Where to stay along the North Coast 500: Olrig House

In May 2018 we explored the Eastern part of the famous route, the North Coast 500. Due to focussing on my exam in April I was not very organised ahead of this trip, hence the shortened route. I simply found that along the West coast all nice accomodation was booked already - yes, you really need to plan in advance such things in the Highlands.

Luckily I found an available suite at Olrig House near Castletown while browsing on booking.com. It was love at first sight and I simply knew we had to stay there for our wedding anniversary. The house looked stunning from the photos, and I can confirm it is even more beautiful in real life.

We set off very early on a sleepy Wednesday morning from Edinburgh, and Mr Enthusiast drove straight to Castletown, with a few stops along the way (destination guide coming soon). We arrived at Olrig House late afternoon, both knackered from the long drive. The lovely Elaine welcomed us at the house, and after a short tour of the gorgeus building she took us the Garden Suite. Doesn't it look beautiful?

The panelled walls of our suite reminded us of Japan and we had a lovely view of the vast estate gardens from the window. Occasionally we spotted some cute baby bunnies coming super close! We also had a wood burner in the room and a sitting area at the conservatory with tea and coffee. The shower room and toilet opened from the corridor and this was shared with another suite next door. As the neighbouring suite was unoccupied during our stay, we had the bathroom entirely to ourselves.

As we were too tired to go out to eat, Elaine has prepared us a delicious home cooked dinner. It was definitely a good idea pre-ordering it. Our meal was served in the library and games room and it was just the two of us at the candle-lit table - what a perfect setting for our anniversary celebration.

The next morning we woke up refreshed and our breakfast was served at the drawing room, where we had the chance to meet other guests. We went for a full Scottish breakfast, but for those who wanted a lighter meal, there were plently of other options including fruit, yoghurt and cereal. After breakfast we took some time to explore more of the house and the grounds, including the Victorian walled garden.

This wee orangerie was possibly my favourite part of the house and its style very much reminded me of our stay at Kau Manor in Estonia back in December 2017. Mr Enthusiast obviously disagrees with me and thinks they are completely different. However there are at least a few similarities between the two properties: they are both historic manor houses owned by expats and their interiors reflect the owners’ unique style. And I certainly do love places with such character!

Sadly we only spent 1 night at Olrig House - due to its price, it was a special anniversary treat. With hindsight, we could have stayed one more night as it is the perfect base to explore the John O'Groats area.

If you would like to book a suite at Olrig House, you can do so via booking.com or you can book the whole villa via Airbnb.

Acknowledgement: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and purely my own. We paid for our accommodation and this is not a sponsored post.

All photos by The Edinburgh Enthusiast (C)