Keiss Harbour House

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House |5 bedrooms |Sleeps 12

Wick in Caithness

From £450 per week

Short stays welcome

Changeover flexible

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Key info  Beach or lakeside relaxation, car advised, pets welcome

About the home

Keiss Harbour House is a stunning, contemporary-styled house created from the historic harbour fishing station on the edge of the Caithness village of Keiss, some 12 miles south of John O'Groats. The five bedrooms and spacious reception rooms make it ideal for entertaining groups of friends or family gatherings. This area is ideal for those seeking an active holiday, with surfing and golf being local specialities, or for a more relaxing break, with sandy beaches, fishing and many historical and archaeological attractions in easy reach. This is also an ideal base for trips to the Orkney Islands. Or why not just sit in an armchair in front of one of the three real fires, looking at the spectacular views out over the sea and drinking your complimentary bottle of local whisky!


The Keiss village pub is five minutes walk away, as is the village shop, which sells useful supplies. Ten minutes drive away is the local centre of Wick, with a wide range of amenities and shops, and an excellent Heritage Museum.

Facilities

Further details indoors:
Keiss Harbour House forms part of the historic Keiss Harbour, and was built as the fishing station for the harbour. The building was restored and converted into a house around five years ago, and has a dramatic combination of history and contemporary styling. The house directly overlooks the harbour, which is still used by fishing boats. On sunny days, the harbour provides a delightful area for sitting outside, watching the boats come and go.

The reception rooms in Keiss Harbour House are located upstairs, to take advantage of the sea views. The upstairs rooms comprise:
• Spectacular ‘great hall’ style living/dining room with handmade wooden table to seat up to 15 people, two seating areas with sofas and armchairs, with an open fire and a wood burning stove
• Hall with open fire and small dining table and 4 chairs for more intimate meals
• Fully equipped kitchen
• Shower room with toilet

The living/dining room, kitchen and hall all benefit from spectacular sea views.

The bedrooms and bathrooms are downstairs, accessed from a beautifully lit corridor:
• Three double bedrooms (two with balconies)
• One twin bedroom
• Bunk room with two sets of bunks
• Shower-room with steam room facility and toilet
• Bathroom with hand-held shower and toilet
• Laundry area with washing machine, iron and tumble drier

The bedrooms and bathroom all benefit from spectacular sea views.



The house has the following facilties:
• Two open fires and a stove
• Steam room
• Table tennis table
• Stereo with iPod dock
• Games and jigsaws, books
• Underfloor heating
• Locked store for surfing gear, fishing equipment etc
• Logs and coal provided

Further details outdoors:
Keiss Harbour House forms part of the historic harbour in the village of Keiss. The house directly overlooks the harbour, which is still used by fishing boats. On sunny days, the harbour provides a delightful area for sitting outside, watching the boats come and go.

Further details

• The house is located on a harbour, and there is therefore deep water nearby

Conditions

• Dogs are welcome by arrangement, free of charge, but in the reception rooms only please
• 20% deposit is payable to secure the booking, with the remainder due 6 weeks before your holiday
• Smoking outside only please
• Logs and coal for the fires are provided

Photos

 

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Keiss Harbour House

 

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View of the house and harbour

 

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Bedroom

 

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Seating area in living/dining room

The Scottish Highlands region

The far northern highlands of Caithness are an unexplored gem of Scotland. From the never-ending sea and sky around you to the spectacular cliffs and beaches of the coastline and expansive peatlands of the interior, you are in a new world. There are fascinating archaeological remains and historic houses and museums to visit, surfing, golfing, walking, and easy access to the Orkney Islands. The stunning northern coast of Scotland and the north-western Highlands are also within easy reach.

The Caithness / Wick area

Whether you are on a family holiday, sporting break or get-together of friends, you will find plenty to do with easy access from the house.

The sandy links course of Wick Golf Club is five minutes drive away, as is the surfers mecca of Sinclair's Bay. There are further renowned surfing beaches, around Thurso and Strathy, within an hours drive. Kayaking and canoeing is also a great activity in the area. Fishing on nearby rivers and lochs is available, or you can fish off the harbour wall!

The riding stables (Achalone Activities) in nearby Halkirk offers lessons, hacking and trekking for all abilities, and for the adventurous, there are exhilarating boat trips along the Caithness Coast from Wick Harbour and wildlife boat trips in the Pentland Firth from John o' Groats and Scrabster.

The Queen Mother's house, the Castle of Mey, is a moving and interesting place to visit, within half an hour's drive. Here you can buy food and other items from the Mey Selections range, set up by Prince Charles to promote the local produce of Caithness.

Heritage Museums in Wick and Thurso provide a fascinating insight into the history of Caithness, and numerous archaeological sites such as the Cairns of Camster and Yarrows Archaeological Trail show the ancient civilisation of the area.

A day trip to see the sights of Orkney is a must, with Orkney less than an hour away by ferry from Gills Bay, 15 minutes drive from the house. There is also a pedestrian ferry from John o'Groats, just 8 miles from the house, which links with minibus trips on Orkney. The Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, the Italian Chapel and the neolithic remains at Skara Brae are just two of the attractions there.

The 'real' most notherly point of the British mainland, Dunnet Head, is well worth a visit for the spectacular views over the Pentland Firth to the Orkneys and across Caithness and Sutherland. Duncansby Head, the north-eastern point of the mainland, is also spectacular, with immense sea cliffs rising from the crashing waves.

The celebrated Whaligoe Steps, to the south of Wick, are a must. Here you can see how hard life was for the herring fishers, and imagine the fisher lassies carrying their creels up the 360 steps from the shore to the top of the steps.

The sandy beach of Sinclair's Bay is a 10 minute walk from the house, while numerous other beaches are found closeby, including Dunnet Bay and Melvich Beach on the north coast. Seals are often seen on the beaches in the autumn, particularly near Duncansby Head. The nearby Dunnet Forest has walking trails suitable for all abilities, and an interesting range of sculptures and artworks in the forest.

The local town of Wick has a full range of shops, including a good butcher (‘Harrold’), several bakers, good wine shop (‘Bin Ends’), Tesco and a Co-op. Harrold butchers stock delicious local ‘Mey Selections’ products. Tours of the Pulteney distillery in Wick are available, and provide a good wet-weather activity!

How to get there

Keiss Harbour House What's nearby: Attractions Restaurants Click map icons for more information

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Fly to Wick Airport, just 10 minutes drive away, with flights from Edinburgh with flybe.com and flights from Aberdeen with easternairways.com.

Or fly to Inverness (around 3 hours drive away) from many destinations around the UK and then get the train or hire a car for the remainder of your journey.

Travelling by rail is a great way to arrive in Caithness, with Wick railway station just 10 minutes drive from the house. Trains to Wick come from Inverness, which is linked by rail to a number of cities and towns in the UK. The train journey from Inverness to Wick is a spectacular trip though some of Scotland's most remote countryside. The sleeper train from London to Inverness is a wonderful way to arrive, see firstscotrail.co.uk for details.

There are also bus links to Wick from Inverness, see citylink.co.uk for details.

We recommend dunnets.co.uk for car hire in Wick, while a number of car hire companies have a base in Inverness.

And if you choose to drive, the house is easily accessible, with almost all of the route to Wick using the A9 from Glasgow/Edinburgh.

Activities near Caithness

Guestbook for Keiss Harbour House

• ‘A wonderful, peaceful break away from it all’
• ‘Loved the house, thank you so much for letting us stay here’
• ‘The perfect honeymoon location, we will be back with friends…’

Rental prices

Prices for group size 4
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
low season	5 Jan 12	31 Mar 12	450£ 450	0-	0-	1 Week
mid season	31 Mar 12	30 Jun 12	550£ 550	0-	0-	1 Week
high season	30 Jun 12	1 Sep 12	850£ 850	0-	0-	1 Week
mid season	1 Sep 12	27 Oct 12	550£ 550	0-	0-	1 Week
low season	27 Oct 12	23 Dec 12	450£ 450	0-	0-	1 Week
Christmas	23 Dec 12	29 Dec 12	850£ 850	0-	0-	1 Week
New Year	29 Dec 12	6 Jan 13	1350£ 1350	0-	0-	1 Week
	6 Jan 13	16 Mar 13	475£ 475	0-	0-	1 Week

Prices for group size 12
Period	From	To	Weekly	Nightly rate		Minimum  stay
				Weekday	Weekend
low season	5 Jan 12	31 Mar 12	550£ 550	0-	0-	1 Week
mid season	31 Mar 12	30 Jun 12	650£ 650	0-	0-	1 Week
high season	30 Jun 12	1 Sep 12	1150£ 1150	0-	0-	1 Week
mid season	1 Sep 12	27 Oct 12	650£ 650	0-	0-	1 Week
low season	27 Oct 12	23 Dec 12	550£ 550	0-	0-	1 Week
christmas	23 Dec 12	29 Dec 12	850£ 850	0-	0-	1 Week
New Year	29 Dec 12	6 Jan 13	1350£ 1350	0-	0-	1 Week
low season	6 Jan 13	16 Mar 13	575£ 575	0-	0-	1 Week

NB: Prices may be subject to change at the advertiser's discretion.

Reduced rates may be available for couples. Short stays may also be available during low season. Please contact us for more information.

All logs and coal are included in the rates.

There is no charge for dogs.

Complimentary bottle of local whisky included!

Availability

See below for next 9 months' availability - to see the next 24 months click here

Contact the owner

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3 years listed You are contacting Anna Webster Landline n/a Mobile +44 07775738166 Languages spoken The owner is based in the United Kingdom and has advertised with Holiday Lettings since 2009. This house has so far received 0 reviews.