Christmas Cottages in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ian - Verified booking

  The cottage has all the appearance of a peaceful beautiful remote location whilst being close to the main A85 road and Glasgow-Oban rail line.

  The rough access track joins the former and crosses a narrow bridge over the latter. We were relieved to be in a vehicle with good ground clearance for that approach, though within the curtilage of the property the track surface is good. The property is a contemporary renovation of an old farmhouse, which has been solidly executed and has a welcoming feel, and very personalised with multiple watercolours by what appears to be the same artist. The lounge sofas are generous, with one facing the TV and fire, and the other tangential to the screen. The TV has locally-available terrestrial channels and a Netflix account, though the smart apps on it accept logins for a range of other streaming services. The broadband has a decent speed of around 16Mbps incoming, but typically is single figures outbound. This means that devices that sync online (with automated photo uploads for instance) can hog the connection temporarily, but otherwise streaming is just fine. We didn’t try video communication services like FaceTime or Zoom, but the upload speed would suggest that embracing the sense of remoteness would make more sense. There is plenty of wood available for the fire, though we were glad to have plenty of kindling and some of our own very dry kiln-dried wood to start the fire and keep it going, because the burner’s door latch was missing. This meant that smokiness in the room on lighting and creating a strong draw were problematic. The owners are committed to replacing the latch so this should not be an issue in future. For us, it was slightly more problematic because the central heating thermostat read 12C degrees when we arrived, and the air source heat pump system took well into the next day to reach warmth during March. The system once reset again to 12C whilst we were there, but we were able to readjust again easily. An earlier power cut had caused the initial failure. But our experience is (as with our own house) that most rural properties like this can have unexpected minor temporary blips, and the important factor is how easy it is to rectify and/ or how the owners/ caretaker responds. They responded speedily and thoughtfully - another example was that our tall dog had an insecurity with the polished stone floor tiling in the hallway and kitchen. Some floor runners were provided that enabled him to have enough confidence to see him through our visit. So all well with minimum fuss, and the multiple positives of the property far outweigh these minor niggles. One of the three bedrooms has a cut-away to form a compact en-suite, and the others have the use of a downstairs bathroom with shower and short bath tub (welcome after a long hike, but for a 6ft person, a choice is to be made between torso or body underwater). The showers are rain-style, which makes the most of gravity to enhance the moderate but adequate flow. The spacious and contemporary kitchen was well-equipped with modern appliances, and had enough crockery and utensils for the two of us. As all cupboards were full, our food was instead kept on the counter in the pantry/ heating/ laundry/ utility room or spacious fridge/ freezer. The table in the kitchen was comfortable for dining, and the local delicacies basket and bottle on our arrival provided a pleasant welcome. Outside, there are some old farm outbuildings and surrounding fence and gates. The main drive gate was solid and gave the sense of utter privacy, but another gate leading to the adjacent field nicked our dog as he squeezed through, as it had no way of securing it fully at the time of our visit. The unused outbuilding had an entrance barrier warning not to enter, but another open entrance caused some nervousness with the dog until he understood he was forbidden to explore inside. That aside, the outside space is otherwise secure, generous and nicely tended. Though our March weather meant we couldn’t sit amongst the daffodils, they were nevertheless lovely to see. The deer in the nearby woodland were clearly visible from the farmhouse grounds, as were the well-fenced cattle either side of the approach track. This is a great base for upper Argyll, lower Lochaber, the inner Hebrides - and farther afield. Oban is a short distance from Taynuilt and there are several trains per day from the village’s station. The rail line also intersects with the West Highland Way 45 minutes in the other direction at several places. This made it simple (subject to walking speed and the sparse train timetable) to catch the train from Taynuilt to Crianlarich and walk to Bridge of Orchy - some of the easiest 21.5km of the long-distance walking route yet well-worth doing. There’s a shorter option of 10km-ish to Tyndrum on the same rail line as Taynuilt. There is also a very quiet back-road (20km-ish) from Taynuilt to Oban which is on the National Cycling Network and was so quiet that walking it was possible. The location is also good for driving, with the Oban-Craignure, Lochaline and Tobermory-Kilchoan ferries providing plenty of options for visiting the Isle of Mull in a circular itinerary with the Ardnamurchan peninsula/ Moidart/ Glenfinnan, etc. Fort William provides the end/ start points of both the West Highland Way and Great Glen Way, and of course Ben Nevis and its skiing, mountain biking, and other activities. There is also a good driving loop via Glen Coe village, Rannoch Moor, Glen Orchy and Loch Awe through classic Scottish landscape. And nearer to the farmhouse is Taynuilt’s own proximity to the tranquility of Loch Etive and the bens and glens of its eastern shoreline. In summary, really good cottage in great location with plentiful facilities, attentive owners, and much to enjoy. Thank you.

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• Alistair - Verified booking

  I spent nearly £1600-00 on 4 nights at this cottage as I thought i would treat the family to something special , the reason for paying so much was my expectation was high due the cost of other cottages on your site .

  I feel completely ripped off as this cottage did not come up to the £400 per night experience expected . On arrival the owner told us there was no WI FI ...having 2 teenagers in the party wasn't the best start , the cottage was small and cramped and reminded me of a sauna as it was timber clad through out .not to a good standard either , we decided we would make the best of it but here are some of the faults we experienced... cuboards hadn't been cleaned ..fridge filthy ..microwave hadn't been cleaned ..sofa had something sticky on the back of it ..don't believe the place had been cleaned before change over ...no washing up liquid ...no tablets for the dish washer ..no tea coffee salt and pepper ...chewing gum stuck to the bottom of the basin in the sink ...all linen and towels were tired and grey in colour...cushions on sofa thread bare ...kettle needed descaled . The site has a picture of the cottage side on but what it doesn't show is the farm building with farm materials and machinery for you to look out at in the front when you exit the cottage The bottom bedroom was so small you had to push the bed back to get the door closed then there was a sharp bit on the bed that cut my brother in law When the pool was advertised it forgot to mention that it was situated in the owners house some 100 yards from the cottage ,you had to call the owner to make sure you could get in . On New Year's Day we phoned and were told that it was closed but she would open it up for us this was not mentioned when booking , we also run out of toilet paper and were given 1 roll between 6 of us , the whole experience was unprofessional to say the least . I am absolutely fizzing with the fact I paid so much for a place I wouldn't have paid more than £600-00 for now that I have been and experienced the place . I am now waiting to hear what feedback you give me before making my next move ...your website has helped in this deception and you should take some of the responsibility for this debacle . Yours ripped off Alistair Harkness

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• Cherie - Verified booking

  The farm house is lovely, perfectly decorated and modern whilst remaining true to its farmhouse feel, the kitchen is well equipped and we had no problem cooking there.

  The window seat in the kitchen became a place to have coffee in the morning. We had deer most mornings to watch too. The beds are comfortable, the bedrooms beautifully decorated with plenty of storage. My friend took the bedroom with the bathroom and I the king size room, so used the bathroom downstairs. There’s plenty of hot water. There’s a large amount of outdoor space that my dog loved, we were blessed with sunny, dry weather and sat out most afternoons after hikes. The only negative I had was the heating, this is really personal to me as I don’t cope well with even mild temps and get very very cold, the heating was set to 21°C, perfect for most people, I turned it up to 22°C but it never reached that temperature. But that’s personal and my friend who is ‘normal’ didn’t find the temp cold at all. We used the log burner once, but that wasn’t great either, even after an hour it wasn’t burning well and barely giving out any heat, I guessed after a winters use perhaps the flue just needed a sweep. Over all this house is wonderful. If you are thinking of booking you should.

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• James - Verified booking

  Really loved your cosy cottage and the surrounding area was simply outstanding.

  Air was clean and fresh and the garden was very peaceful. Fabulous views from every room towards the Cairngorm Mountains. The cottage had a very homely feel, really loved the Aga in the kitchen and the open fireplace in the lounge made the evenings very relaxing. It was great to have Sky tv in all the main rooms and the wi-fi worked very well. We didn't need a thing in terms of cooking equipment, bedding or towels. House is very close to Loch Insh where we enjoyed all the water sports on offer and we spent a fascinating day at the Highland Folk Museum just up the road past Kingussie. Aviemore is a great little town with a good range of shops, restaurants and supermarkets. We enjoyed a ride on the Strathspey steam train which departs from Aviemore Station thrice daily for a return trip to Broomhill. The farm shop at Rothiemurchus was also outstanding and we hired bikes for a wander up the mountains nearby. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Thankyou very much for the time we spent at Baldow Cottage. We'd certainly love to return, already thinking about dates for next summer....

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• Sarah - Verified booking

  After going over a little stone bridge and down a lovely drive way/lane we were greeted by a lovely white cottage.

  When we entered we immediately felt at home. On the kitchen table was a small hamper with a bottle of prosecco (which went down well) with a hand written note wishing us a happy stay. The cottage has obviously been lovingly decorated. We were particularly taken with some of the original interior on show at the top of the stairs. The cottage was well stocked with every kitchen utensil, glass, and plates you could possibly need. There is also a well stocked utility room. The living room is very cosy and on a chilly evening we took advantage of the wood burner that made it even cosier. Bedrooms were just as comfortable. We managed to sit outside and eat on a couple of evenings surrounded by the mountains. We did lots of local walking but the most exciting part was seeing the resident barn owls flying around at dusk and several red deer appearing very near the fence in the adjoining field. Lots of photos were taken. My only disappointment is that we only stayed for a week and not two.

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