Dog-friendly Ross & Cromarty

Tucked away on a quiet farm lane, The Paddock is a traditional terraced, single storey stone farm cottage located on a working, farm 1 mile from the charming seaside village of Portmahomack. The pretty cottage garden overlooks the owner’s farmland, with distant sea views. The cottage looks south over the Moray Firth and Moray Coast with views of Cairngorms and Ben Rhinnes. The accommodation is beautifully presented, with a large living room with lovely views across the open fields. The bright, kitchen/dining room is fully fitted and very well-equipped. There are three generously proportioned bedrooms, all thoughtfully decorated with colour co-ordinated soft furnishings. Exposed stone walls and large canvases of the surrounding area add to the cottage’s charm and ambience.

Portmahomack is a thriving seaside village with a fishing harbour and pier, as well as a superb sweeping sandy beach; the mountains beyond act as a stunning backdrop. Portmahomack is the only village on the east coast of Scotland that faces due west and has spectacular sunsets. The village has a renowned seafood restaurant as well as a café, local store and a lovely traditional links golf course, Tarbat Golf Club, which is open to visitors. The area is renowned for its archaeological sites and at the nearby Tarbat Discovery Centre is a local heritage centre and museum, with a fascinating display of Pict, Norse and medieval artefacts, as well as a gift shop. Within 15-20 minutes’ drive lies the Royal Burgh of Tain, established as a Royal Burgh in 1066, and the Tain Museum houses the famous original Tain Silver Collection. Predominantly built in local mellow sandstone, Tain is a charming historic town and offers an excellent selection of small shops, restaurants, cafés and pubs as well as a wide variety of sporting and recreational facilities, including Tain Golf Course which looks across the Dornoch Firth to Dornoch. Just outside Tain you will find the renowned Famous Glenmorangie Distillery, where you can take a tour and sample some of the famous whisky. Beach 1 mile. Shop and restaurant 1 mile, pub 0.5 miles.
The Paddock can be booked together with Sheaf Dale (UK5740) and Grieve’s Cottage (UK12250) to accommodate up to 15 guests.

This semi-detached cottage sits within its own spacious, enclosed garden. Upon entering the accommodation there is a spacious hallway with space for welly boots and coats. The kitchen has a fully fitted kitchen with everything you’ll need to rustle up hearty meals for friends and family and beyond the kitchen there’s a very nice dining room. At the rear of the property there’s a utility room with a washing machine. Also, on the ground floor is the living room with 40” Smart TV and open fire, as well as a single bedroom and a bathroom that has a large walk-in shower with rainforest showerhead and on the first floor there are two spacious double bedrooms. In the garden there’s a patio with comfortable garden furniture and a barbecue that is either coal or gas fired. Iseabail’s House is perfectly located right in the heart of Balintore, the central village of the Seaboard Villages.
Sandy Shandwick beach is only 2 minutes’ walk from the cottage and brilliant longer coastal walks stretch out right from the doorstep. It’s an ideal property for those with young ones who want to spend all their time on the beach and for those with energetic dogs eager to let off some steam. Balintore’s harbour was built circa 1890 and the village has a shop, café, inn, post office and pharmacy. It’s a small and friendly community that has made its living for centuries from fishing. Before the harbour the practice of pulling fishing boats up on the beach was common. Sitting on the shoreline at Balintore is the Mermaid of the North, an 11ft high bronze casted mermaid, while at the adjacent Seaboard Centre you can collect the Mermaid stamp for the North Coast 500 passport. Locally there is evidence of an ancient settlement, Fearn Abbey just inland from Balintore was founded in 1238 and just outside the Seaboard Villages is the Shandwick Stone, a 9ft tall Pictish cross slab dating back to 780AD and thought to be standing in its original position. It is thought to have been a navigation tool for fishermen over the centuries. Iseabail’s House makes the perfect base for a Highland holiday. You have everything you’ll want and need right on the doorstep, but beyond the Seaboard Village limits the wild and ever dramatic Scottish Highlands await. The North Coast 500 touring road is 5 miles to the north and an outstanding route showing the Highlands at its best.