Blog - Tales & Tips from a Scottish Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage

A vase of flowers on a dining table | The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Noss Head - Family-Friendly Airbnb NC500

POV: Working hard so you can relax :)

I always amuses me that people think “running an Airbnb” is passive income.  It’s busy, it’s fun, and I love it. But passive, it isn’t! Here’s a glimpse behind the scenes to a particularly manic Monday last month… 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 10:00 11:00 12:30 13:00 15:30 16:15 …
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How to use passing places | The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Noss Head

8 top tips for driving in Scotland

Scotland is great to explore in a car, or even a camper van or motor home. But our roads may be a bit different from the ones you are used to even if you live in the UK. Here are my top tips for driving safely on our …
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A plate with a piece of salmon surrounded by sauce and peppercorns and decorated with fresh herbs. Photo from the No 1 Bistro at MacKays in Wick

3 Great Scottish Foods to try – and 6 places to find them

Guests who’ve travelled to Scotland often comment how good the food is here. Scottish livestock are typically reared outdoors, our seafood is legendary, and our fruit and vegetables are delicious too. Scots away from home really miss our traditional brands like Tunnocks and Irn Bru, and we have …
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An ink sketch of women chatting at the door of a single storey building, with a lighthouse behind it and a man in overalls in the foreground

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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The Northern Lights at Noss Head Lighthouse | The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Noss Head - the Aurora and Dark Skies on the NC500

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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Find the perfect place to stay in Scotland in three steps

You want to find the perfect places to stay for your Scotland trip so you’ll have great experiences and wonderful memories. But the hidden gems are truly hidden because Google shows big sites and chain hotels before anything else.  So how can you find quirky or unusual places …
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William M Parker - Image from the Hampton University Archives

Three black lighthouse keepers and their stories

October is Black History month, so I am sharing some of the stories of black lightkeepers in the UK and the USA 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 …
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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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Noss Head in the News

We’ve had all sorts of recognition over the years, and have loved collaborating with local groups like the Amateur Radio Society. 2025 – Chosen as a Prize! We were thrilled to be chosen as a prize by Waterstones and Vantage books in a draw for their new publication, …
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