Special ops in Scottish country

On the road to Fersit, and the start of this route, you pass Inverlair Lodge.

The old house was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.

It was used by the SOE to house “failed” British spies – people deemed too incompetent to serve, but whose training meant they knew too much to simply be allowed to return to either the regular forces or civilian life.

They lived in relative comfort but in what was effectively an open jail. The house is said to be the inspiration for the cult 1960s TV show The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. One of the unfortunate residents, Italian man Rinaldo Purisiol, was sent to Inverlair for being so “outstandingly ugly” it was impossible for him to be a successful spy.

Declassified documents state: “He’d be recognised anywhere. Once seen, never forgotten. He had no teeth at all except two gold tusks and two incisors.”