Holiday Cottage Details

Ivy Cottage, a quaint and cosy Highland cottage situated on Aldourie Castle Estate, Loch Ness, offers you the best of many worlds. Not only will you enjoy “The Freedom of Aldourie”, unfettered access to a stunningly beautiful estate providing many enjoyable things to see and do, but the cottage is also less than 5 miles from Inverness, the capital of the Highlands and hub of the Highland road network, making it the ideal base from which to explore the wider area. The Scottish Open Golf Championship is coming to Castle Stuart this July making Ivy Cottage a perfect accommodation choice being only about 14 miles away.

No matter what your taste, the age of your party, the time of year or the weather, you will find that there is always plenty to do at Aldourie.

Ivy Cottage is situated in its own garden with lawn, flower beds and patio.  It also has a novel “sitootery” to the rear - a circular walled seat set into a grassy bank that is perfect for quiet chats over a bottle of wine or a barbecue.

The cottage is on 2 floors and was lovingly renovated in 2008 to create a warm and welcoming home-from-home, overflowing with character.

Downstairs, there are both front and back doors entered through traditional porches, and separate pairs of French doors lead into the sitting room and the kitchen/dining room respectively. The sitting room has a large open fire, oak floorboards and antique furniture, pictures and ornaments, while the kitchen/dining room has a purpose-built fitted kitchen at one end and an antique dining room table and chairs at the other.  Floored in Caithness flagstone and with a solid fuel stove and numerous interesting knickknacks on display, this is a lovely room to relax in. Ivy Cottage is quite simply a beautiful and delightfully presented cottage and you cannot fail to be delighted when you stay here whether for a family holiday or a romantic retreat.

Upstairs, the two bedrooms are reached by separate staircases at opposite ends of the cottage. Both have panelled walls and coomb ceilings with heavy beams exposed, together with private bathrooms with claw-foot baths, one bathroom being downstairs and the other bedroom having its bath in the bedroom itself.

In addition to the sitting room and kitchen/dining room fires, the cottage is heated by traditional radiators throughout.

Two further cottages are available to let on the estate Gate Lodge and Garden Cottage. And for that special occasion Aldourie Castle.

Accommodation

Ground Floor
Sitting room with open fire, kitchen/dining room with solid fuel fire, private bathroom for one bedroom with traditional claw-foot bath.

First Floor
2 bedrooms, one with claw-foot slipper bath and adjoining lavatory and basin.

Activities

The 500 acre Aldourie Estate contains numerous walking opportunities, whether it be along Loch Ness (we have almost 11/2 miles of shoreline), through the parkland to the 150 year old Arboretum with its rhododendrons and azaleas and fascinating family burial ground, or through Torr Wood to the Pont and back via the Deer Ponds and stone circle. You can also cycle where you like on the estate or on Drumashie Moor to the south, which is crisscrossed by quiet roads, tracks and trails. Alternatively, you might like to fish for salmon or trout on Loch Ness or enjoy a picnic or barbecue on the loch’s shore, all the while keeping an eye open for ospreys, red squirrels, roe deer and, at dawn or dusk, badgers and pine martens.

In the wider Loch Ness area you will find that there is more than enough to entertain you: Urquhart Castle, the Official Loch Ness Monster Exhibition, Jacobite Cruises, Culloden Battlefield, Moray Firth dolphin watching boat trips, distilleries, craft shops, hill walks, beaches, golf courses....the list is endless.    

Included

Linen, towels and tea towels provided. Gas central heating throughout and all fuel for fires included.

TV/DVD with Freeview, ceramic electric hob and oven, microwave, fridge and washing machine/dryer.

Extra refundable cost: Good Housekeeping Deposit £250 (payable to owner)