Keeper's Cottage

View Photos

Add to List

Introduction

Hope opened in 2026, the best part of a decade in the making, and Keeper's Cottage is one of two self-catering cottages that sit well apart from the main lodge on the loch shore. Stone walls, slate roof, three bedrooms, six guests. Each bedroom has its own bathroom with a deep copper tub, good for aching legs after a day on the hill.

Downstairs, the kitchen opens into a dining room and living area with a double-sided fireplace between them. Antique Scots pine lines most of the interior, softened with tweed and work by local makers. There's an Aga and plenty of worktop space, so cooking for six isn't a squeeze. Outside, the garden has a firepit and space for outdoor dining, with Ben Hope rising on the far side of the loch.

Facilities & Services

Three ensuite bedrooms with copper baths. Double-sided open fireplace, Aga, dishwasher and a coffee machine with pods. Boot room with cloakroom, washing machine, dryer and iron. Logs, kindling and matches supplied, plus a starter larder of tea, coffee, milk, bread, jam and yoghurt. Linen, towels and toiletries included. Barbecue and firepit outside. E-bikes available to hire.

Location

Keeper's Cottage sits at the northern end of Loch Hope, a couple of miles inland from the north coast, on WildLand's 100,000-acre Sutherland estate. The loch runs roughly six miles south, fed by the Strathmore River and drained by the short River Hope into Loch Eriboll. Anglers have rated it among the finest sea trout waters left on the Scottish mainland for well over a century, with the season running June to September. Tongue is around a dozen miles east, over the Moine and across the Kyle of Tongue causeway. Durness lies the best part of twenty miles west.

Good to know

Sleeps six across three bedrooms. Dogs welcome, though let the team know in advance. Cots available on request. Arrival from 4pm, departure by 10am. The cottage is self-catering, but chefs at Hope Lodge can prepare a supper to reheat in the Aga. Ferryman's Cottage next door sleeps four and the two can be booked together.

What's nearby

Ben Hope is climbed from a small car park at Muiseal in Strathmore, four hours or so up and back, steep from the first step. Ten miles further south on the same single-track road stands Dun Dornaigil, an Iron Age broch with walls still reaching 6.7 metres and a huge triangular lintel over the blocked doorway. It has never been excavated. Rob Donn Mackay, the 18th-century Gaelic poet, lived in this glen. Loch Eriboll took the surrender of more than thirty German U-boats in May 1945. Smoo Cave at Durness has the largest sea cave entrance in Britain, and it's worth the detour.