New Year Cottages in Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Jun - Verified booking

  The cottage is situated in a quiet hamlet, just outside of Lybster.

  The area immediately surrounding the cottage is farmland, running along a small single-lane road and just off the A99, which is far enough away for the traffic to not be bothersome. Lybster is less than 5 minutes drive away, with a post office and well-stock shop, as well as a few nice walks. Wick is 15 minutes away and has a large Tesco and everything else you might need. That said, you do need to drive anywhere you want to go, as there are no footpaths on any of the surrounding roads, and walking is near impossible as cars tend to drive at very high speeds, even on the single-lane roads. The cottage itself is lovely, it has all the main amenities: washer & dryer (in the outhouse), dishwasher, fridge/freezer, 2 ovens (!!), microwave, and a reasonably-stocked kitchen with cooking tools. An extra cooking pot would be useful, as would some new chopping boards, but overall everything you need is there. There are three bedrooms, a living room, and an open kitchen/dining room. And one bathroom with a decent shower. There is also a wood-burning fireplace, which is lovely, and the most amazing feature: a hot tub. The hot tub was turned on and filled for when we arrived and you need only remove the cover to get in. We were in every day and 15 minutes in that tub is like a sauna (in a good way), and you come out feeling relaxed. Perfect right before bed! Definitely a winning feature! The cottage is unusual in that it's surprisingly well decorated with high-quality furniture and comfortable beds. No cheap Ikea furniture here. It's tasteful throughout and well considered. A lamp in the living room was the only thing we felt was missing, as we had to light candles to avoid the harshness of the overhead light. The cottage is dog-friendly, with a big, fully-enclosed yard, which surrounds the cottage from front to back. This was a great feature, as, already mentioned, there are no footpaths, so walking dogs is a bit of a challenge. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and highly recommend it. We not only found the cottage very comfortable, but the owner was very thoughtful in the small finishing touches, such as a dog bed and dog treats, adding washing tablets and clothes pegs...etc... all the small living details that are often missed.

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• Catherine - Verified booking

  We had a lovely relaxing time at Brae of Airlie Farm.

  Bill, the caretaker was very friendly and the information provided by the owner before our stay was fantastic. Positives: Lovely location and views. Beautiful gardens with so much space. The house is lovely, spacious and with loads of interesting and quirky pictures and an amazing selection of books. The ping pong table and dart board are a bonus and we and our teenagers enjoyed many games. The tap water tastes delicious. Not so positive: The WiFi is awful. Not a major problem but it would have been useful to have been told that beforehand. The house needs a bit of love - the flooring, in the main room particularly, is in need of updating and a comfortable sofa would have been wonderful. The sliding doors overlooking the patio don’t feel very secure. The drawers in living room have woodworm so it was impossible to get the games out of them. There is a baby swing in the garden which is a lovely idea but the seat is cracked and actually a health and safety hazard. There are various consoles, dvd players and televisions but very few link together and work. We had to attach the dvd player to the tv in the bedroom because the wires were incompatible with the tv downstairs. The house was very warm, which would be a huge bonus in winter but it would be really useful to provide instructions for the heating, just in case it is 22 degrees outside. (Thankfully Bill came to the rescue) Instructions for the oven would also be helpful. The non-stick pans were in poor condition and obviously the damaged coating is very unhealthy. The games room was a bonus but again needs a little attention. There were only two (proper) ping pong balls (the others didn’t bounce) and only one usable dart. There were lots of random items in the games room that feel like they’ve been abandoned and a pile of DVDs which, despite being an interesting selection, were almost impossible to play, even after we found a compatible tv and wires for the dvd player, because they were so scratched. There is a cattle grid at the entrance to the property which has sunk. Some vehicles would struggle to cope with that. We really enjoyed our stay but it could have been closer to perfect.

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• Owen - Verified booking

  What a wonderful place to stay!

  A very well equipped, comfortable cottage, with a lovely view of hills and a large pond. Everything you could ever need for a holiday base. The hot tub is a fabulous bonus, we were star gazing in that most evenings. The pool table was fun too, we had not played pool for years. There are many good books to read, sky TV, all you want if the weather is bad and you wanted to cozy up indoors. The lodge is very stylish and warm, but you also have the benefit of a wood burning stove for those chillier evenings. It is a very short drive to the shops in Castle Douglas.Threave castle and gardens is nearby. You take a boat ride to the castle, which is unique. Another great castle to visit is Caerlaverock castle, it has an unusual design. There are lovely woodland walks in Dalbeattie forest to Kippford Bay, which is a nice place to visit. There's a great pub restaurant (The Anchor Hotel) which serves fantastic food. A must do is feeding the wild goats and red deer, we took several kilos of carrots and they were gone within minutes. Hahaa Logan's fish pond is a unique place to visit, and Logan's Botanical Gardens is amazing! The Wood of Cree is another beautiful place to visit, with lots of waterfalls. Walks around Glen Trool, Kirroughtree, Clatteringshaws Loch are wonderful. Of course you can walk up the Merrick, if you are fit enough. A drive down Raiders road is good if you want a nice forest drive. Stinchar falls is another nice walk to a waterfall. There are many waterfalls to discover in the Galloway, if that is your thing. Eskrigg nature reserve is a great place for bird watching and looking out for red squirrel. There's so much to do in the Galloway, a week simply isn't long enough. We will definitely stay at Hardhills Cottage when we next return to the Galloway, I doubt you could wish for a more lovely place to stay. Thank you.

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• Michaela - Verified booking

  We have visited the Brae of Airlie farmhouse before and absolutely loved it.

  We said we'd go back and it took 3 years but we returned. It was just as lovely as we had remembered it. There were two of us and two dogs so the facilities were more than adequate for us, however it's worth noting that there is only one shower so if large groups stay, sharing would be required. The house and garden is perfect and if the owners ever wanted to sell we'd upsticks in a heartbeat! The location of the house is fantastic, within a 40 minute drive of many interesting places including Arbroath, the Cairngorms, Glamis Castle and Queens View to name just a few. Also not to be missed is the 'Wee Bear Cafe', a dog friendly cafe right near the farmhouse and a lovely place to stop for a well earned coffee and piece of cake after a walk around the reservoir. We visited in Autumn this time and were able to pick apples from the many trees in the garden. We observed deer in the field beyond and geese flying overhead as well as pheasants in the garden - such a treat. The house is in need of new glazed doors as the seals appear to have blown which affected the view from the window but still perfectly adequate. The wood burning stoves are wonderful as are the many books to read of all different genres. Overall, 10/10 in our opinion. We will definitely return, hopefully with our family.

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• Anona - Verified booking

  There is history and personality in this house, the artwork and all the lovely books.

  My teenager who is usually attached to her mobile.put together a pile of books, on top was a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald. I was then questioned mastermind style, not even a chance to google, didn't go well.. So she retired to her lovely room "to watch the wildlife in her chair by the window", with her pile of books. There is plenty of wildlife so we didn't see much of her! If you want a boutique style holiday home, with fluffy cushions and expensive linen, with takeaways on tap this is not the place for you. If you don't like bracing weather and getting wet, muddy feet and feeling slightly damp when out and about, definitely not the place for you. This is a cosy home (get that heating on!), with amazing views, in a lovely area, plenty to do it you are inclined. We seemed hypnotized by the views. It's so peaceful, I loved seeing my woofers looping round the house with big smiley faces. And last but certainly not least, the lovely people, particularly Bill the caretaker. who is fantastic, and helped us with a family issue we had, he couldn't have been kinder. Thank you Bill.

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