Approaching Mingary Castle is a deep dive into wilderness. Settled upon a promontory on the West Coast of Ardnamurchan, this is a place rarely explored though romantically picturestuque. The rooms are idyllic, the restaurant even more so. Using the produce harvested locally at the West Ardnamurchan Community Garden, the tastes are just exquisite. 

Deep, clear, and swimming with all sorts of marine life, from porpoises and dolphins to seals and flame shells, Loch Sunart draws a select crowd of kayakers, divers, and picnickers to its forest fringed shores. This long, twisting sea loch sits on Scotland’s rugged west coast, tucked between the Ardnamurchan and Morvern peninsulas, just a splash across the water from the Isle of Mull.

Part croft, part restaurant, and all heart, Croft 3 serves up whatever’s freshest from land and sea in a beautifully restored barn above Loch Tuath. By day, you might find crab-filled focaccia, kouign-amann pastries, or langoustines with aioli; by night, it’s three courses of seasonal magic, from half-lobster mornay to chickpea panisses. Sundays are all about the two-course roast, with meats, nut roasts, and glugs of gravy to go round. 

Incredibly remote, and all the better for it, Borradill takes its name from a legendary Viking warrior. The House sleeps up to six with Scandinavian-Hebridean style, oak floors, huge windows, and a master bedroom that’s difficult to leave (wake to Loch Sunart, and the isles of Mull and Morvern). Tucked higher up the hill, the Cottage sleeps four and has a wood-burning stove, monsoon shower, and a deck with more of those dreamy loch views. Outside, 25 acres of woodland (where some of Europe’s most intact tracts of Atlantic rainforest still sprawl), streams and ponds are full of owls, pine martens, eagles, wild blueberries, chanterelles, and secret forest camps for kids – or grown-ups who want to play, too.