Winter is over in Harris… and we’re very excited to be able welcome guests back to Borve Lodge Estate once more!
From 26 April, Scottish Coronavirus regulations permitted unrestricted travel within Scotland and between Scotland and England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. After so many months of lockdown, the return of holidaymakers to our beloved Hebridean home has given us all a reason to celebrate… the sun is shining (sometimes… this is Scotland, remember!) and there’s a sense that, perhaps, the worst of the pandemic has passed.
Like the rest of the UK, the media provided a welcome escape for us from all of last winter’s worries. We were delighted to see Scotland and its islands feature in many TV programmes and magazine articles. More are in the pipeline, we know – though we’re sworn to secrecy, we can reveal that we’ve helped a celebrity or two with their research and travels in recent weeks!
All of this has definitely made a lot more people want to visit – images of the beautiful Harris hills, pristine beaches, and friendly Hearachs have shown why this is such a great place to get away from it all, and as a result, we’ve handled more enquiries about our self-catering holiday accommodation than ever before!
In recent months, we’ve worked hard at Borve Lodge Estate to make all of our self-catering holiday cottages as Covid-safe as possible. Extensive deep-cleaning protocols are in place and we’re following all the advice for holiday cottage owners – for example, at the moment we don’t ‘meet and greet’ guests personally on their arrival, but instead try to check-in with them via phone or email. Our Estate Office is, of course, close to our holiday cottages, and our team is on hand to deal with any emergencies or special requests, as always.
For the first few weeks of welcoming visitors back to Borve Lodge Estate, we’re also staggering our holiday ‘start dates’, so there’s a steady flow of new people to our own little piece of paradise. Many of these are guests who had originally booked a 2020 break – once it was clear that holidays last summer would not be able to go ahead, we offered everyone the opportunity to re-book for 2021, with no price penalties.
Isle of Harris Self Catering
By the end of May, we’re expecting everything to be back to near-normal, and we’re looking forward to a busy summer – there’s hardly any availability left at our five self-catering cottages! Some availability starts to open up in October at Claddach House, Laxdale Cottage and Tarasaigh House, but at our two most luxurious self-catering holiday homes – The Broch and The Rock House, both of which have 5-star rating from VisitScotland – bookings remain solid right through to November.
We close the doors at Laxdale Cottage from the end of October as its remote, loch-side location can make access tricky in poor weather, but our other properties remain open to guests all year, so if you’re looking for out-of-season accommodation on the Isle of Harris, our advice is to book now.
For a group getaway over winter, Tarasaigh House, sleeping up to eight people, is ideal; it’s just a few steps from the crystal clear waters of the Sound of Taransay, where the sunsets can be quite spectacular! Claddach House, too, is lovely for a family or group of friends – just walk down the garden path, cross a single-track road and about 200m of machair grassland, and you’ll be at our very own Borve beach, enjoying views of the Atlantic Ocean and the ‘Castaway’ isle of Taransay. Each of these self-catering cottages has received a 4-star rating from VisitScotland.
Further ahead, it seems that uncertainty over international travel, vaccination passports and the like will continue to create unprecedented interest in holidays ‘at home’ for the foreseeable future. More and more people are enquiring about places to stay in Harris, and we’ve already taken a lot more bookings for next year than is usual this far in advance, so to avoid disappointment, please don’t delay!
Book your luxury accommodation in Isle of Harris
Check your preferred dates on our availability calendar and get in touch soon to be sure of being able to book your first choice of holiday cottage. As an added ‘early-bird’ incentive, we’re offering 2021 prices on 2022 bookings at the moment, too!