When Sheila and Ron Shanks first saw their soon to be new home at Highlands in Aboyne on Royal Deeside in north east Scotland, they had also finally found the elusive holiday home they had been searching for over the previous five years.
Within the grounds of Highlands was Invergarry, the original gardener’s cottage. “When we saw Invergarry, we knew right away that this was the ideal property although it was in much need of love and attention.” said Sheila “but we both could see how to bring it to life with all of the idea’s we had been collecting over the years.”
“We had been looking for the right opportunity around the Cairngorm National Park as we love the area and the all year around nature of the environment.” explains Ron. “However, when we went looking for a special place to stay where we could explore the great outdoors or stay snuggled up, we could not find something to suit so the idea to create one from our own experiences began.”"
The concept for our vision of a holiday home was simple – individual choice for couples looking for some relaxation, romance and pleasure where they can escape from life’s hassles in a luxurious quality environment. We wanted to set up The Invergarry as a romantic hideaway that could be enjoyed at all times of the year and in all wather conditions - it is Scotland after all!
“Choice to us was a key consideration so that anyone living at The Invergarry can choose to do something or choose to do nothing from a relaxing, very good quality and fully equipped home.” said Ron. “It was our view that to achieve this the property needed to be within or near to a village so all of the local facilities could be embraced especially for eating, drinking, shopping and so forth.”
“We wanted to create a quality private hideaway for you to come to relax, play, eat, drink and to feel stress free.” Sheila explains “Inspiration was taken from some of our own romantic trips away. We wanted to take the best parts we have discovered and add some extra’s to create a unique experience to be enjoyed.”
“We loved hot tubing in Iceland in February when it was freezing cold outside. Our glasses of Prosecco stayed lovely and chilled while we were roasty toasty in the tub. So that feature had to be included.”
“On another trip we decided not to have any television for the duration of the stay and we felt so relaxed by the end that we have included a chaise lounge to lay back, read, listen to the radio or just to switch off and un-wind.”
“A long soak in the bath was another must have feature so we have created a bathroom to indulge in. It has a slipper bath for one, lighting features to get the ambience just right along with a champagne table, all to create an enjoyable time for yourself.”
While we have viewed The Invergarry from a couples point of view it is equally special for an individual looking to simply get away for a well-deserved break or to get the time and space for yourself to finally start to write that book, practice cooking in the fully fitted kitchen or just to have the time and space to think.
