A Cosy Scottish Stay

(Again, I'm 'recycling' as this is from a little while ago! We are just looking at similar places to stay this summer though, so this place has been in my thoughts!)

When I first starting thinking about what I wanted to do for our family summer holiday this year, my first thoughts were of sunshine, outdoor swimming pools, all inclusive ice creams and exotic beaches. However, vocalising these thoughts to the children I was met with '....can we go to Scotland instead?'

I wasn't initially besotted with the idea, but I aim to please! Once we'd definitely decided on Scotland, I knew to look at Sykes Cottages for accommodation. I've stayed in a couple of cottages on their books before and was certain they'd have something for us north of the border. As the sole driver in the household, I didn't want to be venturing too far up the country and we were all quickly won over by The Tack Room, Cove Farm both for it's favourable location and general prettiness.

House Tour

I will do away with any suspense by telling you right now that we LOVED our cottage! We really couldn't have asked for more from it. I know that appearances aren't everything, but pulling up to a house this cute sure can put you in a good mood!

Everything was spotlessly clean and tastefully decorated throughout with an emphasis on nautical colours and cute seaside-themed knick-knacks. Clean towels and bedding were plentiful, and a selection of books, CDs etc was also provided.

It's a three-bedroomed cottage, so the youngsters got a twin room each - it's weird how much mess they can make with only a small bag of stuff if the have the space to really spread it out!

They share a room on holidays a lot without complaining but they tend to keep each other up late and wake each other up early so them having a room each was probably more restful for all of us!

The bedrooms and bathrooms were downstairs and the communal areas upstairs, which is a little unusual but the 'upside down' design of the house really worked to make the most of the natural light in areas like the kitchen.

The kitchen was so bright and airy, as well as exceedingly well supplied for making a number of family meals - so much so that I feel like I wasted it by pretty much just using it for putting together sandwiches and making toast, but I was on holiday after all!

It's really only the lack of a bath that made me ok with moving out at the end of the week, otherwise the owners would have never got rid of me!

A Warm Welcome

The house was utterly beautiful but we knew we'd be well taken care of before we even set off. A week or so before our visit we got the most lovely email from the owners, with loads of brilliant suggestions about where to visit/walk/eat in the area .

The email also mentioned a 'welcome pack' of goodies provided to help us settle in - but I was still surprised at how generous the welcome pack was! I would have been over the moon with a couple of tea bags and a drop of milk just to get me through 'til we could do some shopping (there was no ay we could take a lot in the way of groceries along with our weeks stuff in the back of my teeny car!), but as well as the tea and milk we had bread, butter and jam, eggs, orange juice, wine (much appreciated after that long drive!) and best of all, shortbread and teacakes!

Such a thorough pack meant I didn't even have to think about shopping until well into the next day, and could get straight on with my holiday relaxing! Plus, in a brilliant but unexpected twist, turns out that despite their initial excitement about them neither of the kids liked the chocolate tea cake things so they were ALL for the adults!

Lazy Mornings and Relaxed Evenings

We knew we were headed to a rather quiet and secluded area, and though we've gone on family holidays in the past with a heavy emphasis on evening entertainment and kids activities, we were really looking forward to some peaceful downtime. No discos or party games, just us and our biscuits in our nice little house.

We had activity-filled day times, visiting local attractions and exploring nearby towns, but the evenings and the mornings were all about chilling. We read books, we watched TV, we drank tea (ok that was mainly me!), and we just had a really well-needed break. Evenings usually consisted of a DVD and a selection of sugary treats (Irn Bru floats were an inspired highlight!), cuddled up under one of the snuggly blankets provided in the cottage. Perfect.

The View

One of the nicest things to do at The Tack Room though, was to simply sit and admire the view. We had beautiful clear days...

....the odd foggy morning....

...and some truly spectacular evenings!

The Beach

With a sea view like that, we weren't going to be far from the beach! In fact, just a few minutes walk, a nature-riddled path and a secret tunnel were enough to bring us to a pretty little beach.

This was a perfect spot for building sandcastles, exploring caves, climbing on rocks and generally enjoying beachy things, but without the usual school-holiday crowds! We felt so luck to have such a quiet little spot more-or-less to ourselves !

We all had such a wonderful holiday, and the kids both agreed that this was their favourite yet. I wasn't overly sold on their grand Scottish plan to begin with but I'm very glad that the young 'uns got their own way! This was a truly lovely cottage in a truly lovely area and I will (and have) recommend a visit to anyone!