Swapping London Life for Moray, Speyside: One Year On

Celebrating Moray with Louise Christopher:

"A year ago, we swapped London life for Moray, Speyside, and took on an ambitious project: bringing a historic steading into its next chapter and creating somewhere special for people to stay in the heart of Speyside.

It happened rather quickly.

We came up to Moray for a holiday in January 2025. In May, we were looking at properties. By September, we were here. But that’s me – decide and execute! Luckily, however, my lovely husband Janno is (usually) on the same page. 

Looking back, I'm not sure we fully appreciated just how much would change in such a short space of time.

Brylach was already in fairly good shape when we arrived, but we could see opportunities to make improvements, bring back more of its original character and add a few things that would make staying here even better. One year on, The Hayloft has had a full renovation, completed at a fairly ambitious pace in February and March, while we've also added new elements to The Coachman's Cottage, The Bothy, the shared courtyard and entrance.

There have been plenty of highs – welcoming our first guests, seeing the cottages come to life, meeting interesting people from all over the world, and discovering just how much there is to love about living and working in Speyside.

There haven't really been any lows – I tend to see challenges as learning opportunities and insights rather than lows – but renovating a historic building has certainly tested us. Rural tradespeople are worth their weight in gold – of course! Budgets and timelines have a habit of stretching. And there have definitely been a few “can we really do this?!” moments along the way.

And then there was the day we lost our entire water supply, with guests due to arrive. That was a particularly testing one. Thankfully, with the help of a very kind neighbour and The Craigellachie Hotel, we managed to get everything sorted.

I've always thrived on a bit of crisis management, so I suppose those many years in corporate business have come in useful!

What I didn't expect was the community.

In London, there are around 8.8 million people. In Moray, there are around 93,000.

On paper, you'd probably expect one to feel much more connected than the other.

But I've found almost the complete opposite.

London has millions of people and seemingly endless ways to fill your time, but it can still feel surprisingly lonely. Here, I can't imagine feeling lonely for a second.

Part of that is simply the nature of a smaller community. A chance conversation, a shared drink at an event, someone who knows someone – connections seem to happen more naturally and authentically here.

We arrived knowing very few people and having to start again. Within months, we'd met neighbours, local businesses, suppliers, guests, fellow business owners and people involved in all sorts of different things across the region.

We've been struck by how open businesses have been to working with us – including some much larger organisations. We've knocked on doors, asked for introductions and started conversations, and more often than not have been met with a genuinely warm welcome and an offer of support.

What's also been interesting is how surprised some people locally have been when we've talked about those experiences. Perhaps there's something about being new to a place that gives you a different perspective – you don't have any assumptions about who you should or shouldn't speak to, or what might or might not be possible. You simply start asking questions, making introductions and seeing where the conversation takes you.

Of course, those connections don't just happen. You must make the first move. But perhaps there's something in that for all of us – whether we're new to an area or have been part of it for years. Sometimes it only takes a conversation, a reconnection or simply being willing to pick up the phone and ask.

Through those connections, we've been able to recommend and generate work for local businesses, collaborate with people we've met and look for ways to put investment back into the local area.

That's been one of the most rewarding parts of the year.

I joined the Chamber almost as soon as we arrived, and it has been a constant source of support throughout our first year. It’s been a great way to connect with the wider business community, meet people we simply wouldn’t have known otherwise and start to feel part of what’s happening across Moray.

More recently, I’ve also joined the Growth Group, which is very new and still finding its feet. We’re a group of members who each work independently but are starting to explore how we can come together to support one another, collaborate where it makes sense, and hopefully create opportunities and value for other Chamber members and the wider region. It’s early days, but I’m excited to see where it goes.

Sometimes you don't need someone to solve a problem for you. It's just reassuring to know that someone else understands what it's like to be figuring it out too.

Quieter doesn't mean less ambitious.

One of the assumptions people sometimes make about moving north is that you're choosing a slower, simpler life – and perhaps stepping away from ambition along with it.

For me, that hasn't been the experience at all.

Life is certainly different. There is more space, more nature and, thankfully, considerably less time spent sitting in traffic.

But I actually feel more energised and fired up here than I have for a long time.

There is something incredibly motivating about being able to see the impact of what you're doing more directly. You're closer to the people you work with, closer to the businesses around you and much more connected to the place itself.

Running Brylach Steading has also given me the opportunity to get right back in front of the customer every day – to put everything I've learned throughout my career into practice and see, first-hand, how it plays out in the reality of running a hospitality business.

But after more than 20 years working in corporate roles across the world – and five years previously running my own consultancy – I realised I simply can't turn my customer experience brain off! I’m passionate about using what I’ve learnt to help other businesses and people grow through improved or new customer experiences. So, alongside running Brylach Steading, I’ve launched LCXWORKS, The Business of Experience. 

In some ways, it feels like the perfect combination: running a business where I’m experiencing the customer journey every day, while also being able to step back and help other organisations think about theirs.

So, if anything, the move has given me more energy for work, not less.

We are only scratching the surface.

One of the biggest surprises has been how local some of our guests have been.

We expected visitors from elsewhere in Scotland, England, Europe and further afield – and we've certainly welcomed plenty of those. But becoming a retreat for people much closer to home has felt especially special.

For some, it has been a chance to recover after a difficult time health-wise; for others, a treat for the family or a special occasion. Seeing local and Scottish guests return, sometimes regularly, is something we never expected and value enormously.

We've also arrived with a few assumptions of our own. I was convinced we needed lots of land and a wonderfully remote setting. Thankfully, Jan talked me out of that one. Our little two-acre woodland is more than enough for us to keep on top of – and we've discovered that being part of a community is far more valuable than being miles from everyone.

There are so many more people we'd like to meet, businesses we'd love to work with and ideas we'd like to explore.

I'm only too aware that there are probably not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.

Poor Jan has already learnt to dread the words: “Ooh, I had a really interesting conversation today…”

But that's part of the excitement.

We know we're only scratching the surface, and I'm excited to see where the next year takes us – both through Brylach Steading and LCXWORKS, and through becoming more deeply connected to the wider business community here.

There are, of course, challenges we all face in running businesses, whatever their size. We'll continue to do what we can to influence where we can, get involved, complete the inevitable surveys and forms, and support initiatives that help the wider region.

But our outlook remains firmly positive: focus on what we can control, get stuck in where we can, and look for practical ways to influence and contribute to the bigger picture.

And then there was Edna.

Even our little French Bulldog has become rather outdoorsy. In London she wouldn't walk through a puddle. Here, she heads straight into whichever loch, river or burn she happens to find.

I suppose that probably says something about the move too.

A year on, Brylach is more than three cottages, a courtyard and a view. It has become our way of putting down roots, meeting people, supporting local businesses and sharing a place we've come to love with the people who stay here.

We've learnt a lot. We're still learning. And, thankfully, we're still swimming."