Escape Foyers Lodge

Quiet luxury full of personality on the banks of Loch Ness

- Miriam Methuen-Jones

"This is it," I say to my partner, as the sun rises over Loch Ness in front of us. "This is what life is meant to be like."

It's just past seven on a Saturday morning, and we're already skimming stones (somewhat successfully) across the water. Saturday mornings are usually reserved for a luxurious long lie but here we're a busy pair, out and about and exploring our surroundings. And it's all thanks to Foyers Lodge.

The boutique guest house on the banks of Scotland's most infamous loch is owned and run by Anna Low and Phil Crowe, a dynamic duo with a beguiling past. The afternoon before our dawn adventure, Anna welcomes us to Foyers Lodge and, as she leads us through the warren of inviting rooms, she tells us about her years spent working as a professional dancer, in the theatre, and also on the 2012 Olympics, among other things. Later, we bump into Phil. He's more reserved but just as interesting to talk to, plus he's a dab hand behind the bar. The couple are everything you'd want from your hosts, and more. Which is just as well: this is an idyllically isolated part of the world. There are one or two houses nearby, but otherwise it's all woodland and water.