Strathpeffer

Strathpeffer Station

Strathpeffer Bandstand.

Trains once brought the health-conscious from all over Britain to take the invigorating waters of Strathpeffer. The water is still there, although the trains and the hordes have long since departed. Strathpeffer now seems to specialise in peddling an assortment of new-age remedies: astrological cures for astronomical prices.

I visited it last week and had rather hoped that the old station, pump rooms and institute would have the tired, run-down feel of a neglected seaside town. I thought that exploring it might feellike walking down a rustng pier several decades after the last end-of-pier show had shut, with tattered Little & Large posters peeling from walls. Sadly I was denied such ambience, as the place was sparking, refurbished and gleaming with new paint and investment.