The Findhorn Foundation is selling the 99-room former Cluny Hill College.
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A GRAND old building between St Leonard's Road and Edgehill Road is up for sale.
The 99-room former Cluny Hill College - originally the purpose-built Cluny Hill Hydropathic during the Victorian era then the Cluny Hill Hotel from the late 1930's - is being sold by its owners since the 1970's, the Findhorn Foundation (FF).
A FF spokeswoman explained why the organisation is selling and transferring some of its estate.
She said: "The charity announced last July that it needs to radically reform to remain financially viable. Most of the property at Findhorn itself is being transferred over to a new charity set up by their residents.
"However, one going on the market is the former college site off St Leonard's Road in Forres. It will be listed on the market this month. It's an amazing building and an unusual property."
FF programme graduate Andrew Powell, who has lived and studied at Cluny Hill since completing the Experience Week program in 2018, is overseeing the building's condition up to sale.
He said: " I've also been helping with an archive of photographs and information being put together at The Park in Findhorn. I love this place - there's always been a mystical side to it due to the lore around the Cluny Hills.
"I'm happy to keep an eye on it but I'm sad and shocked it has come to the point that it has to be sold."
Andrew confirmed that the building was originally opened around 1865. Its west wing was added around a decade later.
He said: "It still has most of its original fixtures and fittings. There was a swimming pool and therapy rooms, and the bathtubs are huge in the bedrooms.
"In 1937, it was converted into a hotel following a turnaround in its fortune during the First World War. The eventual founders of the Findhorn Foundation, names Dorothy Maclean and Eileen and Peter Caddy successfully managed the place in the 1950s, using their esoteric beliefs."
Cluny Hill Hydro remained a hotel until the 1970s when it went on the market and they were able to buy it.
"They re-did all of the electrics and necessary building work with friends and associates," said Andrew. "It eventually became part of the Foundation itself. They had to find the right balance for the place so many of its functions changed over the following years. It originally had tennis courts, a pavilion and a swimming pool for example - those areas were used for more spiritual pursuits later on."
The huge, well-lit dining room - visible from Edgehill Road and Forres Golf Club - can host up to 150 diners.
"There's a real sense of space," said Andrew. "It hasn't changed much from its original look."
The nearby 'Sanctuary', is another space once treasured by the Foundation's guests.
"It was a men only billiards room with a huge table," said Andrew. "We used it for silent, daily meditation and attunement in groups. It was also a singing chamber - part of the rhythm for staff and community members."
Upstairs, features include a sunroom above the building's main entrance which leads to the spacious 'Beech Tree Room' decorated with artwork by members and local artists.
The former hydropathic still has a large, two floor sauna and outdoor plunge pool complete with mosaic, and a spectacular ballroom in the west wing with immaculate original wood panelled walls and floor.
"It held many ceilidhs," said Andrew. "Part of our tradition was to clean and care for the room with love and positivity while singing ... so it's a very well looked after space."
Outside, a variety of gardens was "co-created with nature".
Andrew explained: "Connecting with nature and the land was important here. 'Mother' and 'Father' trees in the garden feature in a painting of the building from 180 years ago. We still have a wide variety of bees and beehives.
"We grew vegetables and herbs, and foraged in the woods for everyday ingredients to make sure that there was at least something from the garden in our meals. Our Chakra Garden was filled with plants that would flower at different times of the year to create different colours for meditation.
"Guests on Experience visits would complete the labyrinth here, sit around the fire pits and play the drums to increase mindfulness."
"The Release Garden at the very back of the site is above the original ice house," added Andrew. "The spiral on the hill behind the main house is a walk to the top that is believed to be an energy spot.
"There was a pre-existing lore and a melodic energy in these hills. They're a mindfulness power point.
"This place means so much to me!"
