20 cosy Scottish winter hideaways for the festive season

Clachaig Inn, GLENCOE

Ballachulish PH49 4HX 

Beloved by climbers and hillwalkers, The Clachaig Inn is a Glencoe institution. Head for The Boots Bar round the back of the hotel: it’s cosy, warm and welcoming and the perfect place for soggy walkers to hide from the weather or swap tales over a few drams. Order from the barrel-lined bar order cask ales, hearty pub supper meals and take a seat by the fire.Regular live music from local bands makes the Clachaig a lively night out. The pub is a short distance from the Red Squirrel campsite and offers simple but lovely rooms upstairs. AS

The Dipping Lugger, ULLAPOOL 

4 W Shore St, Ullapool IV26 2UR

Robert Hicks and Helen Chalmers, owners of the Highland Liquour Company, created a luxury retreat and restaurant within a former manse that dates back to 1789, part-rebuilt by Thomas Telford in 1829. On the shore of Loch Broom, the restaurant with rooms has head chef David Smith in the kitchen, who has worked in Boath House and Ulllinish Country Lodge Hotel. Upstairs the house has three stylish en-suite bedrooms which, along with the downstairs space, were shaped by interior designer Eve Cullen-Cornes who worked on The Padstow Townhouse by Paul Ainsworth and Tom Kerridge’s Hand and Flowers. The ferry to Stornoway leaves from the pier opposite the red door with its distinctive cockle-shaped brass knocker. PT

Edinbane Lodge, SKYE

Old Dunvegan Road, Edinbane IV51 9PW  

Edinbane Lodge was awarded Four AA Rosettes in September, the only restaurant in the Highlands and Islands to achieve this level of recognition. Set within a hunting lodge that dates back to 1543, among the oldest buildings on Skye that has been in continuous use, Chef Calum Montgomery, right, has created a casual, cosy fine dining restaurant with rooms that evolve with the seasons, sourcing the finest local ingredients from family and friends.

Calum was born in Portree on Skye and is passionate about creating dishes from the abundance of produce that surrounds the lodge: “If you look at the tasting menu you will see hand-dived Isle of Rona scallops and Sound of Raasay crab. It’s important for the island we use what’s on our doorstep. It’s actually what has been here for centuries, what my great grandparents would have eaten as part of their staple diet. We’ve just applied modern techniques, bringing all those ingredients together and elevating them. People come to Skye for the landscape, but hopefully they leave thinking about the produce they discovered along the way as well as views of the Old Man of Storr.”

The lodge has previously been a family home, a courthouse, and a coaching inn during its long history. “We bought it in November 2017, myself and my family. My dad and I then spent nine months working with local tradesmen to create the rooms. We stripped everything back to the original stonework then built it back up,” Calum explains.

The way the restaurant emerged makes this a very personal project, Calum says. “It gave me a different outlook. It’s important to me that we pay homage to everybody that’s been here before us. We want guests to come in and feel the heat from the fire, be welcomed as visitors have been for centuries. There are some nods to previous owners in the paintings and the colour scheme reflects the Skye landscape. Comfortable chairs, no tablecloths . . . from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave, it’s every way that I would want to go out for dinner myself.”

For winter they use preservation techniques to prepare vegetables to go alongside locally landed fish and meat from nearby farms: “It pays respect to traditions that have been passed down on Skye through necessity. We will forage and pick things throughout the summer and preserve them for the winter months when you want warming dishes that will make you feel good.” PT

The Bridge Inn, RATHO

27 Baird Road, Ratho, Midlothian, EH28 8RA  

A seven-mile walk along the Union Canal from Edinburgh and the weary are well rewarded at The Bridge Inn at Ratho (other modes of transport available). In the bar there’s comfortable leather seating and a roaring fire to warm you up. Pop in for a pint or try the award-winning pub food – the Bridge Inn pie of the day is hard to beat, or come on Sunday for the roast. In the evenings the menus get even better. The a la carte menu is outstanding, and the rooms upstairs are gorgeous, if you want to make a weekend of it. AS

Three Marys, EDINBURGH

63-65 Henderson Street, Edinburgh EH6 6ED  

Three Marys took over the site of the much-missed Sofi’s but have very much made it their own, installing gorgeous new stained-glass windows, opulent velvet seating and lining the walls in deep blues and dark florals. Billed as a ‘neighbourhood cocktail bar’, Three Marys manages to be both seriously stylish, and super cosy – no easy task. Behind the sweeping horseshoe bar you’ll find brilliant local beers on tap, French wines, and skilled cocktail maestros ready to create your favourites. The owners run the Leith Jazz and Blues festival and you can hear live jazz and blues here every Thursday and Sunday. AS

The Crofter's Rest, ARISAIG 

Arisaig Hotel, Inverness-shire, PH39 4NH  

A brilliant Highland pub in pretty Arisaig, overlooking Eigg and Rhum. The Crofter’s is a centre for the community and a great night out. “Serving up local food, drink, and tunes for 300 years” – what could be better? Warm up with the cracking bar menu. It changes often to keep things interesting for the regulars, and highlights include monkfish scampi, burgers and chicken burritos. On Fridays and Sundays you’re in for a real treat, as two of Scotland’s leading folk musicians, Ross Martin and Eilidh Shaw, lead the open music sessions. On a Sunday bring your fiddle and join in. AS

Craighead Howfs, DUNBLANE

Braco, Dunblane FK15 9LP  

Ian and Heather Keir designed gloriously different holiday homes around their traditional stone-built farmhouse in Perthshire. They first opened Muckle Howf, a luxury cottage conversion with natural gardens.

Keen campers, the couple then created the Wee Tree Howf, built on high stilts, and surrounded by wildlife as an interesting way to holiday in the great outdoors. A tree house on the estate offers views over the Ochil Hills and comes with its own cooking facilities, shower and stove.

Their most high-concept accommodation is a duo of miniature homes inspired by The Hobbit, their Burrow homes. Set into the fields with sheep and alpacas close companions, these amazing places are packed with comfortable, distinctive wooden fixtures and fittings. Their traditional crofter cottage, the Whisky Howf, is open for bookings over the winter. PT

Unorthodox Roasters, STIRLING 

12 Friars Street, Stirling FK8 1HA   

This cafe in central Stirling is well worth seeking out for a cosy escape and a truly excellent cup of coffee. Popular with shoppers, students, day-trippers and caffeine-fiends, it’s become one of Stirling’s favourite hideaways.

Unorthodox is owned by friends Chris Bode and Neil Buchan who were inspired to start a coffee business after ten months travelling around South and Central America tasting all the coffee they could and visiting coffee plantations and roasteries.

Enthused, they ordered coffee to be sent back to Scotland.

“The first bags of coffee arrived home before we did,” remembers Neil. “We bought a couple of small coffee roasters and started experimenting, reading every coffee book on the planet.”

When they’d cracked it, they sold coffee on a small scale before opening cafes in Kinross then Stirling.

“We’ve grown in a very slow and organic way,” says Neil. In both cafes the Unorthodox style is evident: “Lots of wood and navy blue, and sexy industrial lamps and ex-scaffolding board tables,” says Neil. Speciality coffee is served in gorgeous Japanese ceramics which the pair also fell in love with on their travels and now import. Making people feel really welcome is key. In Stirling, upstairs we’ve built a kind of ‘study lab’. It’s a student town so we want to find that perfect balance with laptops and people coming in to eat. It’s like a little base for meetings too” says Neil. The menu is small but it’s delicious and creative. “It’s travel-inspired like everything in our business,” says Neil.

“We don’t want to be like a scone and a ham and cheese panini type of place. Instead, we do open sourdough sandwiches, one is our Bombay Bicycle club roast chicken, fenugreek, lime zest, fresh coriander. Then we’ve got gorgeous little hot pancakes that we serve up with mascarpone, crushed raspberries, pistachio and rose petals.”

Neil and Chris are really proud of their cafe, and rightly so: “I think we’re super hospitable,” says Neil, “We roast our coffee to a really exacting level: it’s all single origin, no blends and the coffee really speaks of its terroir. We always see people walking in drenched, coming in for decent coffee and quality scran. We want folk to leave the daily grind and have a wee moment of pleasure.” AS

Beach Bay Cottage, UIG BAY

7 Carnish, Isle of Lewis HS2 9EX  

The Scottish coastline demands attention in winter with dramatic skies and tempestuous tides. Beach Bay Cottage perches above Uig Bay on the Isle of Lewis with a front row seat for the magnificent theatre of contrasting light, wild weather and powerful calmness it’s possible to encounter in this secluded location. From the oversized bay windows you may spot deer on the moors, leaping salmon in the Abhainn Dearg river and sea eagles soaring overhead. The natural stone, turf-roofed cottage is built into the hillside with direct access to the white sands of one of the most beautiful beaches on Lewis’s Atlantic Coast. PT

The Pickled Peacock, PERTH 

Cairn O’Mohr Winery, Errol, Perth PH2 7SP 

A charming rural cafe at the Cairn O’Mohr fruit wine distillery in Errol, Perthshire. The welcoming space is decked in bunting, and full of nooks to spend an afternoon. Local food is always on the menu: come hungry for the haggis and cheese toastie or go all in with a pull-apart loaf of cheesy bread and chutney. The full Cairn O’Mohr wine and cider range is available to sample too. A glass of elderberry wine pairs perfectly with a grazing board of local cheese and charcuterie. AS

The Milkman, EDINBURGH 

7 & 52 Cockburn St, Edinburgh EH1 1BP 
 themilkman.coffee

A stone’s throw from Princes Street and The Royal Mile, The Milkman is the perfect hideaway from the hubbub of Edinburgh city centre. The cafe is a former sweet shop, now with exposed brick walls, plenty of plants and cosy corners to enjoy a cup of specialty coffee. Local Edinburgh roasters Obadiah Collective supply the delicious house espresso with regular exciting guest coffees too. A tasty array of cakes from local bakeries makes it easy to find an excuse to pop in to The Milkman, and hard to leave. There are now two branches on Cockburn Street. AS

Bon Accord, GLASGOW

153 North St, Glasgow G3 7DA  

This Glasgow bar’s devotion to real ale began in the 1970s, continuing to this day with more than 800 varieties served from swan-necked handpumps each year.

Their laden gantry is a treasure trove of more than 500 different whiskies to stave off the winter chill. Their most prized bottles are the 72-year-old Macallan and 70-year-old Glenlivet.

Now that we are firmly in steak pie season, order as a lunch time special or a plate of haggis, neeps and tatties as a winter warmer. A traditional Glasgow bar with a big personality, there’s a regular pub quiz on Wednesday and live music on Saturday. PT

Kinloch Lodge, SKYE

Sleat, Isle of Skye, IV43 8QY  kinloch-lodge.co.uk

Staying at Kinloch Lodge, on the shores of Loch Na Dal on Skye, is a truly special experience. With looming hills behind, the shimmering loch in front and views of distant Knoydart, it’s a gorgeous spot in any weather.

White-washed Kinloch Lodge is a 16th Century hunting lodge, owned by the clan Macdonald. This year it celebrated 50 years as a hotel, opened by Godfrey Macdonald, High Chief of the Macdonalds, and his wife Claire who built the hotel’s enduring reputation for wonderful food. Today, the hotel is run by their daughter Isabella, and her children’s school photos mix with the ancestral oil paintings in what is still a family home. Guests are welcomed like old friends and made very comfortable by the fire – often quickly finding a drink in their hand.

The generously sized bedrooms are split between the main hotel building and the South Lodge next door. Rooms have king-size beds with touches of tweed from Skye Weavers, deep baths, and many have views over the loch. Downstairs curl up in the cosy sitting room with a book and a pot of tea or settle into a leather armchair in the handsome bar and peruse the excellent whisky selection. There’s also a guest sitting room in the South Lodge with board games and an honesty bar. In the kitchen head chef Jordan Webb is building on and modernising Claire Macdonald’s kitchen legacy with incredibly innovative and delicious seasonal menus. The best local meat, fish and game are centre stage, along with vegetables from the polytunnel and foraged ingredients sourced by the hotel’s ghillie.

My Hebridean salmon comes with beetroot and a fir tip emulsion, a beautiful fillet of halibut is paired with Lochalsh crab and squid tortellini: over two nights I’m consistently delighted.

If you’re staying elsewhere on Skye, definitely book a table for dinner.

Kinloch Lodge is a great base from which to explore Skye, but if you can, slow down and spend a day just here. There are extensive walks in the grounds and nearby. If you can, take a guided walk with Kinloch’s ghillie Mitchell Partridge to look for otters, birds, and learn about foraging too. AS

The Taybank, DUNKELD

Tay Terrace, Dunkeld, Perthshire, PH8 0AQ  

How lucky the fine folk of Dunkeld and surrounds are to have the Taybank. On the banks of the river this community minded hotel has it all: beautiful boutique bedrooms, an excellent first floor restaurant with views over the river, and a cracking traditional music pub downstairs.

The Taybank puts on events throughout the year and is always innovating and offering a bit extra: this winter there’s an outdoor sauna, plunge pool and fire pit in the garden.

Follow that up with a mulled wine by the wood-burner listening to local fiddle musicians play and you’ll be wishing it was winter all year round. AS

Lighthouse Holiday Cottages, MULL OF GALLOWAY

Drummore, Stranraer DG9 9HP  

The lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson and first lit in 1830. The keepers and their families lived in the cottages until automation took over in 1988. A set of carefully restored cottages are decorated with a rural charm that reflects the location at the southernmost point of Scotland, an outpost at the end of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula.

The accommodation is both quirky and remarkable, perched above dramatic coastline with a wealth of local wildlife as neighbours. On a clear day, there are uninterrupted views of Isle of Man and Cumbria. Kittiwake House and Puffin House cottages sleep up to six guests in each cottage and Lightkeeper’s Cottage can accommodate up to four guests. PT

The Globe Inn, DUMFRIES

56 High St, Dumfries DG1 2JA  

Sitting unobtrusively down a cobbled flagstone close off Dumfries’ High Street, The Globe Inn is a monument to Scottish hospitality and fully equipped to welcome the modern world. The year the pub was established, 1610, has been adopted as the name of the restaurant that sits within the inn. Under the leadership of head chef Jonathan Brett, who developed his culinary style while working under Andrew Fairlie at One Devonshire Gardens, the kitchen is included in the latest Michelin Guide.

The menu presents ingredients from across Dumfries and Galloway. Delicately plated dishes include escabeche of rainbow trout, cannon of lamb, poached hake or salt-aged duck. Owners David Thomson and Teresa Church took over The Globe in 2018, seeking to preserve the historic Burns Rooms. They had previously acquired the derelict Annandale Distillery and returned it to full production. Annandale’s full range of whisky is available at the bar, including Man O’ Words, the highly regarded smooth and mellow Single Cask, Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Its full collection stretches to more than 300 Scotch and world whiskies.

The connection between Robert Burns and The Globe Inn stems from his time in Dumfries working as an exciseman. He was a frequent visitor, often staying overnight after evenings in the dining room where Burns would recite poems or read aloud from newspapers newly arrived from Edinburgh with updates on the French Revolution. You can see verses Burns etched onto the windowpanes of his bed chamber. The kitchen that served the inn at that time has been preserved to be shown to visitors and there are artefacts linked to the national poet. The Burns Howff Club has met here since 1889.

While imbued with a sense of heritage and offering both a fine dining degustation menu and private dining, The Globe remains true to its roots as an inn with Globe Blond Ale from the Lowland Brewery in Lockerbie served in The Snug bar and cocktails like the Bloody Rascal, an olive brine spiced mix of port, horseradish, smoked paprika, tomato vines and tabasco. PT

Taisteal, EDINBURGH

1 Forth St, Edinburgh, EH1 3JX  

I’m worried I’ll have to swim to Taisteal. Heavy rain is lashing Edinburgh and sensible folk are staying in. But the promise of a hearty supper with an old friend has me hunting out my wellies.

Tucked just off Broughton Street, this ex-Stockbridge favourite moved to the New Town last year for a bit more space to play. Happily, the restaurant still feels intimate and friendly: we hang up our dripping coats and make ourselves very much at home.

Taisteal means travel in Gaelic, an influence that’s very clear on chef-patron Gordon Craig’s border-hopping menu. Travel also inspires the decor of teal walls, eclectic art, and souvenirs from around the world. On the menu choose your adventure: a la carte, five, or seven course. Produce is proudly local and the cooking on the heartier end of fine dining- no tiny portions here. My pal starts with a rich meaty oxtail soup. It’s slow-cooked, hearty and perfect for a chilly night. My pasta is a little plain, but soon eclipsed by my next course: a black squid ink risotto with crispy mussels. It’s deeply savoury with perfectly creamy rice and pops of sweetness from the mussels. On top wispy bonito flakes appear to have a life of their own, curling and dancing in the heat of the risotto. This is fun, inventive cooking where flavour rules.

If I was following the paired drinks, I’d be having a yuzu margarita with this. I’m sure it’d be a taste riot but my pal is starting a new job the next morning so we’re behaving.

A crisp glass of Picpoul de Pinet has enough zip to be a fine stand-in. It also pairs nicely with my main course: pan-fried sole with shellfish bisque. This is a classic dish with a few Taisteal twists: layers of nori in the accompanying potato dauphinoise, and leek ash dusted on the fish. It’s playful, and it works – and you could say the same about Taisteal. It’s fine dining without excess formality, experimental cooking without a bank loan. A welcome port in a storm to feast with friends. AS

Redmond’s, GLASGOW

304 Duke St, Glasgow G31 1RZ  

Redmond’s in Dennistoun wears the clothes of a Glasgow pub from a different era while being welcoming and innovative in its modern approach to hospitality. In winter “it’s a bar where you turn the lights down low and once people arrive, they want to stay a while”, says general manager David Kirkwood. Time slows down, vinyl records play in the background, it’s somewhere to congregate, insulated from the outside world. Table service makes things easier with seats at the bar are prized by regulars.

“The first week in January is one of our busiest times of the year,” David says. “Folk are in the mindset where they don’t want to go out and spend much money, but they will still meet their pals in the local pub. It’s dark, the weather is horrible, but you can manage to walk down the road to sit with us.”

In terms of style of service, they honour the tradition of the local while adding new aspects. “We have a pub quiz that we are very committed to and open mic nights so there’s the familiar furniture of Glasgow hospitality, but we make everyone feel comfortable and we keep updating what we do. Music is an important part of the atmosphere here and we have a regular record fair where people can pick up vinyl on Sundays. We’ve also host jazz sessions with local musicians.”

Redmond’s opened eight and a half years ago when Dennistoun was attracting an influx of students, young professionals and creatives that led to new independent neighbourhood food and drink businesses establishing themselves on Duke Street.

What Redmond’s may lose in the summer to nearby bars with outside seating, they regain in the winter with their established comfy experience based around craft beer, stouts and steamed bao buns. “Japanese fried chicken is a big one on the menu at the moment,” David says. “We have new dishes launching for December with a plant-based ramen, a Beyond Meat bánh mì, bulgogi beef nachos and gochujang chicken nachos. We’ll keep going down the route of Southeast Asian soul food.” PT

Tigh na Mara, BARRA

A888, Castlebay, Isle of Barra HS9 5XD

A traditional stone cottage with a pretty garden, close to the sea, guests at Tigh na Mara enjoy views of Castlebay harbour. Originally built in the early 1900s, it was established as a guesthouse in 1959 by Linda MacLean’s granny before she took over in 1991 alongside her husband Archie. An ideal winter retreat for exploring the rugged Barra coastline made famous by the film Whisky Galore. Local makers stock the Bùth Bharraigh social enterprise hub nearby with food, gifts, books and jewellery. Boat trips to Mingulay depart from the slipway that’s a short walk from the house which serves as a snug, warm and cheerful winter hideaway. PT

Coille Na Creig Lodges, Inverness

Kilmuir Road, Kimuir, Inverness IV1 3ZG

Relax in luxury Canadian style lodges set in idyllic woodland on Black Isle. A ten-minute drive from Inverness you will find this relaxed and restful holiday location in the Highlands. The two lodges were built from sturdy Douglas-Fir trees, blending in with the natural landscape. Heron Lodge has a south-facing terrace with a hot tub and decking with a wood-burning stove inside. Moorhen Lodge looks out towards a small lochen. Both sit in 12 acres of Craigbreck Wood, a secluded location for a romantic getaway or a peaceful family holiday surrounded by walking trails and cycle paths to explore on crisp, frosty days. PT