Highland house where Alan Cumming and Miriam Margolyes filmed witching ritual for TV’s Lost in Scotland for sale at £1.25m
A Highland house visited by Alan Cumming and Miriam Margolyes for their TV series, Lost in Scotland, is up for sale at £1.25 million.
The pair visited Touchwood House where they were guests of honour at a witching ritual.
The B-listed 16-bedroom property in Island Bank Road in Inverness was run as a guest house by owner Susan Macalister Hall who died in December 2023.
The house, which is now on the market with Strutt and Parker, has been described by the Highland Paranormal group on social media as “our spiritual home for many years”.
• Highland Paranormal investigators celebrate 14th anniversary as Halloween draws near
• Highland Paranormal’s files: 10 ghostly investigations in Inverness and the wider region
• Scottish actor Alan Cumming dances the life of Robert Burns
The house, which has an intriguing history, has been owned or run by women for much of its life.
It was commissioned by Jane Houston Reed in the 1880s following the death of her husband Ellerington Reed who was from a wealthy sheep farming family.
She moved into the property, then named Carrol, in 1889 at the age of 69 and remained there until her death aged 83.
She also commissioned a house next door, Rossal, where her daughter and her family lived.
The houses were put up for sale in 1903 and Touchwood was rented out until about 1912 when it was sold to a Mrs Knowles who remained there until about 1929.
It was then bought by a Miss McLennan for £4000 at auction in Aberdeen and was used as a nursing home until 1958.
It was then run as the Carrol Children's Home by the Highland Orphanage Trust until 1981.
It was reportedly run in an enlightened manner and renowned for high levels of education attainment among the children.
After the home closed, it became a guest house and was acquired in 1989 by Susan Macalister Hall who renamed it Touchwood House and renovated it for continued use as visitor accommodation.
TV stars Alan Cumming and Miriam Margolyes joined Susan and her witch friends in 2022 to film an ancient healing ritual in the garden for their Channel 4 series, Lost in Scotland.
Miriam described it enlightening and very special while Alan reflected there had been nothing evil or threatening about the ritual.
Susan Macalister Hall died 14 months ago in Highland Hospice, following a short illness.
Touchwood, which sits in one acre of grounds, is described in the sales brochure as “a handsome B listed period home, set in one of Inverness’s most desirable residential locations”.
It states: “The heart of the property is the magnificent 31ft reception hall, with its wood panelling, open fireplace, sweeping staircase leading to the galleried landing, and beautiful stained glass, leaded windows, flooding the hall with natural light.”
Touchwood was used for open meetings by the Highland Paranormal group which runs regular events in the Inverness area and carries out investigations.
It has also been the location for marking ancient festivals such as Beltane and Samhain.
Liam Shand, Highland Paranormal team leader, said Touchwood was “a beautiful house”.
“The house was beautifully restored by Susan over the years,” he said.
“A lot of people who visited that house fell in love with it.
“It was a very special place.
“Every time someone walked in for the first time, they said ‘wow’,
“The main hall is absolutely stunning.
“Personally, if I won the lottery, I would buy it and I know quite a few other people who have made the same statement.”
He acknowledged that Touchwood may no longer be the group’s spiritual home.
“If it is sold as a private property, we would respect it as a private property,” said Mr Shand who hoped any new owner would ensure the house kept its character.
