Barracks Cottage

Barracks Cottage An original Scottish Butt 'n' Ben built circa 1723 expanded 270 years later to a popular retreat! BBQ & fire pit available

06/09/2026

Happy to report that after a week of self-imposed
‘hibernatiion’ Grassyass is now back to his tireless and
detailed manicuring BC’s lawn! Hooray!

THE LEERIEI remember well, when living in Glasgow.. our ‘own’ wee leerie who would arrive on his bicycle at dusk, carryi...
01/09/2026

THE LEERIE

I remember well, when living in Glasgow.. our ‘own’ wee leerie who would arrive on his bicycle at dusk, carrying his beautifully patinated wooden pole.. complete with a small naked flame at the top.. like a magic wand ( he always looked a very dark figure.. although not in any way sinister ) to turn on our gas street lights at dusk and then.. returning again at dawn, to complete his task !

I remember also the day he stopped coming… for it was today.. Sept 1st back in 1971 when the gas street lights in Glasgow were phased out and replaced by electric lights!

It was a poem, 'Dandie'… written by W. D. Cocker’s in 1929 who commented on the mystique of this shadowy figure:

Carryin’ his magic wand,
Like a sceptre beamin’,
Up the street the leerie comes;
A’ the lamps are gleamin’

We still don’t have gas in Glenelg.. however… we do enjoy the various offerings of light.. be it from indoors… out and about in the hills … perhaps a bit of fun fishing.. or just sitting around The Henge !

That will do just fine.

Ray & Fe. ❤️

30/08/2026

Now it was definitely going to rain today but we needed a good walk to earn our dinner later at the Inn before.
Leaving at 10:30 we could walk to Dun Inn Brewery for opening time wink 😜 and find a waterfall we’d heard about nearby
Tactics were to listen out for the waterfall and sure enough there it was. We’d missed this by driving before.
We crossed the stream. 2 methods used. Mine to leave my boots on and just get them soaked and Mr H to go bare footed, Tess amused to see us gingerly picking our way over. The rocks were very slippy but worth it. Packing a swimsuit hadn’t entered my head on this trip but maybe next time I’ll go for a dip.
We squelched the rest of the way, looking around the Brochs, enjoyed a refreshing drink (while it rained. What timing!) or two before heading back.
Another lovely meal at the Inn and a beautiful sunset with the clouds clinging to the tops of Skye

Tess and The Harris Clan

Barracks Cottage…. Coming towards the end of our custodianship!!It was forecast to not be so good so it was a day to sta...
29/08/2026

Barracks Cottage…. Coming towards the end of our custodianship!!

It was forecast to not be so good so it was a day to stay local and take it easy for once. Woke up though and it now said it was going to be sunshine all day and a balmy 23 degrees.

However, we decided to take it easy for once and had a gentle stroll along the coastline then calling in at Ruth’s Cafe on the way back for coffee and a yummy scone and chatting to fellow visitors.
Getting back to BC I casually picked up the binoculars as you do and right there was a pod of dolphins and then Mr H saw a sea eagle. We watched them for over an hour before heading back to the beach to get a closer look.

Later drinks and a little starter at the Inn before a home cooked meal and not a drop of rain appeared 🙄

Tess & The Harris Clan. x. ( 🐬 click the comments below to see the dancing dolphins… filmed from the cottage! 🐬

🏌️Mr H has been wanting to play golf up here for a while now. Last time we were up he was a bit unwell but this time it ...
28/08/2026

🏌️

Mr H has been wanting to play golf up here for a while now. Last time we were up he was a bit unwell but this time it looks like I’ll have to give in. I’ve only played once before and over 20 years ago.
Anyway I was reassured it would be fine and that Tess could accompany us. Don’t think we’d get away with that back home
Well what a lovely place to play. We drove to Lochcarron Golf Club, an hour away and had a very pleasant 9 holes. Anymore and Mr H would have run out of balls! (he was going for it slightly too much). Luckily Tess found a few balls previously lost to keep Mr H in play 😝
Apparently I played very well (again) and now can guess what I’m getting for my next birthday.
After refreshments at the club we headed back and for once we were in time to get to Dun Brewing passing the brochs including Dun Troddan which apparently was robbed of its stone to build Bernera Barracks.
Back to BC for a restful evening.

The Harris Clan & Tess 🐾

From Ray & Fe four years ago on this very day!‘Camp fire’ cooking at Barracks Cottage using the wood burner, can be one ...
27/08/2026

From Ray & Fe four years ago on this very day!

‘Camp fire’ cooking at Barracks Cottage using the wood burner, can be one of the most satisfying of those ritual acts which usually happen outdoors. Resulting sometimes with even the smoke alarm cheering you on !
For best results I always try to cook with w**e… and have been known to sometimes add it to the food…
Meantime, when entertaining at BC, I tend to agree with Heston Blumenthal that, food is as much about the moment, the occasion, the location and the company as it is about the taste.
Faigh tlachd às do bhiadh! 😉

Well we’ve been blessed again with the weather and so looking at the map of Skye we decided to head for the beach as thi...
27/08/2026

Well we’ve been blessed again with the weather and so looking at the map of Skye we decided to head for the beach as this might be our last chance of a good day.
Back over with the ferry with a piece of that lovely Polenta cake again from the Shore Station and a recommendation to also visit Dunvegan Castle.
The castle didn’t disappoint. We took it in turns to pop inside while one of us walked around the gardens with Tess. Lovely and interesting history inside and fancy having an actual waterfall in your garden!
From there we went onto Claighan Coral Beach. Parking was free but there is a bit of a walk to the beach.
We settled down for the afternoon on the sands with a book and my favourite well fired morning cheese roll. There were a few individuals who braved the waters (brrrrgh) but we were not brave enough.
For dinner we called in at the Stein Inn, good and generous portions (I had to pack up some of mine as I couldn’t finish it )and then heading home we called in to Portree to see the Isle of Skye Pipe Band playing in the square. We had watched a competition on BBC1 earlier in the week when Canada won the piping competition! What was lovely today
was a gentleman from abroad, think it was somewhere in America who was a piper, joined the band for the evening. How nice that this tradition has reached far and wide.
Back to BC after a wonderful packed day ready for a good nights sleep.

Tess and the Harris Clan 🐾

25/08/2026

Following on from the posting below :-

The Misty Isle Boat Tour continued……

We did get was to see a pod of dolphins on the return journey with the baby learning to leap.
The crew hung around the area for a while and we got to see these fabulous creatures swimming alongside us. How lucky are we x

The Harris Clan and Tess 🐾

WHAT A GREAT DAY WE’VE HAD! The beginning of the week gave out the best weather forecasts so we booked onto a Misty Isle...
25/08/2026

WHAT A GREAT DAY WE’VE HAD!

The beginning of the week gave out the best weather forecasts so we booked onto a Misty Isle boat tour from Elgol and we got to go on the ferry at last.
After filling our rucksack with a couple of pasties (straight from the oven) and a very nice piece of polenta cake at the Shore Station we caught the first ferry at 10 o’clock getting there in plenty of time for the 12:30 trip.
Note that the nearby Elgol Bistro isn’t open Sun-Tues but there is a food wagon at the harbour.
The crew pointed out some of the Inner Hebrides as we made our way to Loch Coruisk passing by the seals that were mainly sunbathing on the rocks.
We weren’t staying long enough to walk around the entire Loch, 3-4 hours, which in hindsight would have been great to do but we enjoyed a little stroll and our picnic before catching the 3:30 back to catch the last ferry to BC.
However, what we did get was to see a pod of dolphins on the return journey with the baby learning to leap.
The crew hung around the area for a while and we got to see these fabulous creatures swimming alongside us. How lucky are we x

🐬 Look out for the next posting above this one… with some of our video clips of these delightful dancing dolphins 🐬

The Harris Clan and Tess 🐾

SundayAfter our travels up to BC the day before, we resisted travelling far today. Instead, we walked the long way up to...
24/08/2026

Sunday

After our travels up to BC the day before, we resisted travelling far today.
Instead, we walked the long way up to the ferry station and via the beach before heading back through the short cut.
As we’ve always visited BC in the winter we have never had the privilege of seeing the ferry so after grabbing some drinks from the shore station we enjoyed watching the comings and goings of said ferry. (There’s also a petition online right now regarding the fees that they have to pay the landowner).
This evening we’ve also booked a table at the Glenelg Inn. Again, normally we don’t get to sample the pub fayre in the winter. Hubby had cured trout and I had whipped feta and balsamic mushrooms to start (I must try to do this at home) followed by roast venison and then puddings of chocolate pear and cardamon torte cake and bread and butter pudding and quite a bit of red w**e 🙄 what a lovely way to finish the day..

Tess & Co

Address

Kirkton
Glenelg
IV407JR

Telephone

+441821642525

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