Ullapool, an appealing port and resort in Wester Ross, the fishing port of Ullapool in Wester Ross comes alive in summer when it receives a large influx of holidaymakers. Many move on by ferry to Stornoway on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, but it is a good base for exploring the area, and has a marvellous setting jutting out into Loch Broom. Attractions include the award-winning Ullapool Museum and a multitude of craft shops and galleries.

Email Leckmelm Holiday Cottages enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com  

Other places to stay in and around Ullapool

Welcome!

Leckmelm is a traditionally run Highland Farm fifty-five miles North of Inverness, on the shores of Loch Broom. Ullapool, a thriving West Coast village is three miles away: it boasts a variety of shops, cafes and restaurants to suit all tastes.

A holiday at Leckmelm can be tailored to suit your needs, couples, families with children, groups, climbing clubs and pets we can accommodate you. The cottages are open all year.

For those who enjoy the challenge of the outdoors there are numerous Munros and Mountains nearby as well as other activities such as pony trekking, sailing and nature watching. In Ullapool there is a leisure centre with 25m pool, sauna, climbing wall and kid's bouncy castle.

Leckmelm Holiday Cottages Accommodation

We have let cottages for holidays since 1962 which are quality assured by the Scottish Tourist Board and the Green Tourism Business Scheme. Many guests come back year after year - we aim to make you feel welcome and treat Leckmelm as your second home.

WI-FI has reached our exchange and we are pleased to announce that WI-FI is now provided in Leckmelm House included in the price.

There are ten different houses on the estate for let. For those looking for a relaxed space - Lochside Cottages which sleep from 2 to 14 and for something really special Leckmelm House. Beds are cosy and comfy with memory foam mattresses and we can hire cots with linen if required too for babies.

Included in the price is linen, towels, heating, electricity and a small bag of logs. We strongly believe that you should approach love and cooking with reckless abandon while on holiday - there are no microwaves provided in any of the cottages except Leckmelm House.

Leckmelm House
Leckmelm House is a modem villa set amongst larch and pine trees on the hill above the Campbeltown Cottages. Built in traditional stone the house has landscaped grounds and a paved terrace suitable for outdoor dining in the summer months.

The focal point of the house has to be the sumptuous drawing room with its central log-burning fireplace. Sit and relax in front of the fire, have a game of chess; or just enjoy the peace and quiet - there are forest trails on tracks adjacent to the house suitable for walking or cycling.

For the darker winter evenings there is a 32 inch flatscreen satellite TV, incoming telephone line and free WIFI for internet users. There is an oak dining table that seats up to six people in comfort.

The well appointed kitchen has a breakfast bar for quick meals, dishwasher, oven, hobs and lots of storage space. All cutlery, plates, cooking pans and utensils are provided. The kitchen is well equipped with food processor, bread making machine and a large selection of cooking equipment.

The adjacent utility room houses the boiler, clothes washer and dryer and can be used for storage and as a drying room. All electrical appliances are A or B rated for energy and water efficiency.

There are two bedrooms. The twin room has pine beds, wardrobe and chest of drawers, the double bedroom has a sumptuous king sized bed, chest of drawers and wardrobe. There are televisions in each bedroom with digital channels and DVD player in twin room.

There are two bathrooms: the principal bathroom has a spa bath and WC, in addition there is a separate shower room with walk in shower and WC.

Lochside Cottages
There are three Lochside Cottages which are situated on the edge of Lochbroom adjacent to Leckmelm Farm. The cottages were completely rebuilt in 2004 to provide the ultimate comfort from which you can enjoy armchair nature watching over the elemental waters of Loch Broom. Otters, porpoises, seals, dolphins, sheep and pigs are regularly spotted by visitors.

The three cottages are terraced with private, secluded entrances, an access ramp for those with limited mobility and are on a single storey. Each cottage has excellent views over the Loch, No 3 looks towards the Fannichs, No 2 across the Loch to Loggie and No 1 westwards to Ullapool and the Summer Isles beyond.

There are two bedrooms in each cottage, one with a double bed and the other with twin beds. In Lochside Number 2, there is a further twin bedded room. Cottage 1 and 3 have a fully tiled bathroom with power shower over bath and WC. Cottage 2 has a bathroom and an en suite shower room and WC in the double room. All bathrooms have heated towel rails.

The open plan kitchen/diner and living room in each cottage has a twin aspect view and takes in the best of the views and the sun. Kitchens are fully equipped with a compact dishwasher in cottages 1 and 3 and family size dishwasher in cottage 2. The TV's all have Sky TV and have a scart attachment should you wish to bring your own DVD player or games console.

The cottages have solid chestnut wooden flooring throughout and have zone controlled underfloor heating which means that even in the deep mid winter snow you will feel warmth beneath your feet. Of course there is an open fire to provide a focal point to the sitting room and extra warmth if required.

The cottages are equipped to a three star standard throughout including a washer/dryer, sofas, armchairs, TV and books to read. There is a dining table with chairs in each cottage as well as outdoor garden furniture for eating in the summer months.

Adjacent to the cottages is the old walled garden of Leckmelm House an area for children to play on the toy tractors or in the tipi. The sea shore walks from the door of your cottage are enjoyed by dogs and humans alike and can take you directly to Leckmelm Gardens. Especially suitable for children who like to beachcomb and visit the farm yard animals. If you have your own boat or canoe it is possible to launch it from the Seventeenth Century pier at Leckmelm Bay.

If you are looking for somewhere to get away from it all and a place to enjoy the elemental landscape of the hills winter or summer these are the cottages for you. The only sounds you will hear are those of the waves lapping at the shore.

The Farm
The farm as it is today was established in 1880. For many years it provided a variety of produce for the area: veg, milk, butter and oats, but by the 1980s it had steamlined to just cattle and sheep as supermarkets took over and people bought for convenience.

Today we are trying to return to a more mixed farm as people now recognise the importance of looking after the environment, eating local food and supporting local farms. Currently we sell lamb, pork, turkey and veg to local and visiting customers.

This year we hope to get some indigenous milking cattle and produce a small selection of dairy produce.

Veg Box Scheme
All veg are grown bio-dynamically with the only additions being seaweed from the shore and composted animal manure from our farm.

Veg boxes are produced in the season. A typical box will feed a family of four and contain a variety of produce available in season. Beetroot, salad leaves, spinach, tatties, courgette, peas, parsnip, cauliflour, carrot, broad beans, cucumber, sweetcorn, rhubarb, gooseberries, raspberries, swiss chard. None of the veg is bought in, it all comes from the farm.

In 2007 we have supplied a local NHS funded Veg Box on Prescription Scheme which subsidises boxes to families with health problems.

Currently our main garden is run by Simon Calder of the Lochbroom and Ullapool Growers Group (a community initiative) and much of their produce is for sale at the weekly Ullapool Market which is outside the Seaforth Pub on a Saturday in the more clement weather. He can also leave veg boxes for collection on arrival at Leckmelm.

Rare Breed Meats
Each year we carefully select a few of our home reared stock for consumption. Each animal is looked after with dignity and respect and fed an organic diet where possible. All animals are treated with natural remedies to maintain vitality and well being.

When piglets are old enough to dig roots they are released into pastureland or forest areas where they live in a semi wild state eating natural roots, acorns as well as their daily ration of home produced feed. More recently a number of intrepid piglets have been transported across the minch to the Isle of Lewis.

We keep a small flock of sheep which contains Highland Mules (Blackface x Blue Face Leicester), Scottish Blackface and North Country Cheviots. These animals are bred either for home fattening by crossing with a suffolk tup or for store lambs by crossing with a cheviot tup. They produce an excellent tasting lamb and are grazed extensively on natural pasture and heather moorland.

The cattle are Highlanders and Aberdeen Angus currently in with an Aberdeen Angus Bull bred by Hamish Polson of Strathpeffer. This year we bred Aberdeen Angus x Highlander calves which we will sell as Store Cattle at Dingwall Auction Mart and keep back some to fatten and mature for meat.

At Christmas we keep a small flock of bronze and white turkeys which are reared free range and sold to local customers.

This year we have just completed a new butchery and larder to increase the volume and quality of products on the farm. We are proud to be selling meat to customers to the farm and to the Arch Inn Seafood Restaurant in Ullapool.

Deer Management
Deer are culled between September and February. Culling is done by an experienced deer stalker who examines the physiology and herd dynamic of each beast to be culled to ensure that the right animals are taken. Vension is sold locally to a game dealer and there is a limited supply here at the Farm.

We let stalking days for Stag and Hind culls.

History of Leckmelm
The first record of Leckmelm still extant is the Battle of Leckmelm in 1585 when the Earl of Sutherland's men waged war against the Clan Gunn. They pursued them as far as Leckmelm where it is reputed there was a skirmish and Clan Gunn were overpowered. It is thought that this took place in a field adjacent to the Farm called Blar Bog (battle field or field of blood in Gaelic).

Land was farmed at the settlements of Blarnahatha, Slioch Malen and Raonachrosaig in the runrig system. In 1832 this changed when the owner at the time Col. Davidson evicted families from Raonachrosaig and enclosed land with drystone dykes to form crofts.

In 1879 a wealthy paper merchant Alexander Pirie took on the estate. He ordered his factor Gauld to give all tenants notice at Martinmas 1880. Tenants were given the option to stay and work for Pirie with no livestock or crops of their own - or leave.

The ensuing evictions were brutal. A young family (Munro) were put out into the snow and all livestock that they had spent years breeding and tending which would have represented a considerable wealth were taken from them. A deaf pauper woman had her house demolished as she was in it and then forced to seek accommodation wherever she could.

Piries’ actions caused uproar in the local community which soon grew into a national debate resulting in the plight of the tenants being raised in Parliament. Allegations of families thrown out into the snow and the destruction of their houses fuelled the widespread anger and resentment.

These were the first stirrings of discontent which were to spread throughout the Highlands and result in the Government setting up The Crofters Commission which looks after the rights of crofters to this day.

However, Pirie's legacy is evident as Leckmelm is one of the few estates in the area which has no crofted land to this day. Today the estate is under different ownership. Since 1958 the Beattie family have aimed to work the farm with a mix of enterprises and now a small community thrives on the Estate.

DIRECTIONS
Leckmelm Holiday Cottages are situated 5 miles East of Ullapool, in the stunning landscape of Wester Ross in the Highlands of Scotland. Though apparently remote, we are easily reached by road, rail and 'plane, and are just 55 minutes away by car from Inverness Dalcross Airport.

By Car:
From Inverness it takes approximately 55 minutes to reach Leckmelm: take the A9 to Tore roundabout. Take the A835 towards Ullapool. Leckmelm is located 3 miles South of Ullapool.

By Bus:
Tim Dearman Coaches stop at Leckmelm on their daily route between Inverness and Durness via Ullapool. This is a perfect way to enjoy an environmentally friendly day trip: for example to the North Coast, or connect with the train at Garve and try the wonderfully scenic route of Garve to Kyle of Lochalsh, there are special viewing carriages provided during the Summer.

By Plane:
Flights to London run daily from Inverness to London via British Airways and Easyjet.

By Train:
There are day trains which are run by GNER and Scotrail. The night sleeper from London Euston is a very relaxing journey, evocative of the great days of steam. This service is operated by Caledonian Sleepers who often offer special deals on off peak journeys.

By Bicycle:
There are a number of fantastic cycle routes nearby for both recreational and transport uses. If you fancy the challenge of the Leckmelm to Ullapool mountain bike route via Strath Nihme and Glen Achall you can rent one from Scotpackers in Ullapool.

Email Leckmelm Holiday Cottages enquiries & reservations: bookscotland@madbookings.com