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Short Break in Strathpeffer

In 1885 a branch line from the Dingwall and Skye railway reached the fast developing watering place of Strathpeffer. Soon the weekly sleeper from London was disgorging the rich and famous who came to seek refreshment and a cure for their real or imagined illnesses.

The spa had the support of the powerful Countess of Sutherland and there was a rash of building. Many visitors stayed at the huge Railway hotel, the Highland, which opened in 1911 and is still operating.  Strathpeffer became one of Britain’s leading spas, also attracting Continental visitors. It was at the  height of its fame between 1870 and the 1930’s. The village grew from small beginnings;  hotels and Pump Rooms were built in the valley while the wooded hillsides are dotted with solidly constructed Victorian villas. Today the main Baths have gone, but the village’s beautiful setting, its climate and its old-world charm make it a delight to visit, as we recently discovered.

The season lasted from April to October  and clients’ regimes would begin the day after their arrival. First there was a pre-breakfast drink of the sulphurous or chalybeate water in the main pump room, where the water came straight from the springs. Chalybeate had to be sipped because of possible damage to the teeth from the iron content! There was time to socialise and listen to the band playing before going to one’s hotel for a very simple breakfast. Water by mouth was also prescribed in the tmiddle of the day with orchestra playing, as music was considered a tonic.  Treatments on offer included  peat-baths, into which patients were lowered by means of a hoist, then covered with peat before being refreshed in a bath full of water. A strenuous massage completed the treatment which was advised for those suffering from the effects of overindulgence. Strathpeffer had electricity in the late 19th century and various electrical treatments were on offer. Patients were advised to remain in the spa for at least six weeks  to achieve a cure. Exercise was recommended, with golf and walks in the hills. Special routes were devised for the ladies. As with most spas social life was important and ’Balls, concerts and sundry entertainments’ were held in the Pavilion built in 1881.

At this time many British spas used hydropathy, introduced by Dr James Wilson who had spent time observing the work of a Silesian farmer, Vincenz Priessnitz. Wilson set up practice in Malvern where his patients were bombarded with huge amounts of water both internally and externally. Exercise was also recommended, and.wrapped in wet sheets, they would be told to ride around the Malvern Hills. After the death of a patient from pneumonia, this practice was discontinued! Strathpeffer’s cures were rather less strenuous. The sulphur springs were recommended for’chronic rheumatism, diseases of the skin and affections of liver and kidney’.

The first sulphurous spring was used at the end of the 17h century, and a wooden Pump Room was built in the village in 1819. An Aberdeenshire doctor declared the waters the most efficacious in Britain, and the poor were given free access to them. The Pump Room was eventually replaced by a magnificent stone building, complete with baths, in the square below the Highland Hotel. Following the final demise of the spa after World War II, the building was taken down to be replaced by three circular pavilions, which harmonise well with other buildings. The smaller, Upper Pump Room was built in 1839 and was extended later. It still survives as an excellent museum describing Strathpeffer at the height of its success and some of personalities who delivered care or received it.

   The Branch line to Strathpeffer closed in 1951;  today the charming Victorian station building has been restored. Bedecked with flowers in the summer, it houses the Highland Museum of Childhood, craft shops and a coffee shop. The Pavilion has undergone a splendid restoration and now hosts a variety of events. As a centre for walking Strathpeffer is ideal. Ben Wyvis to the north is a Munro offering the possibility of views from coast to coast on a good day. When you visit Strathpeffer do visit the museum in the Upper Pump Room, and be glad you do not have to submit to the peat bath treatment!

by Gillian Hull