The cottage is extremely well equipped, including Sky TV, Wi-Fi, DVD player etc. Local amenities, including shop, hotel & Post Office within walking distance. All utilities, bedding etc included. Pets welcome. The Old Church is a wonderful house bursting with character. It was built in 1895 and converted to a house in the early 1990's. Many of the walls have oak panelling, there is a magnificent picture window in the lounge overlooking the bay and a beautiful oak staircase. It is situated in the pretty village of Ardvasar on the Sleat Peninsula (The Garden of Skye) only a mile from the ferry terminal at Armadale. There is an excellent hotel within easy walking distance which has a restaurant and also serves bar meals. There is also a local shop which is very well stocked.
Photographs & details about the house can be found by clicking on the "Images" link on the left hand side.
In summary the house has:-
4 bedrooms, 1 king size with en-suite (new in 2012), 2 king sized/twins, 1 bunk bedded room (downstairs)
2 further bathrooms, one with shower over bath (downstairs) and one with shower (refurbished in 2012)
"L" shaped kitchen with informal dining table, multi-fuel stove, lounge area and cooking area.
Utility room with washing machine, tumble drier, dishwasher & large fridge/freezer.
Large formal dining room with double sofa bed (a privacy screen is provided)
"L" shaped lounge with magnificent window overlooking Sound of Sleat, Sky TV & ample seating
WiFi, DVD player/recorder, iPod docking station, films, games and literally hundreds of books!
Pretty "cottage style" garden which is fully enclosed.
Skye is an incredibly popular destination for holidays - if you have been you will understand why. The scenery is unsurpassed and wildlife abounds. Otters are regularly seen along with seals and dolphins. Anyone who saw the 1000 strong pod of dolphins in July 2010 will surely never forget it. There are sea eagles and even golden eagles.
The Sleat Peninsula on Skye is very different from other areas of the island - the land is very fertile so the landscape is much greener and luxuriant. The Old Church is only 22 miles from the Skye Bridge and 15 miles from Broadford. It also has the advantage of being close to the Ferry Terminal - it is well worth making the trip across to Mallaig to be able to explore the beautiful countryside around Arisaig and further inland - there are some fantastic beaches. The house is also in easy reach of the pretty village of Plockton and the nearby Eilean Donan castle. There are several excellent restaurants within hotels along the Sleat peninsula. The Ardvasar Hotel is a one minute walk from The Old Church where you can be certain of a warm welcome and good food from Richard and his staff.
In late 2011 we took our courage in our hands and decided to undertake a major building project at the house so that we could add an en-suite bathroom. To do this we had to have the existing wood burning stove taken out with its associated flue that went up through the bedroom!! Shall we say having the flue in the bedroom did rather restrict where the bed could be positioned - i.e. one place only. So the old stove went and was replaced with a new (and highly efficient) one with the flue safely embedded in the metre thick walls. This meant that unused space above the utility room could be turned into an en-suite shower room. At the same time we decided to get the main upstairs bathroom completely refurbished. Unfortunately a damp wall dictated extra work and new windows in the kitchen along with a big bill. Finally - to re-create a little bit of history, we chose to disguise the flue for the new stove with a mock bell tower complete with silent bell! Many of our guests return year after year – let’s hope they like what they see! Photographs will be available late March 2012.