‘When the crowd is going south, your inner mind might tell you that your goal lies to the north. Then go the unpopular way; go north.’
Oluwole Komolafe

The path is never obvious when you are cut from your plan by circumstances outwith your control. With our kids grown and independent, it seemed a good time to reflect on life. Our location in the south west of Edinburgh was chosen because of the proximity of countryside and the reputation of schools. Life was comfortable and there were strong connections to family and friends in the area, as well as involvement in the local community. Our work lives had changed with my retirement from the Fire Service and the finishing of Steph’s business, which had run its course.
For some time we had been exploring parts of Scotland we didn’t know so well. At the same time, we were looking at small holiday properties that we could afford to buy, even if they needed some work. We quickly realised that we didn’t have a budget for anything that was easily reachable from Edinburgh, so we expanded our search to look at the islands as well. This took us to Sanday and Lewis on trips to look at property. Along the way Steph suggested Assynt. She had hill walked in the area and stayed in the youth hostel at Achmelvich.
A couple of trips up to Assynt and we started negotiation on the ‘Old Coastguard Station’ in Lochinver, which had just come on the market. It was within budget and we saw potential. It was to be a project for weekends and holidays, so Steph’s aunt and uncle’s touring caravan was bought (and kindly delivered by Judy and David!), to facilitate the renovation accommodation.


We spoke to the architect Sam Foster during a community project meeting at Harlaw reservoir and he kindly agreed to see us through planning and presented us with great options and ideas. The parameters he set for an eco building with low toxicity, we strived to achieve during the build.
The thought of living in the Highlands, not just holidaying, was always a topic of discussion. Maybe it was time to take a brave pill and do something we had talked about every year since the kids were small. Move to the north west.
An area we were very fond of was a part of Scotland that we had spent some time in, nearly every summer. School holidays would see us load the car with everything needed for a couple of weeks in Ardnamurchan. A friend Tracey would let us have their family croft house in Strontian, so off we would head with bikes on the roof, towing a boat, for our summer trip.
So we searched in Strontian for a property and having swallowed the red pill, put our own house on the market. We found a croft in Strontian and after a couple of visits with the crofters and some negotiation we agreed a price. The entry date was to be confirmed, once the crofters had finalised an entry date for their new place. Our house duly sold and then fate struck a cruel blow for Linda the crofter, who was tragically killed in an accident on the croft. Her partner decided he no longer wanted to sell. We were homeless!
What to do? After a lot of panic and frequent searches of the internet, we decided to take stock and head to Lochinver for a while, staying in the caravan. If it had been weekends only, I think it would have taken us 20 years but we were there, so things moved slightly faster.
As it was cramped ( to say the least!) in the caravan and as we had some building materials in the building, we thought we would start with a garage. With Charlie Cowan on board, the base got going, and with the arrival of a team from Yorkshire, the garage took only a day to put up. Things were starting to happen. Once we tracked them down, Lochinver Joinery (Ian McLeod and Hughie Mathieson) then stepped in and took our hand with the renovation.
The Ross brothers from Dundonnel came and did stone and brickwork, They joined the two garages together with a new doorway and formed the opening for the new picture window. Our oldest son Angus was visiting and gave us a hand putting the window in.



The opening up of the roof meant a beam going in, more precision with Charlie and his forklift.
This opened up the ceiling. With the re-roofing underway it was time for the site inspector to take a break.


The mezzanine was created and staircase ready to go in.



With porch assembled and the new concrete floor laid, we were getting there. Got to keep your new floor clean though.


It was time for plaster. Fortunately a local keeper (Tom Oxley) who was also a plasterer was ‘game’ to help us out. Tom did a great job in unusually high summer temperatures with Keith labouring.


Steph is always keen to grow things so we formed an allotment.
The problem with growing stuff here is the deer. Duncan Hutchison (who attempted a single handed row of the Atlantic) sorted the problem with a fence.


So with three new additions to the place (and Steph building a hen-house from building scraps) we were ready to paint inside and out.




We are done!