Dunblane "Hydro"

I had to go up to the Hydro this evening and decided to take a blip pic of it.

This Victorian pile, when you approach it on a dark stormy night, and we have plenty of those in Scotland, looks like a film set for a creepy thriller.

Known locally as "the Hydro" its official name is Doubletree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro, which is quite a mouthful.


The history of the hotel goes back to 1878 when on 13th September, the Dunblane Hydropathic was opened, at a cost of £ 60,000, a small fortune at the time. The reason for opening a Spa Resort on this site was due to the Mineral Wells at Comrie, 17 miles to the north, which had been discovered in 1813, and provided a valuable and therapeutic source of pure water. When the Hydro opened there was a resident doctor, Dr. Clark advising up to forty resident guests who came to drink three glasses of the "waters" each day as well as other hydropathic treatments which were believed to cure rheumatism, alcoholic related diseases, depression and other illnesses.
People flocked to the Dunblane Hydropathic. Whether written by happy guests or perhaps as marketing blurb at the time, the archives are filled with such comments as " it woos the tired mind to sanity" and "the bright sunshine and bracing air puts vigour into the steps of men and paints roses on the cheeks of ladies".
Outdoor exercise to put colour in guests` cheeks was also on offer nearby. In 1892 the first manager Mr. Henderson also was the man in charge of creating the first golf course in Dunblane on the Lainghills.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century several Hydropathic Spa resorts opened across Scotland [Peebles and Crieff Hydros for instance], as part of a fashionable trend to keep fit and cure aches and pains in a homeopathic way.