Bridget and John Lewis's home, Blairhullichan, was originally a Victorian shooting lodge. Parts of the garden wing date back even earlier to the 1600's and it is this wing they have set aside to make a comfortable self-contained, self-catering rental for families or friends in parties of up to six or seven.

The entrance door is in the wall on the right. Guests are welcome to sit or dine at the table in this sheltered courtyard.

The Lewises own 40 acres of grassland and ancient oakwoods including about half a mile of the shore of Loch Ard where you can fish for trout, pike and perch. Meadows slope down from the house to the shore where there is a sandy beach and mossy boulders under old oaks and beech. The surrounding Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is one of Scotland's most beautiful areas, and from the house there is almost unlimited walking and climbing, and a labyrinth of cycle tracks in the forested foothills of Ben Lomond (3192 ft) which rise behind the house.

Bridget has counted 52 species of birds (the birdsong at Blairhullichan is remarkable) including a breeding pair of Ospreys which are often seen fishing. This is an ancient and historic place dotted with Neolithic habitations and evidence of lake-dwellers: the remains of a crannog in the loch. At the time the earliest parts of the house were built Rob Roy used to wine and dine at the farm next door.

In summer it is often possible to wade to Eilean Gorm, a small wooded private island in the loch where you can explore and picnic in romantic isolation. Boats can be hired in the village of Kinlochard a short walk away, and there you'll find a good village shop and a tea room. Main provisions can be got in Aberfoyle (5 miles) where there is one of Scotland's best butchers.