It's been a long process but definitely worth it. What started out as Stewart's dream workshop, built from scratch, had been extended and converted into a great self catering lodge. The final task was getting the short term let license from the local council, a new Scottish requirement. Unfortunately this didn't come through until August, so a little late for this season, but we are all set to go from April 2024. It's a great space for two adults with a comfy double bed, open plan dining/ living area and a kitchen including microwave, electric hob, toaster, kettle and fridge. Breakfasts may be available at an additional cost on some days depending on guests in the Bed & Breakfast. We've had friends and family staying to test it all out and suggest improvements and they have all loved it! It can be booked on AirBnb or direct with us by email, phone or website message. A few pictures of inside:

Wow! This was the most impressive display from our decking since we moved here. Usually it's a fleeting display but this lasted for at least an hour. Achey joints had woken me about 2am and the Aurora alert popped up on my phone and I opened the curtains to this. Stewart thought the house was on fire when I shouted at him to get up! It was a special hour spent watching the spectacle on the decking in the Autumn crisp night. No fancy filters on the pictures, just straight from my iPhone.

It's been a busy few months with guests from all over the world! HebCelt, our yearly music festival saw the island busier than ever. We have been every year since we moved and it's a tiring weekend for us oldies not used to late nights now followed by early morning bread making. But it was a great weekend with guests having an amazing time at the festival too. It does make all the hard work worth while when we get such lovely reviews.

Everybody looks forward to breakfast on holiday, especially no washing up! You can choose your breakfast time anytime between 7.30 and 9. If you're leaving on the early ferry I will prepare a take away breakfast bag for you, most people eat it in the ferry queue! Enjoy a relaxed breakfast in our bright and sunny( most of the time) breakfast room over looking Bayble beach. Every morning there is a choice of juices, cereal, fruit & yogurt and freshly baked muffins and bread. Cooked breakfasts are cooked to order, with local eggs from the croft over the road. The famous Stornoway black pudding is available to try. Depending on the time of year tomatoes from the polycrub and fried potatoes from the garden may be available, pretty hard to beat those food miles! Vegetarian and Vegan diets can always be easily catered for as we are Vegan's ourselves. Just give me notice if you require Gluten free or have any other dietary requirements. Just imagine waking up to only the sound of the birds and the smell of freshly baked bread, muffins and coffee brewing.. you're a bit peckish now aren't you?! Some recent reviews.

I have always loved the beach, the sound of the waves, the smell of the salty air and seaweed. I always knew I would one day live by the beach and be able to see the sea everyday. We are so lucky here that there really is a beach for every occasion, every mood. Yes, enjoying a swim on a warm Summer's day is amazing, but an evening beach fire on an Autumn evening takes some beating. Exploring and finding treasures beach combing after a Spring high tide, watching ferocious waves crash around the lighthouse during a Winter Gale, these too are all special moments. Everyday really is a beach day and here we have endless sandy beaches, stacks and caves, rock pools full of life and hidden bays and coves. For every season, mood or activity there is a beach. My phone is so full of beach pictures, I've found it hard picking just a few to share, but here is a taster.

I just love "sky watching" here, is that even a thing?! Many guests and visiting family & friends have commented on how big the sky seems here. Watching the weather roll in from the mainland, amazing sunrises and sunsets and this year the best Aurora we have seen since we moved here. We also had more snow than usual this year. Overlooking our croft opposite here. From the decking Sometimes the whole house is filled with the colours of the sunrises and sunsets. The clouds.. now they are another thing I have a folder of photos of! Nothing beats natures TV!

Winter is always a busy time for us with numerous projects indoors and outside. Last year Stewart built his dream workshop next to the house to store all his tools,fishing gear and more importantly to eat crisps, drink beer and listen to football on the radio. Sadly his dream only lasted a year. It was always our plan to convert the barn across the road into a self catering cottage, but due to planning issues that wasn't to be. So his hideaway was to be converted into a self catering lodge. Firstly it needed an extension to house a shower room. Then the waste need to be dug, straight across the lawn, making it resemble a crash site! The interior work is going well and we hope to have it open by early Summer. We have been working on replacing the dining room furniture. We really like to reuse/recycle wherever possible and not contribute to the ever growing landfill. I'm lucky that Stewart is a highly skilled craftsman and can usually bring my ideas to life. I always joke we are a design/build team. So we have been buying old wooden furniture, which is far superior to most modern replacements and reimagining it! These drop leaf barley twist tables will be reimagined into new fixed top breakfast room tables. But it's not all work! We love exploring the island during the wild, quiet Winters. Beach walks are our favourite, driftwood collecting, of course we make things with it! It's great visiting some of the attractions that are popular in the summer and having them all to ourselves. We had been trying to catch either sunrise or sunset at Calanais Standing Stones for ages! Check back for more updates soon.