To ask for recommendations for a holiday cottage in Scotland?

[Mrsstarlord]

After yet another Christmas where I have catered for everyone else who just turns up and troughs and then soda off leaving me to clean up I want to book a holiday cottage just for the 4 of us and the dog next year. AIBU to ask for recommendations on here?

Soda? Sod!

Where abouts do you want to go? How remote do you want to be?

YABU

Yes, YABU.

Don't know Scotland at all so any recommendations, need to be able to get there without a 4wd and DH would like wifi but other than that I don't mind. Out of interest why do you think IABU? Using this board or going away for Christmas?

Anywhere in particular?

One of these two if you like remote.
www.rhidorroch.com/ Summer is much better though , warmer.

If your looking in the highlands strathpeffer is beautiful

Ae and Arran are lovely.

We went to the Isle of Whithorn (not an island) in Dumfries and Galloway. There are loads of holiday cottages on the harbour front and an inn and a shop. No 4WD necessary. I have to say though that I don't know what it is like in winter as we went in late summer.
www.isleofwhithorn.com/
YANBU.

Thank you, cooking tea at the moment but will look later (am not ignoring your kind advice)

It depends where you want to go in Scotland. We have 3 holiday cottages near the farm but most people tend to book from year to year. Perhaps a lodge on a hotel complex would be better? Crieff hydro and Forest Hills at Aberfoyle both do self catering lodges but you can use the hotel facilities. Both take dogs. Forest holidays are also good and most lodges come with an outdoor hot tubs.

Id recommend Newtonmore and the surrounding villages. Very easily accessible, lovely highstreet and good forest walks. Short drive to the Highland Wildlife park, Aviemore and the Cairngorm Mountains (great Ferucular (sp?) up the mountain). good lakes around too.

Grace Holiday Cottages

Hi everyone if you could add wether you need a car for any of these I'd be very gratefull

Mum grandmother and I want to go away but we don't drive

We stayed in a lovely house near Ben Nevis/Fort William a few years ago. Huge garden (with chickens!), outdoor hot-tub, sleeps eight people. It's remote and you definitely need a car (and be a confident driver, the direct road to the house is narrow and could be lethal in ice), but it's stunning and has wonderful views.

www.cottages4you.co.uk/cottages/torecastle-lodge-cc511117

The holiday house at Spottes Castle (Dumfries and Galloway). A bit large for your needs but lovely.

And you are not BU.

Scrambled - for the areas Iv suggested, its not the "getting there" that a car would be needed but the goibg places once there. There is a train station ij Newtonmore and Aviemore, but not much in the way of public transport

YANBU but is self catering over Christmas, cooking in someone else's kitchen with strange pans / hob / oven going to be any less stressful / annoying? You don't want a holiday cottage, you need a spa hotel!!

Sounds idyllic but reality may be a little different. Winter can be very harsh, power supplies can be affected by storms, roads inaccessable. Cottages can be damp and freezing in Very dark too, so unless you leave to go for a walk before 2.30pm it will be dark when you get back.
Typical weather is 2 degrees and horizontal rain.

I would prefer a hotel.

think

Thanks

that's the sort of information that is hugely helpful! as there are some mobility issues and things that need to be catered for.

Bear in mind that the further north you go the fewer hours of daylight you will have..... I was in Dumfries and Galloway just before Christmas and it wasn't light until nearly 9am, and got dark again shortly after lunch. And it rained, a LOT. It made entertaining the DCs (2&4) somewhat challenging.

No specific cottages to recommend but for Scrambledegg:
Aviemore itself is accessible by train -change at Inverness. Don't know what the bus service is like in winter as we've only been there in the summer (when it is very good) but if you are happy to walk then there is a lot you can reach.
If you fancy the islands then they are very reachable without a car but the buses tend to be rubbish outside of the summer (we've been to Orkney in October and it's great if you take bikes but not otherwise).

Depending on where you're travelling from and how many changes you mind you can reach a lot of Scotland very easily. The main thing to watch is whether where you stay is on a bus route or within walking distance from train station.

To add -Forest Hills in Aberfoyle isn't on a transport route but there is a lovely taxi driver (who was talking of trying to start a bus route). It is walkable for when you haven't got luggage.