The Black Officer's House

There is something highly pleasurable about the discovery of ruins and the subsequent ferreting out of their history.

This is all that remains of the house built at Ballachroan by the Black Officer, John McPherson in 1792. McPherson was born in Glentruim in 1724 and following his retirement from active service acted as a recruiting officer for the British army. His methods were harsh and unscrupulous. This and the success of his advanced methods of farming which gave him spectacularly good yields led to stories about his being in league with the devil. This belief was compounded by his having appropriated stones from the old church in Kingussie to build a two storey farmhouse of which all that remains is this arch. McPherson came to an unfortunate end in 1800 when he and three others who were on a hunting trip to Gaick were buried when the roof of the bothy in which they were sheltering from a blizzard collapsed under the weight of snow.

On a glorious afternoon the view over the Strath from the ruin was superb and we were delighted to see a golden eagle soaring above the Glen.

Today being National Dogs Day a hot Rufus stars in the extra