Strathpeffer lies 4 miles west of Dingwall in Strath Peffer. Sulphurous springs were discovered in the area around Strathpeffer in the 1770s. In the late 18th century the sulphur and iron-rich springs were declared to have healing powers. This encouraged a steady stream of visitors from Europe and beyond and the spa town of Strathpeffer grew accordingly.
The railway arrived in 1885 and from then until the First World War the town was a popular tourist venue. Grand hotels and houses grew up in the town to accommodate the increasing numbers of people who came to Strathpeffer to 'take the waters'. The Ben Wyvis Hotel and The Spa Hotel are two examples of the grand hotels which were built in Strathpeffer to accommodate some of the more up-market visitors. Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the many guests at the Ben Wyvis Hotel.
Click to enlarge the image, read the text then answer the following questions.
Questions
- What helped to make Strathpeffer a popular holiday resort.
- Choose the correct answer to the phrase 'Taking the waters' :-
- the tourists drink lots of whisky.
- they bathe in rather smelly water and even drink it sometimes.
- they do a lot of swimming.
- they have water with their dinner.