A holiday let owner was stunned to discover the face of Gandalf peeping back at her from her floorboards - and has now turned it into a quest for visitors to find during their stay. Isobel Haldane did a double-take when her nieces sent her a picture of the infamous wizard lurking in the living room floor of holiday let The Roundhouse Cottage.
Striking images show the wizarding legend's lookalike with a clearly-defined head, eyes, nose, mouth, beard and flowing locks topped off with a pointy hat. The knots in the oak flooring form an almost uncanny likeness to Sir Ian McKellen's portrayal in the epic fantasy trilogy based on the novels by JRR Tolkien.
The 60-year-old joked that guests love tracking down the 16-inch-long portrait in the circular room, with one stag party even vowing to make a return visit after failing to find him during their stay.
Isobel, from Blackford, Perthshire, said: "It's very special having one of the greatest wizards from literary history living in our sitting room, we feel very privileged. His striking features are reflected in the wood - two definite eyes, a prominent nose and the flowing hair and the beard.
"The beard is just amazing. What's even more amazing is the people we brought the property from hadn't noticed it. I think it was maybe covered up by a rug. He is a wee bit tricky to find but it's a good challenge. If you look at him upside down you can't see him, it's only when you're facing him that you can see him."
Isobel, who is married to 74-year-old John Haldane, said it was her eagle-eyed nieces Jane Hamilton and Annie Smart who discovered it when they came to visit three years ago. The mum-of-three, who bought the property six years ago, said: "Jane and Annie discovered it, we didn't even know it was there.
"Jane said to me 'do you know you've got Gandalf living here?' We didn't even know it was there. We took a photograph and laminated it and made it as a puzzle for children to find who are staying there.
"I thought it was interesting and something to keep them occupied. When parents arrive on holiday and get into the house the children are itching to go off and look for Gandalf while they unpack.
"Some people ask for a hint so I tell people to text me if they'd like a clue. It's funny, some people are so excited. We had a stag party of six young men staying and they didn't want me to tell them where it was because they wanted to come back.
"They were gamers and wanted the challenge, they didn't want to be told. They didn't find him so they're going to book again and come back and have another look."
Isobel joked that if she were visiting, she wouldn't rest until she'd tracked him down. She said: "It's the first thing I would look for, I wouldn't let my children go to bed until we'd found it."
NHS Phlebotomist Jane Hamilton, 44, first spotted him during a visit to the property. Jane, from Alva, Clackmannanshire, said: "My sister Annie and I were staying up there for a couple of days when she spotted Gandalf lurking in the floor of the living room of the roundhouse.
"My aunt Isobel now challenges all new guests to see if they can find him during their visit. I was super surprised and delighted when Annie pointed out that Gandalf’s very distinctive face was peering back at us from the floorboards that day.
"I've started seeing faces everywhere since then but none are as impressive as Gandalf. My aunt Isobel now challenges all new guests to see if they can find him during their visit."
Annie said: "I thought I was seeing things when I saw him."
