Best case of cabin fever

Gaby Soutar discovers the log cabins at Eagle Brae are the perfect destination to decompress

Picture your fantasy log cabin, now put it on a bicep. On our visit to Eagle Brae, near Struy in Invernessshire, another guest has a fresh tattoo of a wilderness lodge underneath a swirling auroraborealis-esque sky. Apparently, his tattoo artist sourced the image on Pinterest, thinking it was an imaginary Photoshopped creation.

Post-tattoo, one of his friends spotted an advert for Eagle Brae and recognised Parus, one of the cabins at this five-year-old luxury self-catering holiday destination.

After hearing the story, Pawana and Mike Spencer-nairn, owners of this place, invited him to stay for free.

Very kind, though it’s a convoluted way for someone to find their ideal holiday destination.

Unfortunately, on our visit to Eagle Brae, we don’t get a good look at the body art. He’s a bit far from the vantage point of our cabin, Strix, but that’s okay, since we’re in the market for a do-nothing, speak-to-no-one sort of decompression weekend.

And this is the ideal spot, on a hillside of birch trees, above Strathglass and the River Glass.

Our one-bedroom, two living room residence is one of seven variouslysized cabins on site, all named after the Latin genera for local bird species (ours is a type of owl). They’re currently offering a discount on stays, as three more – Certhia (treecreeper), Ardea (heron) and Cinclus (dipper), each of which will sleep four and feature their own sauna, are being built.

They’ll be ready in November. Until then, there’s 20 per cent off a stay.

From our perspective, it’s fascinating to watch these buildings going up. Made from sturdy Western red cedar logs, they’re designed and handmade by Pioneer Log Homes of British Columbia. They’re built over in Canada, disassembled, shipped over here, then pieced together again, like Jenga.

This makes for these archetypal pioneer cabin style buildings, which also remind me of Swiss cuckoo clocks, though with grassy wildflower turf roofs. Inside, there’s a focus on handcrafts, without massproduced decor. These include fantastical and quirky carved wood panels that line the staircase, made by Pawana’s brother-in-law in the Himalayas.

Along with Celtic knots, animals are a theme, from fierce-looking hares to leaping salmon.

There are deer hoof prints carved into our internal staircase, a huge eagle’s head on the front of our cabin, like the figurehead on a ship’s prow,

and a pair of taxidermy “jackalopes” on the inside wall (think jack rabbit with antlers).

There are real animals here too. I am besotted with the 10 stone teddy bear that is this place’s resident Bernese Mountain Dog, Kyla. She sits on my foot to ensure undivided attention. Apparently, there’s a new puppy en route, so future guests will have to perform double tummy rubs.

Beside the reception cabin, where their own tuk-tuk is parked, you’ll find a central pond featuring koi carp and ducks, and a pen that houses three goats, Barnaby, Billy and Bhakra.

In the evening, we have an encounter with the local deer, who creep around the cabins at dusk. There are five stags hanging out together, and about the same number of hinds, all of whom seem unphased by our gawking.

We also make some feathered friends, as the well stocked feeders by Strix’s decking are visited by all sorts of birds, including bright yellow headed siskins. My other half spots a woodpecker, but I only hear it.

In the visitors’ book, somebody has logged their sightings of a pine marten on the deck at 9:30pm every

The cabins are reminiscent of Swiss cuckoo clocks with their interiors focused on handcrafts. Local deer frequently creep around at dusk

night, so we fire up the wood-burning stove and have a stake out. No luck.

If you must go out (and you don’t have to, as Eagle Brae has an intranet, so you can order supplies, including dishes, like venison curry, that Mike and Pawana cook themselves), you can walk up the (very steep) hill to their hydro-dam, which supplies much of the electricity to this ecofriendly resort.

Or, head along to Beauly, where there are some good gift shops, plus cafe and deli Corner on the Square. On the road into this town, we found an antique shop selling mid-century furniture, and, another couple of doors along, an intriguing, if slightly creepy, place offering driftwood sculptures.

Although Strix’s visitor book is filled with previous guests’ descriptions of nearby walks and adventures, we didn’t venture much further.

I want to come back as soon as possible, even if that means I have to be tattooed. Prepare the ink.

The starting price for Strix is £629.50

for two nights, or a week for £1,259, before the 20 per cent discount applied until the end of November, then back to full price thereafter. For more information, call 01463 761 301 or see www.eaglebrae.co.uk

Designed and handmade by Pioneer Log Homes of British Columbia