Reviewed 28 Aug 2010 by Carrie Hawksworth
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The house was memorably comfortable and well equipped especially in the kitchen, it was such a pleasure to have sharp knives, mixers, salad spinners and an aga. The bedroom and shower layout would suit numerous different types of family and friend combinations, very well thought through. The food that we purchased was 5* quality and the smoked salmon was awesome. The things that most of the group tried and enjoyed were -cooking on the aga, - Mackerel fishing with Bill & Sukie , - local walks to the lead mine, - walks to the extinct volcano site, - a trip to Tobermoray, - going up Ben Nevis, - and enjoying the views from the hot tub at the cottage.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Plan ahead more than we did if going to Mull, so that you can book up wildlife trips.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, there was a lot of recycling, use of local produce. All cleaning liquids were "green".
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
SUPERB, didn't want to come home.
Reviewed 13 Dec 2010 by Susanna Dermody
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The setting of the cottage itself and views from the hot tub. We were in Rose, the smaller cottage, and the views were beautiful. The children loved milking Daisy the cow and my son now wants his own smallholding. Driving anywhere was certainly 'exciting' due to the long narrow and winding roads, with no visibility-the children loved this!
The scenery around the area was spectacular - so much so I would now like to live there. Trips to Mull, Muck and the lighthouse are a must, the natural history centre was a lovely surprise, Sanna bay was fabulous as was horse riding at Appin past a castle on the beach. And the local ancient oak woods on the doorstep were beautiful. All this in pretty dismal weather - I can't imagine how wonderful it must be in the sunshine.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared to drive long distances to get anywhere (but well worth it), ensure you have plenty of petrol, and take plenty of change for the car ferry over the nearby Loch - we drove round instead once, ONCE.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Our hosts were fantastic and I would certainly recommend taking advantage of at least the home cooked casserole on arrival and some of the home grown produce. The cottage and all its supplies were eco-friendly and I have no doubt the croft benefits the local environment
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
The whole family, including boys of 10 and 5, loved it. Being on a croft with the animals made it extra special.
Reviewed 31 Mar 2010 by Paul Bradshaw
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Relaxing in the hot tub under the stars; enjoying a truly delicious 4 course meal cooked for us by our own personal chef, Sukie with almost all ingredients sourced from the croft (Bill's smoked products deserve a special mention: smoked venison, beef, bacon... we've never tasted anything like them before). We also did lots of walking and exploring... wandering on deserted white sand beaches, despite the chilly wind, was very memorable.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Definitely get Sukie to cook a special meal for you and failing that, get something prepared to pop in the oven. The oat biscuits, lemon cake, fruit crumble and fish pie were all absolutely delicious and you could just tell that excellent quality local and fresh ingredients had been used.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
There is the opportunity to recycle almost every single item including food waste that can either be composted or fed to the pigs. These facilities were much appreciated. Back to food again! - we pre-ordered several items including meat, eggs etc that were produced on the croft, but in addition, some cheeses provided were all produced locally (and were absolutely delicious). There are woodland walks in the Ariundle Forest close to the croft but we used our car quite a lot to explore the peninsular.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We had a brilliant time and it was everything we had hoped for. The accommodation deserves its 5 stars and is a very relaxing place. We prefer self catering as it provides the flexibility required with the baby, but appreciated the option to have homemade food prepared for us.
Reviewed 25 Feb 2009 by Susan Dunn
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
For the children it was getting to know the farm animals up close. For the grown ups having food cooked for you in the comfort of your cottage in front of a log fire. For everybody a dip in the hot tub under the stars. (For the dog terrific places to walk.) And we saw golden eagles.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Getting meals freshly cooked in the house with your own wine is a luxury but not at a high price compared with eating out. The accommodation website was well worth studying before the holiday. Also Peter Irvines 'Best of Scotland' has good suggestions for drives etc in the area. Binoculars were a great travel item.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Going out of season avoids any crowds, queues etc which suits us but it also means you get a warm welcome from local services which are otherwise very quiet. There was a lot of guidance available at interesting sites particularly the nearby hide and a lot of forest sites. We all learned a lot about natural history and conservation which is a very important outcome. We were able to recycle even more at the cottage than we do at home and could purchase locally grown food daily.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent, our only worry is telling too many people and not then getting a chance to return when we hope. We all really enjoyed ourselves and will go back. A very relaxing time had.
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