserving History series includes the history, rennovation and re-opening of Bodmin Jail as an educational centre and hotel.
