A friend of mine was to be married in Ullapool and my partner and I decided to make a holiday of it. Ullapool has a good selection of hotels, B&Bs and guest houses, but we wanted to rent a self-catering cottage, and chose the Leckmelm Holiday Cottages because of their commitment to Green Tourism, and because they offered a very reasonable rate. The cottages are situated a couple of miles outside Ullapool (we ventured into the village on foot and found it to be somewhat further than the suggested three miles, up a main road with no footpath, and with a few alarming moments thanks to drivers putting their collective foot down). Accessing these cottages is easier if you have a car, though the village does have a very good taxi service.

There are several cottages to choose from, and we booked a 2-star cottage, Campbeltown number 2, advertised with views of Loch Broom. And what views! Standing on the doorstep on a crisp, quiet October morning, with nothing but the loch and the mountains around us, was a humbling experience. The cottage itself was better than we could ever have expected – and bigger than our flat in Dublin! There was a good-sized living room with a proper fireplace (they supplied us with a piece of wood to start us off, but we did some foraging in the nearby forest and found plenty more, and you can buy logs from the farm shop). The kitchen was small but perfectly formed, with everything you could possibly need, from the kettle and toaster to the butter dish and bread bin, and of course, the all-important corkscrew. No microwave, but they warn you of that in the brochure.

The main bedroom was roomy and had plenty of storage space, and there was a second small room with bunk beds – perfect for a family. The bathroom had both a bath and an electric shower, and all towels and linen were provided. We were expected to recycle paper, glass and tins, and boxes were provided for stowing them. There was also a small composting bin in the kitchen, Ecover cleaning products for the kitchen and bathroom, and extra blankets for those cold Highland evenings (the heating was set to come on in the morning and evening, but with a roaring fire, we were never cold). The place was very clean and everything had its place.

The decor was dated, but it was all very comfortable and after a while, we didn’t notice the orange walls and frilly lampshades at all! One thing I'd recommend is to be sure you bring enough food supplies because there are no shops nearby – you'll need to drive into Ullapool, where there's a CostCutters and a Somerfield's.

A great experience, and highly recommended.