can anyone reccomend me a lovely self catering cottage in the scottish highlands please

[JackiePaper]

have never been, but have always always wanted to.

it's for me, dh ds 5 and dd 2. want somewhere beautiful but not completely isolated, close to the beach, for less than £700 for a week in august. (yes i know i want a lot!)

no idea how we get there yet (live in the midlands!)

any reccomendations from people who have been/live in the area would be very greatfully recieved as i have almost no knowledge of the area (apart from the stuning beauty). thanks x

We went to Gairloch and loved it there I have put in a link not sure of the prices at these can't find it on the website. It says from £125 low season. There are some lovely beaches nearby hope you have a lovely time.

Gairloch

Here are some more that give prices that are very reasonable. here

I can't find where we stayed but it was only for 3 people

We have stayed here on a couple of occasions. I love Port Appin. You would be staying in a village with a good little general store, gift shop and a great pub/ restaurant (altho am biased as we got married there). There is a pebble beach which is great for kids to play and a little jetty. Its also not a through road so not too much traffic

www.linnhecroftholidaycottages.co.uk/

There is loads to do close by. Not far is a great sea life centre with seals and otters. You can also get a boat to see the seals close by. Oban and Fort William aren't far. We love getting the cable car up Ben Nevis and having a walk and a drink in the cafe at the top.

You'd need a car as public transport is crap. You'd come up the M6/ M74/ M8 and the A82 towards Oban. Quite a long journey but you'd have a fab time

we have just been to Appin, staying at www.appinholidayhomes.co.uk it's mostly lodges but they do have a couple of nice cottages - beautiful loch views and a kids' play area and games room. Our two DCs loved it - were always out playing with new friends. It's very peaceful and empty and there's a gorgeous sandy beach 10 mins away in Benderloch. Would take about 7-8 hrs' drive from West Mids I think.if you google map it you can get a journey time estimate

Have you tried this website www.cottages-and-castles.co.uk/property/view/accomodation-cottages-laide-by-gairloch-13-sand-n413.ht ml. We stayed here last year the house is pretty big and the beach is within waking distance and only £420 per week. The area is lovely so might be worth looking for others in the area. Also worth trying this one on the same sight bit more expensive, but does have a sauna, no beach near by although it is on a river. There is also and enclosed garden.

chuckyegg and champagne - have provisionally booked 13 sand cottage in gairloch

What is Gairloch like - are there nice sandy beaches? what is there to do in general (and if it rains) can you get a boat over to the islands? oh and dd wants to know if there is any where to go pony trekking!

is it close enough to go over to inverness? ben nevis/ loch ness for the day?

thanks everyone am very excited and can't believe it's only £420

Hiya

Gairloch is a little town by the sea. Nice beaches at Mellon Udringle, Gruinaird bay, Sands etc. What to do when it rains is slightly limited, with no big 'attractions' in the area. There is a NTS garden at Poolewe tho. Its all a bit more low key.
Good coffee shop called Mountain Coffee Shop
Things to do listed on these websites....
www.rosecottagebadachro.co.uk/page5.htm

www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/gairloch/gairloch/index.html

Personally I wouldn't bother with Loch Ness as its not that beautiful (no offence to locals) and the attractions are a bit naff. You could travel along Loch Maree, then down through Torridon and over the Bealach na Ba to Applecross and then back via the coast road??

Ullapool is close and you could get a ferry to the islands, i.e the outer Hebridies, but you wouldn't go for a day as it takes a few hours to get to Stornaway on Lewis. Or there are wildlife cruises from Gairloch.
www.Porpoise-Gairloch.co.uk/boatcruises.php

Have a good trip, my main advice is explore back roads, things aren't really signposted (you know the brown tourist signs) best things I've discovered during the 15 years I've lived and explored Scotland have been unexpected....

Can i bump this, and ask if anyone can recommend a cottage within an hour or two of Edinburgh? Maybe the Trossachs?

Have just check back on this thread, the area is stunning.
Just been looking back at the photos of the holiday we had there and it looks like we spent every day on a beach there are that many different ones in the area.
Ullapool was close by, think we went on a bird watching boat to see puffins from there.
The nice thing about the house was the two living rooms we ended up with one full of toys and the other for my dad (and open fires in both which was lovely), It also had two kitchens for some reason. It was really well furnished with lots of toys and and games.
My sister and parent stayed longer than I did I'll speak to them and see if they can recommend anywhere they went. The cottage will probably have piles of leflets from the area and guide books which will give you some ideas.

thanks so much for all the info, i am so excited, we are going, last week in august

i now need to work out the route up there as from the map it looks like there are lots of single track roads, and also where to stop over to break the journey (can't do it in one day, google route planner says it's an 11 hour drive). Would stirling be a good place to break the journey? (am coming from birmingham way)

thanks for all your help, we're all really looking forward to it