Shore Cottage

Shore Cottage sits just above the waterline of Loch Eriboll, a single-storey retreat for two with a shallow curved zinc roof strung between hewn stone end walls and an entire south-facing frontage of glass. It was built by Robbie and Fiona Mackay on their family croft at Port na Con, finished in 2010 after three hard winters slowed the work, and it remains one of the most striking places to stay anywhere on the north coast.

Fiona, a textiles graduate, designed the interiors herself and leaned into a rustic, natural character that suits the waterside setting. The Douglas fir lining the walls came from a farm at Dornoch, felled by the Mackays themselves. Underfoot, polished concrete floors carry the heating through one generous open-plan space with high ceilings, a seriously good kitchen finished in Caithness stone, tiles by local ceramicist Lotte Glob and a huge slouchy sofa beside the wood burner. The wrought iron bed was made by an artist blacksmith and topped with feathers, and the en-suite pairs an oversized bath with a walk-in shower lined in Caithness stone. Immense glass doors slide back to let the outside in.

The patio is where Shore Cottage earns its reputation. A solar-heated outdoor bath faces the water, joined by a built-in barbecue and concrete sofas made for lingering over dinner as the light fades. Porpoises and seals visit the loch, otters work the shoreline, and on clear winter nights the Northern Lights arrive without warning. One honeymooning couple wrote that in a world of increasing noise, they treasured the peace here. Hard to argue.

Shore Cottage is carbon negative too, built with sheep's wool insulation and recycled tyre bales and powered by the croft's own wind turbine and solar collectors. Bring good food, good company and no particular plans.