The Isle of Skye: Mandallagh Cottage

We finally made it! after 4 days on the road, we arrived at our cottage that was selected by Canine cottages, and we were here to review it!

Mandallagh Cottage

When we finally arrived at our cottage, we were welcomed by the most amazing sunset. I had been in the car for a while, so I went off to explore the fenced garden. It was huge - and I mean huge! We had some funny looking neighbours. They had strange fur and kept saying “baaaaah”. (Is that Scottish for woof? I am not sure).

Once I had investigated every corner of the garden, it was time to go inside. The cottage is big enough for a whole family and two dogs! I am only little, so it was a palace for me. There were plenty of rooms to explore and a room with a huge window that looked out onto the sea.

My mums called it the ‘’viewing room” and it was our favourite, with two large sofas so you could sit comfortably and just take in all the scenery. There were three bedrooms in total: the master double bedroom, a twin room and one with a bunk bed. The living room had the TV, two comfortable sitting chairs and a big sofa, and for the cold days and nights, a lovely open fireplace. My mums were also very excited to find the cottage had a small dishwasher! I said I didn’t mind washing the plates for them with my tongue, but they insisted on putting them in the machine. Sometimes they can be very mean.

The cottage was well placed on a hillside, so the viewing room gave us a stunning view across Loch Pooltiel and the 'Little Minch' to the Outer Hebrides. We truly felt far away from civilisation, although there were some other little cottages around, so you didn’t feel too isolated and alone.

Milovaig is the nearest village and was about a 15-minute drive away. It had a small community shop which was surprisingly well stocked. English mum kept moaning that she wanted to visit all the little craft shops, cafes and museums that we drove past, but they were all closed because of what they call “the plague”. We did find a few places open, but we mostly went to outside places like mountains and beaches, because it was MY holiday and I wanted to find all the sniffs.

The nearest big town with a decent-sized supermarket was Portree, which was just under an hour away. If you are not used to being that far away from shops, some planning ahead is necessary! Luckily the cottage had a big full kitchen, including a proper freezer in the pantry, so we could stock up for the week and not worry too much about food.