The perfect bolthole? Inside the gorgeous and unique Scottish lighthouse home now for sale
A 19th Century lighthouse on the far north coast of Scotland has come up for sale.
Holborn Head at Scrabster near Thurso was designed by the Stevenson family dynasty of lighthouse builders but has been sympathetically converted into a comfortable home which has B-listed status.
Many original features of the old lighthouse keepers' accomodation have been retained. The once all-powerful lamp which guided sailors in the Pentland Firth for more than 100 years was turned off in 2003 with the tower now used as a look out and observatory.
Endless views of sky, sea and coastline are included in the price, with Holborn Head being marketed for offers over £450,000.
READ MORE: Luxury homes planned for 'New Luskentyre' in the Outer Hebrides
A statement from estate agency Galbraith, which is handling the sale, said: ' The property is in an outstanding setting with stunning elevated views over Scrabster beach and harbour to Dunnet Head, Orkney and the Old Man of Hoy.
'This beautiful and dramatic Caithness coastline sits against a backdrop of spectacular mountain scenery, home to a wide variety of native wildlife and providing ideal hill walking and climbing.
' Inland is the Flows National Nature Reserve, designated for its spectacular peat and wetlands, while the River Thurso, which runs through the heart of the Reserve, is a salmon and sea trout river of great renown drawing fishermen from across the world.'
READ MORE: Scotland's Home of the Year 2025 - the finalists
Holborn Head has two reception rooms and three bedrooms over two storeys, with the living area on the first floor to allow for total immersion in the sea views.
The property has a three-car garage, studio and garden stores with 'immaculately presented grounds' surrounding the lighthouse.
The home was originally two flats lived in by the lighthouse keepers, with the accommodation reworked into a single dwelling.
Many original features have been retained with modern comforts added to the property.
The statement added: 'The work has been carried out to the highest standard, with excellent levels of insulation, underfloor heating on the ground floor, consented additional window openings and good quality fittings, while solid oak, Caithness flagstone, wrought iron finishes and an understated interior reflect and complement the magnificence of the surrounding landscape.'
The lighthouse tower is reached by ladder staircases with the space 'beautifully restored'. The light has been removed from the lens dome, with the space now used as an outlook and observatory.
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Scotsman
5 days ago
- Scotsman
The perfect bolthole? Inside the gorgeous and unique Scottish lighthouse home now for sale
A 19th Century lighthouse on the far north coast of Scotland has come up for sale. Holborn Head at Scrabster near Thurso was designed by the Stevenson family dynasty of lighthouse builders but has been sympathetically converted into a comfortable home which has B-listed status. Many original features of the old lighthouse keepers' accomodation have been retained. The once all-powerful lamp which guided sailors in the Pentland Firth for more than 100 years was turned off in 2003 with the tower now used as a look out and observatory. Endless views of sky, sea and coastline are included in the price, with Holborn Head being marketed for offers over £450,000. READ MORE: Luxury homes planned for 'New Luskentyre' in the Outer Hebrides A statement from estate agency Galbraith, which is handling the sale, said: ' The property is in an outstanding setting with stunning elevated views over Scrabster beach and harbour to Dunnet Head, Orkney and the Old Man of Hoy. 'This beautiful and dramatic Caithness coastline sits against a backdrop of spectacular mountain scenery, home to a wide variety of native wildlife and providing ideal hill walking and climbing. ' Inland is the Flows National Nature Reserve, designated for its spectacular peat and wetlands, while the River Thurso, which runs through the heart of the Reserve, is a salmon and sea trout river of great renown drawing fishermen from across the world.' READ MORE: Scotland's Home of the Year 2025 - the finalists Holborn Head has two reception rooms and three bedrooms over two storeys, with the living area on the first floor to allow for total immersion in the sea views. The property has a three-car garage, studio and garden stores with 'immaculately presented grounds' surrounding the lighthouse. The home was originally two flats lived in by the lighthouse keepers, with the accommodation reworked into a single dwelling. Many original features have been retained with modern comforts added to the property. The statement added: 'The work has been carried out to the highest standard, with excellent levels of insulation, underfloor heating on the ground floor, consented additional window openings and good quality fittings, while solid oak, Caithness flagstone, wrought iron finishes and an understated interior reflect and complement the magnificence of the surrounding landscape.' The lighthouse tower is reached by ladder staircases with the space 'beautifully restored'. The light has been removed from the lens dome, with the space now used as an outlook and observatory.
Scotsman
27-05-2025
- Scotsman
Travel: How Robert Louis Stevenson visited the Cévennes but missed all the best bits
Robert Louis Stevenson's famous visit to the Cévennes could have been very different if he'd turned right instead of left at a critical moment, writes Roger Cox Sign up to our Scotsman Rural News - A weekly of the Hay's Way tour of Scotland emailed direct to you. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In late September 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson set off on a 12-day hike through south-central France, starting in Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille in the Haute-Loire and ending up in Saint-Jean-du-Gard, about 200km to the south. His travelling companion was a donkey called Modestine who, it's fair to say, didn't always make life easy for him. The journal he kept eventually became his 1879 book Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes – not his most famous work by any means, but as a piece of writing about the outdoors, many years ahead of its time. For a start, Stevenson's preference for sleeping under the stars in a custom-made 'sleeping sack' marked him out as something of a pioneer. Not only were sleeping bags not yet really a thing in the late 1870s, his penchant for rough sleeping was met with horror by some of the locals he met, who feared he could be attacked by wolves. Of course, Stevenson wasn't the only person writing about getting back to nature in the mid-19th century – the literary push-back against the Industrial Revolution didn't take long to get going – but even some of the most outdoors-obsessed of his contemporaries still enjoyed their home comforts while supposedly roughing it. When Henry David Thoreau spent two-and-a-bit years living a 'simple life' in a cabin in the woods near Concord, Massachusetts, for example – the experience that formed the basis for his 1854 classic Walden – he did at least have a roof over his head, a bed to sleep in and his mum, Cynthia, living nearby and regularly doing his laundry for him. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hiking trail near La Bourgarie | Roger Cox / The Scotsman Stevenson was also surprisingly contemporary in terms of his attitudes to outdoor recreation – in fact, the philosophy underpinning Travels with a Donkey anticipates that of his fellow Scot Nan Shepherd, writing almost a century later which, in turn, has had a major influence on many of today's most successful nature writers. Just as Shepherd wrote of the joys of walking 'into' mountains rather than up them, with the ticking off of summits less of a priority than simply appreciating the mountain environment, so in Travels with a Donkey Stevenson writes 'I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake.' Visiting the Cévennes today, nearly a century-and-a-half after Stevenson and Modestine completed their epic yomp, it's surprising to find that the author is at least as celebrated in this part of France as he is in his homeland. Gift shops at tourist hotspots in the area all seem to have multiple versions of Travels with a Donkey for sale (including a beautiful band dessinée version of the story by Alexandre Cot and Marlène Merveilleux) and a hiking trail following the route Stevenson took, the GR70 or 'Chemin de Stevenson', is a major tourist attraction in its own right. Those wishing to follow in the writer's footsteps can hire donkeys for some or all of the journey, and accommodation providers along the route will often advertise themselves as 'donkey friendly', so 21st century Modestines need never miss a meal. The River Tarn near La Malène | Roger Cox / The Scotsman One thing you can't help noticing, though, as you travel around the Cévennes, is that, while Stevenson The Brand may be everywhere, when the man himself was on his big walk he managed to miss out on a lot of the things that make the region special. In fact, scratch that: Stevenson somehow contrived to miss out almost all of the good stuff. There were some agonizing near-misses, too. For example, while Stevenson and Modestine did indeed visit the achingly beautiful medieval town of Florac beside the River Tarn (now also home to an excellent pizza restaurant called La Dolce, with its own idyllic courtyard) they then tacked south-east and made for their final destination. Had they continued for a few more miles to the west, however, following the Tarn, they would have reached first Castelbouc, an ancient, otherworldly settlement carved into limestone cliffs which is more or less Rivendell minus the elves, and then, a little further on, drop-dead gorgeous Sainte-Énimie, one of the 176 Plus Beaux Villages de France and, if the organisation dishing out these designations were ever to countenance something as divisive as a ranking system, surely a contender for a spot in the top ten. The village of Sainte-Énimie | Roger Cox / The Scotsman A few miles further to the south-west, depending on how sure-footed Modestine was feeling, Stevenson could also have visited the airy hiking trail that runs south from La Bourgarie along spectacular limestone cliffs, with the River Tarn a thin ribbon of blue far below and vultures circling overhead. And, while he would probably have had to leave Modestine tied up for a few hours, he might even have found someone prepared to take him on a boat down the river itself, an experience so popular these days that the Cévennes seems to have almost as many kayak hire businesses as people. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The stalagmite forest in Aven Armand | Roger Cox / The Scotsman Stevenson's biggest miss, however, was Aven Armand, a stadium-sized limestone cave situated 20km south of Sainte-Énimie containing a jaw-dropping forest of more than 400 gigantic stalagmites. The cave wasn't discovered until 1897 though, so the only way Stevenson and Modestine could have found it would have been by accidentally falling in through the tiny hole at the top. Probably best for all concerned, then, that they took that left turn when they got to Florac.
Daily Record
23-05-2025
- Daily Record
'Once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity to build Scottish seaside dream home in charming village
The plot of land overlooks a spectacular beach. A plot of land in a scenic position in a Scottish seaside village has gone up for sale. It has been described as a "rare" and "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity by sellers. The plot is in an elevated location in the charming Dumfries and Galloway village of Rockcliffe, overlooking its beach. It is on sale through Galbraith for offers over £225,000. The "hugely desirable" plot of land has outline permission for one house. Among the last remaining plots in the area, it benefits from views out over the beach and the estuary beyond. Surrounded by a mix of historic Victorian villas and traditional properties, the site could be used to construct either a family home or a holiday retreat. It is situated in a quiet residential lane, with easy access to amenities. Rockcliffe is regarded as a top holiday and summer destination in Scotland, known for its mild climate and sea swimming opportunities. Rockcliffe Beach in particular is popular amongst locals and holidaymakers alike. A significant amount of the picturesque land that surrounds the village is cared for by The National Trust for Scotland. There are many scenic walks from Rockcliffe, including the coastal path to the nearby beach at Sandyhills. Galbraith states: "A hugely desirable plot with outline permission for one house. This plot is unique and possibly the last remaining plot opportunity in this part of the village. "With views over the beach and the estuary beyond, it is just waiting for someone to build a fabulous holiday retreat or a stunning forever home in this beautiful part of the world." Continue reading for some photographs of the plot of land for sale in Rockcliffe Village. More information can be found on the Galbraith listing. More On Homes and property Dumfries & Galloway
