Holiday Cottages In Lairg

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Scott - Verified booking

  Just back from a wonderful week in the most beautiful, perfect place to get away to!

  We absolutely love this place! From arriving to the Challenger estate, it is clear you're in a very special place. Set in the most picturesque environment, its impressive to say the least! Once on the estate lane, the drive to the Bothy is smooth, straightforward and you soon become absorbed in the stunning surroundings. The Bothy itself in its position is really welcoming. We arrived in the evening and it was lovely and warm inside and we very soon felt at home. It is really cosy yet also perfectly spacious. The decor and quality furniture really add to the character of the very charming Bothy. It is clean and fresh throughout. The log fire in the living area is perfect for the evenings and we were welcomed by a generous amount of breakfast items and plenty of wood for the fire. The Bothy has everything you could need or think of for your stay, from games and books to helpful kitchen items, more than can be mentioned, lots of extras. More photos or maps of the estate and area are the only thing that we could possibly find to say that could be added to celebrate this wonderful place! The garden to the Bothy is just beautiful! It is the perfect place for day and night activities, particularly wildlife spotting and star gazing. There is a bench to soak in the stunning views and the garden is lit by lights between the trees at night, which is so pretty, we enjoyed this every night! The views from the Bothy and the estate are superb, with lochs, mountains and ruins within easy walking, and numerous other places of interest a short drive away. Communication with the owner was great from start to finish, always prompt and really helpful. We would absolutely love to stay at the Challenger estate again, in fact we cannot wait to go back!

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• Graeme - Verified booking

  Our stay at the Challenger Bothy was just brilliant and exceeded our expectations.

  On arrival we thought the location picturesque and the house and outdoor area beautiful. We were impressed by it all and loved the mix of traditional and modern. The bothy was spacious and tastefully decorated in a minimal way, which made for a relaxing environment. In the awesome kitchen, we were delighted to receive the welcome of home baked bread, free range eggs, bacon, milk, and other breakfast items. Thank you, this was much appreciated! Everything you could have asked for was provided, even toiletries in the bathroom. The bedrooms were great and giant mattresses extremely comfortable. There was also plenty wood for firing up the hot tub, fire pit and wood burning stove, which were a pleasure to use. Fond memories of the hot tub by day and fire pit by night in the perfect outdoor space. Furthermore, it was interesting to read about the history of the estate in the information folder, which adds to its charm. On clear days the sunsets and sunrises were magic as were the views of the distant mountains. We spent much of our time enjoying the bothy but also managed walks around the estate and Lairg, with The Ord being a favourite with its ancient cairns and excellent views over Loch Shin. The visitor centre there is a fab wee hub. Further afield the Falls of Shin and a trip to Tain were great days out. Also popped into the Balblair distillery for a bottle of their fine dram and visited the nearby ancient and Pictish stones. Can’t wait to return to explore more as it was our first visit to the area and we would definitely hope to stay at the Challenger Bothy again when we do. Thanks for so much, we absolutely loved our stay!

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• Doreen - Verified booking

  Absolutely stunning location & the Bothy could be equally as stunning if a little bit more TLC was carried out by the maintenance team.

  As the bothy is surrounded by trees (very close on 3 sides), it is naturally dark & cold inside, but there was no heating switched on to welcome us. After fathoming out how to work the heaters we had to buy new batteries for all 4 of the sensor controllers as theirs were all flat (& no replacement ones left where it said in cupboard). The gutters were totally choked up with pine needles etc. & shortly after we arrived when it was raining quite heavily, it was like a waterfall falling over the front door until my husband cleared that gutter. Also 1 of the downpipes on the outside corner of the living room was lying on the floor until husband slotted it back into place. There is a lovely picnic bench in the 'garden' but it would be a lot more useful if the grass was trimmed around where it sits. There is a gorgeous state of the art kitchen with just about everything you need (except maybe a can opener). Would have been nice if the vacuum cleaner had been emptied. It was totally choked up & wouldn't even pick up a feather until it had been cleaned out. Bathroom is equally as good with a great heated towel rail & plenty of hot water (switch is in the study) Bedrooms & sitting room were adequate but don't expect the logs for the burner to last long ( about 4 hours). As we were there for a fortnight, the owner rang to say she would send Allen to replace bedding & towels mid stay (which he duly did). Overall it's a great little cottage that could be as fantastic as the scenery with a little more care & attention to detail.

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• Vitali - Verified booking

  This is an outstanding cottage and absolutely beautifully appointed.

  It is located for easy access to many tourist routes. The owner provided an excellent welcome pack which went on an on when we looked in the refrigerator! What a lovely start to our holiday. We had travelled from Skye and our lovely sat nav led us a merry dance cutting corners etc. Our sat nav took us past the cottage and we had to telephone the owner for direction so, if you are approaching from Bonar Bridge the cottage is located just past Invershin station on the left hand side of the road. Another note: The filling station at Ullapool takes cash only. We found that there were a few cafes that did not take cards so just have some cash with you! Dornoch is very close and has the most beautiful beach and headland walk. The town has lots of shops and eating places, plus a good Co-op. We took the single track road to Ullapool and, as we found on Sky,. other road users were very good re stopping at the passing places. It is a winding road but with lovely views etc. We decided to come back via the main road but wished we had not due to road works and traffic - and it was a long way around. The weather was good and we were able to get to John O'Groats in the sunshine stopping off at some of the various towns along the way. Invershin Falls is just left of the cottage and then right onto a single track road and worth a visit. We are sure you won't be disappointed with the cottage and the locality.

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• Colin - Verified booking

  We had an excellent weeks holiday at Challenger Lodge which we found ideal as a base for exploring the North coast of Scotland.

  Our party consisted of three adults and one dog and had plenty of space since the accommodation sleeps up to 9 persons. Challenger Lodge is spacious, well appointed, classily decorated and clean. The property is set in a secluded location with open views out to the loch and surrounding hillsides yet only 5 minutes by car to the town of Lairg where there is a Spar supermarket, fish & chip take away, hotel with bar and petrol station. There are several local wooded walks, both on the estate and in the local area with one good walk to a very private Loch Craggie along a logging road. A welcoming pack of basic essentials was much appreciated on arrival and the owner Shanta, who was visiting the estate during our stay, thoughtfully brought a dog bowl, dog bed and dog treats. We will be looking to make a return visit in the near future with other members of the family as the property is excellent value for money.

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