Who needs the Pyrenees!

Legendary TV producer and Channel 4 founder Sir Jeremy Isaacs, and his wife Gillian Widdicombe, are selling their house on the Isle of Skye. Here, Gillian tells Your Home readers about her love of Skye

Diubaig House is in an exceptional, beautifully-presented detached stone house in a secluded spot which enjoys spectacular views of Loch Greshornish and beyond. Only 17 miles from Portree, it’s one of the most idyllic, unspoilt locations in the north of Skye.

For the last 15 years it has belonged to Sir Jeremy Isaacs and his wife, Gillian Widdicombe, and since 2002 has been used as a private house and as a very successful five-star luxury holiday let.

While guests are provided with an unforgettable holiday experience, the house became a much-loved refuge for the couple, as Gillian reveals here:

“Jeremy has always loved walking, so we went each year to the Pyrenees. But the tracks became increasingly crowded, so you would be struggling up towards the Breche de Roland overwhelmed by the Spanish in sandals and Germans with backpacks.

“Then, late August 2001, we came to Skye, for three days.

“Driving up the island, between the Red and the Black Cullin, I cried ‘Who needs the Pyrenees!’ Our offer was accepted on that tragic day, ‘9/11’. We bought an adventure, and a refuge.

“Diubaig House had been a ruin a few years before, with a tree growing in the middle; then modestly done up, each room a different pastel shade; nothing in the garden except, evidently, sheep. But it was the classic case of ‘Location’...

“We can always fix the house, I thought. Over 15 years, we have.

“We soon realised that the reason so many houses on Skye are painted white is that they are stone built, and when the mortar fails, a thick coat of render is the easiest way to keep out the weather.

“Rain started to creep through our south-west wall. I love stonework, especially when it’s as beautiful as this, so could not bring myself to cover it up.

“Three years ago we fixed it with a full-height larch extension, which turns the wall facing the weather into an internal one.

“It’s a dramatic space, and gives the house a splendid entrance. So if it’s windy when you arrive, you can dump all your stuff inside and sort it later; and if you come back from a walk with drenched clothes, you can shake off like a sheep.

“Yes, it can be windy here: to my surprise I found I love Skye just as much in the winter, when the birch trees are silver with red tips, the landscape turns gold, and the wind blows wild greys across the skies.

“There’s so much to do at this end of the island. Much of it is external: the Trotternish hills, the ancient landslip called the Quiraing, and the number of walks you can do from the door of Diubaig House.

“Other things, like Dunvegan Castle and the Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir, have been much improved during our time; and eating out has been transformed – not just The Three Chimneys, other places have raised their game with local produce.

“I’m a natural gardener,

Sir Jeremy Isaacs enjoying a drink and soaking up the views at Diubaig House