HOUSE FOR SALE!

*Ideal for a B&B or small Guest House*

Well, it's official: our house is now 'on the market'. Here's an idea of the schedule I'm planning.

The view from my sofa:

in mid-summer, the sun sets directly in my line of vision.

Every single night, the sky displays God's glory to me in a different array of colours and cloud formations.

In all my years of living here, I have never tired of soaking in the beauty of the sun setting.

You see? Different ...

but always beautiful.

And then again, we have beauty in the mornings.

On cold winter mornings, sometimes the sky lights up as though it's on fire.

On fire...

On other mornings, the scene is more serene, and even the rams seem to wish to simply savour the peace and tranquility of the morning.

A short walk from the house on an April morning can allow for this beauty ...

and in the evening, the same walk will not disappoint

As you can tell, I seem to forget that this is about our house. We don't own the beach, the sky, nor the beauty around us. We aren't selling them ... but whoever buys our home has the added bonus of all this beauty thrown into the package.

And so I must move inside ...

GROUND FLOOR

Utility Room

Utility Room

Not seen is a door leading to a W/C, and another door leading to a large shoe/jacket cupboard/drying room. The Utility Room also leads into a double integral garage with electric up-and-over door.

Kitchen - Diner

This large kitchen has an integral dishwasher, and large integral fridge. The Rangemaster has two electric ovens, one electric grill, and six gas burners on top. (It's not very formal, but can I just say .... I love it! Thank you.)

The dining area of the kitchen is bright and is spacious enough to fit a large extended table. 

The sitting area of the kitchen has a multi-fuel stove, and is possibly my favourite place in the house (along with my sofa in the Family Room).

Family Room

The large windows afford views straight 'down the croft' and onto the Atlantic.

This is where the summer sunsets are savoured by Moi.

Lounge

- a large, more formal room,

its large windows make it bright, and give views from West to North East - out towards the Atlantic Ocean, across to the Butt of Lewis, and over to Fivepenny, to the North-east.

Main Bathroom

 Office (or Bedroom 6)

Bedroom 1

...and en suite

 (excuse the colouring in the photo. I'm not quite sure what went wrong!)

Bedroom 2 (Guest room)

Bedroom 3

Hallway

FIRST FLOOR

Landing

I love this bright, sunny spot - ideal for a quiet read

Bedroom 4

A large double bedroom, with ample space

for sleeping ...

...and living!

(This room also has an en-suite which is not shown)

Bedroom 5

 And so you have photos of each of the rooms. I have not shown cupboards (large, double, shelved cupboard, and a single, shelved cupboard, both in the downstair hallway). Bedroom 5 also has a large cupboard off it, and though it's used simply as a cupboard, it is plumbed and wired for an en-suite.

Yes, I'm outside again ...

What the house photos cannot show is how safe and secure a person feels living here. I don't think there could be a better place in which to bring up children. 

The district of Ness sits at the Northernmost part of the Isle of Lewis. It has a real community spirit, and boasts a delightful primary school, a sports hall with 10-pin bowling, and a swimming pool. We have a local amateur football team, and there are many sporting opportunities for young (and not-so-young folk). Here in Ness, we also have a wonderful cafe, Cafe Sonas, which serves delicious locally produced and caught food, and a range of other small, local businesses.

There are two shops, selling groceries, fresh baking, petrol etc,, a laundrette, and a delightful Post Office. In addition, we also have a local historical society, churches, and community groups.

Ness is half-an-hour's drive (25 miles) from the island's main town of Stornoway.

 This is not our beach, of course, but it's what I think of as Our Beach. Stunningly beautiful when the weather is calm and also (maybe more so) when the waves crash right over the Eye of the Butt of Lewis.

If you are at all interested in buying this unique home, and wish to know more about it, please feel free to get in touch...

You can Private Message me on Homeschool on the Croft's Facebook page;

You can leave a comment here, and I'll answer you (please leave a contact email if you wish me to email you. I'll delete the email address from the comments section as soon as I use it.)

You can email me at anneemag23@aol.com;

And the official Hebridean Estate Agency can be found by clicking on the link.

Or, if you happen to be passing, feel free to drop by ... that's the Lewis way of doing things after all!

UPDATE: I have photos of the outside of the house now :)

Join me on a Highlands Road Trip ...

While I was away (by the way, I'm home now - yeah, I know, even I can barely keep up with where I am, but for now I'm home), the Builder and I took a wee run around the Stratherrick and Loch Ness areas.

(And before I go any further, y'all DO know that a 'run' means a trip in the car....? None of you actually imagined for a minute that I was, you know, actually running? Phew, glad y'all were on the right tracks because after all, y'all know me well enough by now to know that I only run in emergency situations, and even then for a maximum of ten yards or so. Anyway, back to our car trip...)


I feel a bit the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king ..esque. After all, I love the scenery here - the beaches, the sunsets, the moor and such like. Y'all know I love my island. But it seems like no sooner have we decided to move than here I am singing the praises of the scenery in another part of Scotland. Of course, the simple truth is this: Scotland is beautiful. Whether it's our beaches in Lewis, or the hills and lochs of the Great Glen, Scotland is stunningly scenic.

I have to be honest - its beauty just takes my breath away! Whilst on our road trip, I stopped the car a couple of times to take photos.

Okay, so it was more than a couple of times. A dozen.... or so. Well, what's a person to DO? Everywhere I looked, the beauty screamed out to stop, savour, and photograph. Except it didn't scream. The scenery I beheld doesn't scream. It is strong, and silent.

And very, very beautiful.

Looking down onto Loch Ruthven. 

The hills, the emptiness, the isolated croft house ... so Scottish, so emotive.

Those who live in this home are not so isolated nowadays. The internet, roads, and transport mean that they can speak to people and meet with them on a daily basis. But when I see these kinds of scenes, my mind always imagines what it was like in the earlier part of the 20th century, and in earlier times. Was the lady of the house lonely? Did she feel the isolation? Or was it so 'normal' that she didn't ever stop and think of it? Was she so busy raising her brood, gathering eggs, cooking and cleaning that she didn't have a minute of her day to feel loneliness?

I guess she may have had seasons of her life when life was busy, and other times when her distance from others may have been more keenly felt.

Of course, I have no way of knowing ... but these are often my thoughts driving though Highland Scotland.

I don't wish to bore you with an overdose of photos,

but I can't but give you some glimpses of what I saw.

Driving through Stratherrick, we passed the Free Presbyterian church. Again, my imagination saw past days of Godly men and women meeting to gather here each Lord's Day. I'm not sure if a congregation still meets here, but if they don't, then the people will have transport to drive to other villages or towns. 

And just beyond the church was this memorial.

To the glory of God and in memory of the men from Stratherrick who fell in the Great War 1914 - 1918

Their name shall live forever.

Bidh an ainm agus an cliù buan.

You fed up of photos yet?

Another isolated home; another opportunity for my thoughts to run riot.

I stopped the car every mile or so (and that's a lot of stops when we were driving a lot of miles ;) ). I could have stopped the car every yard or so!

We drove through the village of Foyers, which is now a definite must-visit-here-in-the-summer place. It was so pretty, and just beyond, almost hidden from our view was this campsite.

Right on the shores of Loch Ness.

What a fantastic time the holidaymakers must have been having over their Easter holiday with beautifully sunny weather over the past days.

And then, finally, we ourselves came alongside Loch Ness.

The sun was just dipping below the hills on the western side of the Loch.

Through the gorse bushes and the branches, you can (almost!) see Urquart Castle and the picturesque village of Drumnadrochit.

And just as Loch Ness ends and Loch Dochfour begins, directly across from Aldourie Castle Estate, is this bonny building.

I've yet to find out what it is, or was, but I shall make it my business to find out and will let y'all when I find out. 

And so there you have it. I'm so glad you were able to join us on our wee run the other evening. Methinks there will be plenty more to follow ...