Castle Cottage with panoramic coastal views

A remarkable escape deep in the Scottish Highlands set against the backdrop of 16th-century Ballone Castle. Your timber-clad, one-storey, open-plan cabin is toasty, filled with beautiful ANTA homewares and fabrics, and deeply peaceful inside and out.

Glide the sliding door to your bedroom open and gaze from your balcony over Ballone beach and out to the Moray Firth. Swim here on fine days, or any day if you’re brave. Warm up with a dram when you return, read a book, cook a nourishing meal on the electric Aga. Outside there is a long, hedge-lined garden with a veggie patch you may plunder. It’s a fine spot for barbecues or spotting finches, siskins, oyster catchers and more.

Portmahomack is a five-minute drive for a shop that’s well stocked with all the essentials. For fresh-as-can-be seafood, try The Oystercatcher. Walk off your indulgence on the coastal path, explore Pictish stones, catch the ferry to Cromarty.