Gille Buidhe's Broch

Ullapool, Ross-shire, Highland
Self-catering
+44 (0)1854 622368
Visit owner's website

Per night
£192 - £312
Per week
£1340 - £2189

1 bed

Bedroom

1 bedroom

Sleeps

Sleeps 2

Pets welcome

A modern take on an Iron Age roundhouse with stunning sea views in Scotland’s wild west, perfect for couples

Per night
£192 - £312
Per week
£1340 - £2189

Visit the owner's site and book direct with them. No fees or fuss from us.

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£192 - £312 per night

£1340 - £2189 per week

The Experience

It’s quiet here on the Coigach Peninsula, the only sounds the birds, the wind and the waves. Burrow down into squashy sofas and take in the views through the enormous windows or work your way through a stack of books.

Outside, the broch is camouflaged, but interiors are bright and colourful – a lovely relaxing bedroom, modern bathrooms with saunas, a sociable kitchen – with light, beamed ceilings. Sheileagh and Reiner leave their own farmyard eggs, cake and a drop of whisky – they’ve lavished love on the broch down to the last detail, using parts of the old pier built by Sheileagh’s great grandfather in the build.

You’ve got pretty Polbain on your doorstep and Achiltibuie a few miles east, the latter has great spots to eat and trips out to the Summer Isles. Amble along the hills and beaches – there’s a guide in the broch – swim in sea and loch, or hire a kayak and pack a picnic to spend fine days exploring hidden beaches.

Gille Buidhe's Broch - Gallery

We think you'll love

  • The ever-changing views of the sea
  • Staying somewhere quirky
  • Sheileagh’s entertaining local stories
Gille Buidhe's Broch - Gallery

You should know

  • The dining table is rather snug
  • There’s no television
  • It’s some distance (15 miles) to the nearest main road

Essentials

  • EV charger
  • Self check-in
  • Swimming pool
  • Hot tub
  • Garden
  • Open fire / woodburner
  • Breakfast included
  • Breakfast available
  • Meals available
  • Vegetarian meals
  • Oven
  • Parking on premises
  • Free parking nearby
  • Accessible by public transport
  • WiFi
  • Television
  • Central heating
  • Limited mobility
  • Wheelchair access
  • Mobile reception
  • Hob
  • Barbecue
  • Paid parking nearby
  • Air conditioning
  • Relaxation areas
  • Washing machine
  • Tennis court
  • Microwave oven
  • No smoking
  • Credit cards
  • Working farm
  • Owner has pets
  • Electricity included
  • Dishwasher
  • Pets welcome

Family friendly

  • Baby monitor
  • Books and toys
  • Children welcome
  • Babies welcome
  • Stair gates
  • High chair
  • Fire guard
  • Cot available

Nearby

  • Pub/bar within 3 miles
  • Restaurant within 3 miles
  • Shop within 3 miles

Activities

  • Bikes available
  • Food courses
  • Kayaking
  • Other courses
  • Sailing
  • Surfing
  • Wild swimming

Pricing

Nightly price
from £192
Weekly price
from £1340
1 House for 2
From £1921 bed1 bedroom

Information

Booking information

Check in
4pm
Check out
By 9am
Other details
Minimum stay: 6 nights all the year round.
Closed
Rarely.
No smoking
Smoking not permitted anywhere in the property.
Property
This property is part of a working farm or vineyard.
Meals
Pubs/restaurants 2 miles.

Reviews

Poli and Adi

We didn’t want leave… but we had to, so that other people can enjoy this wonderful place 😊


Andy and Ann, Stamford

Sun shines so brightly, silhouetting the islands and reflecting the houses of Polbain, giving them all a yellow hue. The Brochs nestling bodily under their turf roofs and peering out upon the spectacle before them. A warm welcome includes home baked cakes, single malt, freshly laid eggs and tips about where we can get more. Local and amazing ingredients are enjoyed including scallops, crabbies‘, filet steaks, vegetables to die for, decent wine for under £10 a bottle, sausages from Cumberland, Sornoway black pudding and beetroot with apple pickle - we have feasted like Kings!


Liz and Pail, Berkshire

This week has been like a plunge into a especially refreshing pool - such beauty and all at such a different pace. I am even more convinced that this is a „thin“ place, where it’s easier and simpler to connect with its creator! We‘ve enjoyed every moment. Thank you both.


Marion, Ardmore, PA, USA

One is hard put to say anything that has not already been said in praise of the Broch - that and the artwork of visitors. But - here goes our list. The wind, the sun, the clouds, the changing light on the Summer Isles and the sea have transfixed us as we sit morning and night at the „front“ window. The remoteness of Coigach as we explored it has been an experience as never before, such an astonishing sense of isolation and splendour combined. The house itself was exactly what we had hoped for and much more. It is a long journey from Philadelphia, but a journey that has changed our lives!


Kate and Richard, Bath

What a magical spot! The area, the views, the wildlife, the smells are - of course - fantastic… but it is the Brochs and the style with which you have designed and furnished them, which really makes the magic. Thank you for allowing us to stay and for your hospitality We will be back - if you let us!


Location

The neighbourhood

Tiny Polbain is almost as far west as you can go, a charming crofting village with a long row of cottages facing the sea. It’s 22 miles north of Ullapool – the last 15 along a wild, single-track road, but once you’re here there’s no need to travel far. Achiltibuie (three miles) has a great grocer and a handful of restaurants where the food miles are low – Salt Seafood Kitchen is just a few hundred metres from the shore and serves hand-dived scallops and massive langoustines.

Local points of interest from Reiner Luyken

  • Coigach is part of one of Britain's most outstanding National Scenic Areas. You will find nature in abundance. Mountains that rise like huge sculptures out of the heather; the sea in its changing moods; a patchwork of islands. All right in front of you.
  • Gille Buidhe’s Broch is part of a small Highland sheep farm. Some guests helpe with lambing and bottle feed orphan lambs.
  • Hidden roads take you through birch forests and along enchanted lochs to small fishing towns. In Lochinver, you are spoiled for choice for lunch. Ullapool‘s „Dipping Lugger“ boasts a truly deserved 3 rosette culinary excellence award from the AA.
  • Ian MacLeod takes you out to watch seals and, if they around (which they are ever more frequently) dolphins and whales. The sea around The Brochs is a Marine Protected Area. You can observe otters and sea eagles - some of the world's largest eagles.
  • Nearby Stac Pollaidh, one of Scotland’s most iconic mountains, is an easy climb. If you fancy fly fishing for brown trout, sea trout or char, there are no better places than the lochs a short drive inland. We can advise you about permits and tuition.
  • The greatest thing is perhaps just to do nothing. To look out through the huge panorama window and watch the ever changing sky. In the evening, you have the choice of three places for a meal within a radius of two miles.

Introducing

Reiner Luyken

Sheileagh and Reiner Luyken have lived at Polbain all their married life and opened their brochs to guests in 2011. They’re a font of fabulous stories: Sheileagh’s a local lass well-versed in the history of Achiltibuie, while Reiner, a trained musical instrument builder and salmon fisher, spent many years afterwards dodging bullets as a war correspondent for the German weekly, Die Zeit; he’s now turned his talents to crofting. They’ve a palpable enthusiasm for their project and live onsite with their collie and border terrier.