New Year Breaks In Scotland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Saskia - Verified booking

  Dookers Hoose is a characterful and charming seaside retreat and was the perfect location for our family holiday.

  The house feels very welcoming and has a creative ambiance with artwork by the owner and family decorating the walls, a mix of vintage and modern furniture, books, games and window ledges decorated with seashore finds. This feels more of a home than just a holiday let, situated in Cullen Sea Town with its soft colourful walls, pantiles and tiny gardens at every turn. We loved being able to hear the sea from the house. We enjoyed cooking in the stylish and well-appointed kitchen and were very pleased to find so much space for storing supplies as well as an efficient washing machine. The layout of the ground floor makes it a very sociable space and on cooler evenings, we enjoyed the electric ‘wood burning’ stove which created a cosy atmosphere. We brought some solar powered fairy lights with us for added twinkle. The internet was consistently reliable and we did not for one moment miss having a TV. The little table in the front room was a perfect spot for drawing, painting and writing. We brought bikes, body boards and wetsuits and were delighted to have access to the garage for storage as well as clothes lines which made drying wet kit easy. In front of the garage and opposite the front of the house across a narrow, quiet side road is the small outdoor garden space with a picnic table. This was a lovely sunny spot to sit with morning coffee and a book watching the world go by. Just across the shore road lies the sea wall with steps down to a lovely stretch of sandy beach which is perfect for safe swimming and provides access to long walks along the shore. The steps on the sea side of the wall are a great place to sit with a drink and enjoy the huge skies and stunning sunsets. On your return from a swim, you can enter the little back yard through a gate and access the conveniently placed bathroom with shower. There are lovely coastal walks (or runs) from the house and we saw dolphins on several occasions from paths scented with bracken and wild thyme. The surrounding countryside is beautiful by bike and car, and there are many interesting places to visit. Supplies can be found in Cullen itself where there is a reasonably stocked Co-op and we noticed a deli opening soon. There is an amazing fresh fish shop in nearby Buckie and you may catch your own sea trout from the pier if the seals don’t get there first! If you prefer not to cook your own, the fish and chips in Cullen are consistently good. Any queries during our stay were answered quickly and the visitor’s book is brimming with information on local eateries and places of interest logged by the owners and visitors over the years. A lovely stay and we were sad to leave.

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• Confirmed Guest - Verified booking

  Penninghamme is a lovely place and Gardeners Cottage is lovely, but a few things made me unhappy. The Welcome Pack, a short dated pint of milk and a packet of short cake custard creams with a greasy mark on underside. There was tea and coffee, but this looked old. In the kitchen, a tray with foil, peeled the foil off to see it was poorly cleaned. A mug had a dirty mark on the inside. The back door was still in a coat primer on the outside. A bulb was failing in the extractor. The bread knife was missing. In the lounge, the dining chairs were uncomfortable and were more suitable in a Conservatory - this is a matter of taste I know. Both recliners had minor issues, one wobbled - looks like a leg was facing the wrong way and the other lent slightly to the right. In the bathroom we loved the mirror with its light and touch screen demisting. The toilet seat did not fit properly and was at a slight angle - it doesn't really match the suite. Anoying issue with the shower, that it would cut out for no reason, forncing the user to turn the water up. Pressure was great, even if the water went everywhere. The beds were soft and comfortable. All the windows bar one were painted over, meaning only one opened. Information for guests was basic, some of the Discover Scotland info was not for SW Scotland. We left our pre printed walks information for future guests. In the grounds there is a sign close to the Gardeners Cottage, that said private, with another mentioning about the ducks. Is it private to guests or not? as the path seems to run up the side of the forest in front of the cottage, somewhere I could have found Red Squirrel or Deer etc.? The speedbumps could have done with some better indication, maybe painted like public speedbumps are. There is the estate office on site, however we did not use this feature as we were out everyday exploring the history of the area. Even with a long list of "issues", I will return as I have plenty more to explore or maybe try to walk the Merrick when the footpath isn't a stream!

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• G Williamson - Verified booking

  Really loved our stay in Gardeners Cottage on the Penninghame Estate and would definitely recommended this place for a lovely chill out holiday. The estate is just off a road next to the River Cree. Lovely and quiet this cottage has a lovely homely feel and is tucked away at one end of the estate so nobody drives past your cottage to get to other parts of the estate. The whole place was lovely and clean and decor and furnishings were to a good standard, the kitchen was also very well appointed with many items seeming to be pretty new. The place was lovely and warm and welcoming on arrival with the heating on at a background level and there was always lashings of very hot water for baths showers etc with all utilities included in the price. There are 2 single bed rooms and a double bed room and while we only slept in the double bed this was lovely and comfortable and was a good length for anyone over 6 foot tall ! 2 pillows per person were provided, one a bit firmer than the other so you had a choice to suit you if you are fussy on your pillows ! There is an office on site if you have any problems and very friendly, helpful staff to sort stuff straight away. Negatives from the stay,well, dont expect fine dining in the local area for your evening meal if you don’t intend cooking, the nearest town, Newton Stewart manages a few pubs that serve very basic food, cheap prices but basic fare, but together with a couple of takeaways thats it for food. The security on the cottage was really my only concern from our stay with the locks on the doors and window being very minimal and basic and when we arrived 2 of the downstairs windows could be opened from the outside with no way of locking them on the inside ! When I reported this to the office the following day basic locks were fitted to these windows within a couple of hours.

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• Ellie - Verified booking

  Excellent location for exploring the far north of Scotland, wonderful walks on the doorstep, with amazing beaches nearby; we spent 2 weeks here and would happily return.

  Property was fantastic for two of us, would be great for up to 4 (maybe 5) people. Easy to control effective central heating (needed on cooler windy June days), with an excellent electric shower in the downstairs wet room. Property very clean on arrival, and well equipped, we used oven, toaster, kettle, microwave, washing machine, and wifi, and all worked well. There is a slightly uneven 500m track to the house, but driven carefully our small car (with almost no ground clearance) made it fine. A few minor upgrades would makes this house perfect; pans a little tired and could do with a refresh; glasses a bit limited (we bought 4 and left them behind for the next visitors); in the almost-never-dark midsummer I'd have preferred blackout blinds or curtains upstairs. Nearby Borgie Lodge does good evening meals (book ahead); for coffee, visit the roadside cafe hut Coastal Coffee and Treats just beyond Bettyhill on NC500 towards Thurso. The nearby general store at Bettyhill (15 mins drive) has all the basics + fuel, but for a larger supermarket you'll need to drive for over an hour to Thurso (Co-op and Tesco) or Wick (Aldi, Co-op, Tesco Superstore). Many local roads (including A roads) are single track with passing places so getting places takes longer but views are amazing.

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• Steven - Verified booking

  Lovely clean properly.

  Modern interior with some personal touches but not over cluttered. Well equipped house. Lovely living room upstairs with comfortable seating and great view. The property is detached but sided by other properties and is situated towards the end of the village. Expect some usual urban noise at the weekend. The village is lovely and there are a couple of walks which are dog friendly straight from your front door. Take it a bit further and you have Glen Avon and Glen Livet to explore. Also in the village are some hotels and bars, restaurant and a shop. Settling down at night in the property gives you the opportunity to tune into a good sized TV. However, it is not a sat or digital aerial fed TV. It is an internet hook up and you need an Amazon account. I would say most folk do but if you don't or are not tech savvy then bring a book. Once logged in you have access to the usual array of TV apps including free use of a netflix account. Great for binging and catch up TV. Not so great for live streaming TV as it buffers quite a bit. Might just need a better WiFi upgrade? All in all great part of the world and lovely property.

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