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

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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A breakfast plate with croissants, a jar of jam from Caithness Summer Fruits, and a milk jug | The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Noss Head - Family-friendly self-catering Holiday Cottage NC500

Will my Scottish B&B or Holiday Cottage be cancelled?

The short answer is “you will probably be fine”. You can always make a back-up booking at a chain hotel with a fully-flexible cancellation policy –  you can cancel it as soon as the licence comes through for the B&B, Apartment, or Holiday Cottage. This blog post explains …
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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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3 Steps for finding the perfect place to stay in Scotland

You want to find the perfect places to stay for your Scotland trip so you’ll have great experiences and wonderful memories. But Google shows big sites and chain hotels before anything else so the hidden gems are truly hidden, so how can you find quirky or unusual places …
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Scottish Tourist Board - Four Stars

BLOG: Shooting Stars!

We’re just delighted to have been awarded the Scottish Tourist Board’s Four Stars for Self-Catering. It’s a great tribute to Joy, Steph and Kim who look after the Cottage, and to Steve and Paul who do the maintenance. And to the Cottage itself! The star rating shows we …
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The Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage is Chamber of Commerce Member of the Week

NEWS: Chamber of Commerce Member of the Week

I am really chuffed that the Lighthouse Cottage team of me, Joy and Kim have been recognised by our local Chamber of Commerce for the work we’ve been doing on Green Tourism and spreading the word about Eco Travel. Here is the announcement by the Caithness Chamber of …
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WRITE UP: Places to visit on the NC500 Route in 2023 – Noss Head

A lovely write-up of the headland, the Lighthouse and the Castle by Scotland’s Route 66. (When people ask where we live, I sometimes cannot resist saying “In a book about the Famous Five!”) Scotland’s Route 66: Places to visit on the NC500 Route in 2023 – Noss Head