 Tigh na'Tilleadh is in the hamlet of
Polbain (The White Pool) overlooking the Summer Isles on the Coigach
Peninsula some twenty-five
miles (40 kilometres) to the north-west of Ullapool in Wester Ross
in the Highlands of Scotland. The area is remote, but then that
is its charm. The Tigh, the old spelling of "house" in Gaelic, is the
main building on the half acre of land it shares with our
wee letting cottage, Bothan na'Tilleadh, originally the byre. |
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The view from the house. |
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The house is our own and stands on the same piece of ground as our smaller letting cottage, Bothan na'Tilleadh. It has been over the last few years re-furbished and comfortably furnished. It consists of three bedrooms, a bathroom with power shower, a living room with an open fire, an open-plan hallway and dining room and a newly re-modelled and equipped kitchen. The house is reached by steps from above through a gate onto the road opposite Polbain Stores. It has mains electricity, its own spring supplying water with mains back-up, full oil-fired central heating and water heating plus combined gas and electric cooking. All electricity, water and gas are included in the cost of rental. |
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The Accommodation The accommodation is to a high standard and is suitable for up to eight people. It is ideal for five adults or a family with up to four children in the three bedrooms and an additional two adults can be accommodated in the sitting room on the fold-down sofa. The Bedrooms
This is a bathroom/toilet on the first floor. It is fitted with a bath, a very effective power-shower and extensive clothes-drying facilities. The water is heated by the oil-fired central-heating system with the back-up of an immersion heater and, in winter, the coal fire in the sitting room.  The Kitchen
The kitchen has been recently fully refurbished. It is
fully equipped with a Calor gas stove, electric oven, a washer-dryer,
dishwasher, plus toaster, kettle, coffee maker and microwave. There is
a refrigerator in the kitchen itself and a freezer in an outhouse.
The Dining Area <>  The dining room, which also
serves as a study, again seats up to eight round a large wooden table.
It is open to the hall-way. For babies there is a high-chair available,
which can
be turned into a toddler's chair and table. There is also a broadband
Internet connection.
The living room is across the hall from the dining room but
not open to it. Comfortably furnished it has satellite television,
stereo CD and tape recorder and a piano. It contains a double
sofa-bed and also has an open fire-place, for which there is
a supply of coal and wood. |
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To the side of the Tigh there is a large patio. There is a small lawn in front, where there is a large childrens' climbing frame. Much of the rest of the garden is left semi-wild and the paddock is left completely wild. We have, especially in summer, a wide variety of bird life including hawks, and a remarkable variety of butterflies and moths. To encourage them we leave as much of their potential habitat a possible. The midge can be the scourge of The Highlands but we, because we are close to the sea, have little problem except some evenings at dusk.
The garden |
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Heating Hot water in the Tigh is both by central-heating system and the immersion heater. Heating throughout the house is by radiators, controlled by a thermostat in the hallway. As people who have lived in Southern Europe and even in the Tropics at various times we have over-specified that the heating to ensure we, our family and all our guests remain warm at all times. All the costs of heating and hot water are included in the rental. Bedding and Linen Beds are all made to your specification on your arrival. We can offer double and single beds. All bed-linen, bath-, face- and tea-towels are always included in the rental and are changed at least weekly. |
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If the dates you are looking for are available flying with ANY airline to a Scottish airport or travelling by train by Scotrail, GNER and Virgin to a Scottish station and then hiring a car you may be able to deduct 15% from your rental. For more details, click here. |
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Cycling and Cycle Hire: The Coigach Peninsula is ideal for leisurely cycling, as long as you do not mind a hill or two. Cearcall na'Coigach (The Coigach Ring Road) in either direction offers some of the best view in the Highlands. Clockwise you have views of the Summer Isles. Anti-clockwise you have the panorama of Beinn Mor Coigach, Beinn a'Eoin, Stac Pollaidh, Cul Mor, Cul Beag Suilven and Canisp. From September 2004 onwards for you to enjoy cycling Coigach we have at the Bothan a selection of mountain and road bikes for hire at £20 per week per bike. |
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Specials
The Autumn on the Coigach is a much underrated time of the year for walking or just taking a break away from it all. The colours of the trees and the heather around Lochs Bad a'Ghaill and Lurgainn and along the coastal road to Lochinver are at least as good as those in New England in the USA or in Eastern Canada. The weather on our peninsula is also often very mild at that time. The surrounding seas seems to create a warmer micro-climate not enjoyed just a few miles inland. In the first half of October the days are still long, the weather can be warm and pleasant and the ground underfoot still dry. At night, when conditions are right, there are the marvels of the Aurora Borealis. The end of October and November can be stormy but the colours are often at their best, ochre illuminated morning and evening by the low sun. We have created some special pricing for the last week of September, October and November. For more details click on AUTUMN COLOUR. Christmas and New Year Christmas is a quiet time of the year in the Highlands. Hogmanay - New Year - is our time for quiet celebration. It means that both Christmas and Hogmanay are ideal times to have a few days away to celebrate in quite intimacy. Again we have put together some special Christmas and New Year pricing, details of which can be found by clicking on CHRISTMAS or HOGMANAY. Winter Rest  From the beginning of December until the Easter the
landscape of the Coigach transforms itself. The seasons change but the
hills and the moors are still there for walking. The beaches are still
empty and the sheep still graze. We do not pretend that at times the
wind does not blow, that the rain does not lash in across the Minch or
waves crash against the Summer Isles. Such days have their own
pleasures, if you are tucked up in the warmth and comfort that our
bothy offers, perhaps with a good book and a dram. However, as often
as the winds blow there is the other side of the Highland winter - calm
days of milky sunshine, when the snow can glisten on the peaks of the
Coigach, from the house snow can be seen on the peaks of Skye, Harris
and Uist and there is complete quiet. We have put together a specially
priced packages for the long-weekend, details of which can be found
by clicking on WINTER .
Getting to us
with a car is not a problem.
Getting anywhere in
the Highlands,
when you have no car, can a problem. We appreciate that. We in Polbain
have a bus that
stops
right at our door and that may make your holiday with us possible but
we also have one further offer. We appreciate too that it is a long
drive to us from the South of England and Wales and still more from
Continental Europe. We are 630 miles from London and do not try to hide
the fact. That is one reason we are unique in landscape and culture. We
think the drive is worth it and we want you to come. Many of our guests
make the journey over two days with an overnight stay on the way.
Others look to fly from wherever they stay in the World or take take a
day- or sleeper-train from England or Wales and then hire a
car at Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Glasgow. We
understand that care-hire is not cheap. Its extra cost may make the
difference between you coming to us or holidayng elsewhere. We want you
to stay with us and to encourage you to do so we will at any time of
the year give you a 15% reduction in all our rental prices, except our
"Specials". All you have to do is provide us in advance of your final
payment to us a copy of your car rental agreement and pay us by the due
date by cheque, either in Sterling or Euros. This offer does not apply
to credit-card payments and starts on 15th May, 2005. For still more alternatives
for getting to us, click on:
Bothan na'Tilleadh  We also have available for rental our bothy,
which comfortable taks two people and can take up to 4. For more
information, click on Bothan . The Weather It is said that the Coigach has something of a charmed weather record. Noone seems to know why. Perhaps it is is because we are sheltered from the full swell of the Atlantic by Lewis but not so sheltered that we do not enjoy the full effect of the Gulf Stream. Perhaps too because we are a fairly flat peninsula, reaching out into the Atlantic for 15 miles with high mountains at the eastern end, the worst of the weather passes over us because getting trapped on the those mountains and letting loose its rain. Perhaps the tunnel effect of the fjord-like Loch Brooms also carries the weather away from us before again hitting the high mountains. Noone has satisfactorily explained why the Summer Isles are so called but not infrequently there is blue sky over the Coigach as you reach Loch Osgaig and emerge from rain in the mountains. That is not to say that we
stay on the Costa d'Ecosse. This is still the West Coast of Scotland.
Nor can you have a precise picture of our weather. The closest we can
get are the forecasts for Ullapool and Stornaway. Average them and you
will just about have the right picture. They can
be found by clicking here on BBC
Scotland Weather. For more information and how to book For more details, to check availability or to book, our e-mail will reach me, Ian Campbell Whittle on: Or to book by 'phone on: (44)-(0)1854-622-448 or, if there is no response, on the mobile: 07904-244554 Having talked to us we will give you a one week provisional booking and will invoice you by e-mail, fax or post, letting you know, whether you need to pay a deposit and when to pay the balance, or to pay the full amount. There are various ways, in which you can pay, which we will explain to you. As well as cheque and Eurocheque you can now pay on-line through a secure server. However, DO NOT pay on-line until you have talked to us to ensure there are no other provisional bookings being processed. We will not recognise a booking paid on-line, if we have not already invoiced you for it. Once invoiced, you can then pay by clicking on: Click here on Coigach to find out about our peninsula. Click here on Polbain to learn more of the village. |
The main bedroom has a double bed. The second
bedroom has two single beds with space for a third fold-down single.
The third bedroom has a single bed, whilst the sitting-room has a
double sofa bed. Sheets, duvets and duvet covers plus pillows and
pillow slips are supplied and again included in the cost of rental. A
cot is also available on request. All the bedrooms are panelled and
have central-heating and new, double-glazed windows. 
The Bath Room
Autumn Colour