Category: Blog

BLOG: International Women’s Day – The Lightkeeper’s wife

It’s International Women’s Day, so this is a tribute to the women married to lightkeepers here in Scotland. Margaret Aitken was not exceptional, which is why I chose her voice to celebrate today.  Born in Orkney, married in the mid-1950s, she and her husband lived in Stroma, an …
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BLOG – Will my Scottish B&B or Holiday Cottage be cancelled?

The short answer is “you will probably be fine”. You can always make a back-up booking at a chain hotel with a fully-flexible cancellation policy –  you can cancel it as soon as the licence comes through for the B&B, Apartment, or Holiday Cottage. This blog post explains …
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BLOG: Photographing the Northern Lights with your mobile phone

We are often asked “can we see the Northern Lights from the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage?” The answer is “Yes”… and “No”! Yes – we certainly have darks skies and a low clear horizon; when you look North, there is just John o’Groats and Orkney, and neither of them …
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BLOG: How to find the perfect place to stay in Scotland

You want to find the perfect places to stay for your Scotland trip so you’ll have great experiences and wonderful memories. But Google shows big sites and chain hotels before anything else so the hidden gems are truly hidden, so how can you find quirky or unusual places …
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BLOG: Shooting Stars!

We’re just delighted to have been awarded the Scottish Tourist Board’s Four Stars for Self-Catering. It’s a great tribute to Joy, Steph and Kim who look after the Cottage, and to Steve and Paul who do the maintenance. And to the Cottage itself! The star rating shows we …
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BLOG: A visit from the Lighthouse Keeper’s family

A lovely thing happened yesterday. I was about to follow a recovery vehicle down the road to the tyre fixers when a car drew up to the lighthouse. We don’t encourage cars unless they have a blue badge and the driver or passenger has mobility issues. This is …
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BLOG: Black lightkeepers and their stories

October is Black History month, so I am sharing some of the stories of black lightkeepers. In the days when British lighthouses were manned (and I use that word advisedly) light-keeping was a white affair. The people of colour who have been part of British life since Tudor …
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BLOG: Over the Rainbow – Lighthouses in LGBT fiction

It’s pride month, so I thought I would take a look at LGBT fiction and it’s no surprise that there’s a fair amount about lighthouses and lightkeepers. Authors love a lighthouse. There is so much symbolism in a building that’s simultaneously recognisable and romantic but remote. Plus the …
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BLOG: Re-opening when lockdown lifts

We hope you are safe and well. We’re excited to re-open later this spring. We’ve changed how we do things to keep everyone safer. The Cottage will be empty for 72 hours before you arrive, and of course we give it a full Covid clean too. This means …
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BLOG: Home schooling and holidays at the Lighthouse

We are a family that travels full time world schooling our children… our stay has by far been the most knowledgeable and wonderful stay we’ve had to date. My favorite was the books and information provided, alot of time went into this cottage and providing details, and history. My …
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