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The chamber contains an empty coffin, “life-sized Egyptian figures and a metal bench”.
The remote mansion where twisted Scots fiend Kevin Booth tortured women in a trapdoor-guarded dungeon has an interesting history all of its own – and was once so popular it was featured in one of the world’s most popular magazines.
Yesterday it emerged former headteacher Booth used a creepy “torture chamber” at the Highland home to abuse a number of vulnerable women. He recruited females from the UK and abroad to come to his home.
He then subjected them to horrendous “punishment beatings” within the picturesque building. Within the property, a trapdoor leads to an underground chamber area with a 60-metre long curved concrete tunnel.
The chamber contains an empty coffin, “life-sized Egyptian figures and a metal bench”. He was given a worldwide travel ban after Police Scotland raised a civil action against him, which came after criminal cases against him had concluded without a conviction.
Here we take a look at the property, how it has changed hands over the years and what the different owners have used the spectacular building for.
The property was built in 1895 as a hunting lodge for Sir Tollemache Sinclair, of Ulbster, a scattered crofting hamlet on the eastern coast of Caithness.
It was built on the east bank of Loch Dhu. The property is so remote that the materials used to built it were transported by rail to a station at Altnabreac, around a mile away, then taken from there to the site.
It’s believed Donald Leed, of Thurso, who was architect to the Ulbster Estates, was the lead architect on the project and oversaw the design and building of the two-storey asymmetrical gabled shooting lodge with Baronial detailing.
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Historic Environment Scotland, the lead public body set up to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment, lists the site as Lochdu lodge and describes it: “Coursed rubble, contrasting polished ashlar dressings”.
“4-storey octagonal tower at SW angle, housing staircase in 1st and 2nd floors, large windows in 5 sides to 3 lower storeys; corbelled upper storey of tower, with gabletted windows and facetted conical roof outlined with cast-iron thistle cresting.”
After being a private residence, it was opened as a hotel, and was known as Lochdhu Hotel. An article in American sports magazine Sports Illustrated from May 17, 1965, talks about the hotel.
The article, about shooting and fishing in Scotland, states: “To the extreme north in Caithness, the Hon. Robin Sinclair, heir to Lord Thurso, runs the Lochdhu Hotel at Altnabreac.
“He prefers to lake sportsmen in pairs and offers first-class accommodations with six days’ deer stalking at $306 for two, all included, and a reasonable chance for a trophy.
“Fishermen can try out nine miles of the splendid River Thurso and any of 12 lochs for $105 a week, all expenses included.” It’s understood the hotel operated until about 1975.
Website ambaile.org.uk, which features Highland History and Culture, also has a profile of the property, alongside an undated historical photograph of the buildin. It says: “Lochdhu Lodge is a Victorian hunting lodge in the parish of Halkirk.
“It was built in the 1890s and was once owned by the Sinclair family. It was run as a hotel in the mid-20th century but reverted to being a private residence in 1975.”
A profile on scotlandsplaces.gov.uk, a free resource that lets you explore thousands of records about Scotland, refers to the building and property having the alternative names Lochdhu Hotel, Loch Dubh and Westerdale.
And canmore..org.uk, a website which contains more than 320,000 records and 1.3 million catalogue entries for archaeological sites, buildings, industry and maritime heritage across Scotland, describes it as “Lochdhu Lodge, Game Larder And Gunroom”.
The entry states it contains “Floor and roof plans, sections and elevations of offices and deer larder at Lochdhu Lodge” but no such document could be found.
The Highland Council website has 26 photographs of the property taken in 2004, from several different angles. The photographs show the impressive spiral staircase in the 4-storey octagonal tower.
The photographs are part of a document titled “A half/day excursion to the back of beyond – ‘Lochdhu Lodge’, Altnabreac, Caithness.”, with the Author/Originator listed as “unknown”.
An entry on geograph.org.uk – a project which aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland – has a number of pictures of the property from over the years.
A 2019 entry states: “Beside the road from Altnabreac to Dalnawillan. Built in the 1890s as a hunting lodge it then became a hotel but became a private residence in 1975. It is included on the Canmore site, listed Category B.
“The access roads in this area are private estate roads and the lodge is about 6 miles from the nearest public road but one is, of course, free to walk or cycle on the estate, the nearest public access being from Altnabreac station.
“A website still claims that a post bus serves the area – those were the days! The area continues to be served by the Royal Mail but sadly, no post bus these days. The house is apparently being offered for sale at present.”
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