Artists' Escapes

Inspiring places to stay for painters, makers and photographers, with big views, good light and quiet surroundings across Scotland

Scotland has drawn painters, photographers and writers for centuries, and it is easy to see why. Our Artists’ Escapes are cottages chosen for their light, their views and their quiet, from Hebridean shorelines and Highland glens to Borders farmland. Some come with studios, outbuildings or big kitchen tables to spread out on; all come with scenery worth putting down on paper or canvas. Change of light every hour, weather rolling in off the Atlantic, wildlife at the window: plenty to inspire the next piece of work.

46 cottages

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Featured

From ^£800_{a week}

Highland Haven

Lochinver, Assynt & Coigach

A spacious three-bedroom house in the crofting township of Badnaban, two miles from Lochinver on the NC500, with panoramic views across Loch Inver Bay to the hills.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

Featured

From ^£1,250_{a week}

Seawinds Cottage Applecross

Strathcarron, Wester Ross

A detached four-bedroom house near Applecross in an elevated coastal spot, with views across the Inner Sound to the Cuillin, Skye and Raasay.

4 Bedrooms
6 Guests

Featured

From ^£875_{a week}

Benview Cottage

Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran

A one-bedroom cottage for two at Whiting Bay on the Isle of Arran, with a wood-burning stove and natural, understated interiors.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

Featured

Special offer

From ^£145_{a night}

Knoydart Luxury Lochside Pod

Knoydart, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A self-contained pod for two on the remote Knoydart peninsula with a private deck overlooking Loch Nevis.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£285_{a night}

Snug On The Bay

Shandwick, Ross-shire & The Black Isle

A renovated cottage in the village of Shandwick on the Highland east coast, with a wood-burning stove and views over Shandwick Bay and the Moray Firth.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

Special offer

From ^£2,100_{a week}

Blue Reef Cottages

Isle of Harris

Two turf-roofed cottages for couples at Scarista on Harris, each with its own sauna and whirlpool bath.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

Special offer

From ^£2,000_{a week}

Lewis Longhouse

Coll Sands, Isle of Lewis

An architect-designed stone and larch longhouse on a family croft at Coll on Lewis, 50 metres from the beach with views across the bay.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£150_{a night}

Tigh Ban Lek

Oban, Argyll & Bute

A Scandinavian-influenced cottage on a secluded hillside near Oban, with panoramic sea views across the Inner Hebrides.

2 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£650_{a week}

Brackenrigg Cottage

Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

A seaside cottage at Sandgreen near Gatehouse of Fleet, with views across Fleet Bay and a private path to a sandy beach.

4 Bedrooms
7 Guests

From ^£3,695_{a week}

The Old Barn from Ormidale House

Glendaruel, Argyll & Bute

A converted barn on the Ormidale estate for up to 16, with a marble-floored open-plan living space, exposed stone walls and a French oak dining table.

7 Bedrooms
16 Guests

From ^£240_{a night}

An Dòbhran

Dornie, Ross-shire & The Black Isle

An eco-friendly, five-star cottage on the edge of the sea at Dornie, a few minutes' walk from Eilean Donan Castle, a hotel and a pub.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£325_{a night}

The Sheep Station

Scarista, Isle of Harris

A house for two set into the hillside at Scarista on Harris, overlooking the beach at Traigh Mhor to the Atlantic, Taransay and the Harris hills.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£150_{a night}

Oak Cottage Finnich Estates

Drymen, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

One of four cottages in a 19th-century red sandstone steading on the private Finnich Estate, on the edge of Loch Lomond National Park.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£240_{a night}

An Iolaire

Dornie, Ross-shire & The Black Isle

A Green Tourism Gold cottage right on the shore at Dornie, with sea and mountain views and Eilean Donan Castle a short walk away.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

Special offer

From ^£200_{a night}

Railway Cottage Killin Junction

Killin, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

The restored stationmaster's cottage and bothy at the old Killin Junction station, in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park with views over Glen Dochart.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£220_{a night}

Newbyth Garden Cottage

North Berwick, Edinburgh & Lothians

A traditional gardener's cottage in the East Lothian countryside with a sunny garden among the trees, close to the John Muir Way.

2 Bedrooms
5 Guests

From ^£80_{a night}

Birds Nest

Carrick Shore, Dumfries & Galloway

A cosy studio for two at Carrick Shore with a super-king bed beneath roof blinds for stargazing and an accessible wet room.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£220_{a night}

Boloquoy Victorian Farmhouse & Watermill

Sanday, Orkney

A restored Victorian farmhouse and watermill on Sanday in Orkney, furnished with the Fea family's original belongings to show island farm life between 1880 and 1950.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£125_{a night}

Belmont Chapel Cottage

Acharacle, Ardnamurchan & Sunart

A chapel completed in 1913 and converted into a cottage on the shores of Loch Shiel, with loch, hill and forest views and a chance of the Northern Lights.

2 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£3,695_{a week}

Ormidale House

Glendaruel, Argyll & Bute

A 17th-century laird's house on a 22-acre private estate on the Cowal peninsula, 1.5 hours from Glasgow.

13 Bedrooms
35 Guests

From ^£450_{a week}

The Garden Cottages by Ormidale House

Glendaruel, Argyll & Bute

A renovated stone cottage on the Ormidale estate on the Cowal peninsula, all on one accessible ground floor, with use of the estate's tennis court, games cottage and football pitch.

1 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£700_{a night}

Seabank House, Oban

Benderloch, Argyll & Bute

A new eco-friendly, architect-designed house on the shores of Loch Creran near Oban, minutes from the beach, with a spiral staircase and large hot tub.

6 Bedrooms
10 Guests

From ^£899_{a week}

Cushendall House

Banavie, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A single-storey house beside the Caledonian Canal near Fort William, with views of Ben Nevis, Aonach Mòr and the Grampian Mountains.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£125_{a night}

Rowan Cottage Finnich Estates

Drymen, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

A one-bedroom cottage for two in a 19th-century red sandstone steading on the Finnich Estate, with views across 13 miles of countryside to Ben Lomond.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£900_{a week}

The Old House Glen Orchy

Glen Orchy, Argyll & Bute

An early 1800s fishing lodge built by the Earl of Breadalbane, restored in isolation in Glen Orchy above the River Orchy.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

^£0_{/Contact For Prices}

Horseshoe Cottage & Ruby

Melrose, Scottish Borders

A stone cottage and a real Romany Bowtop caravan side by side in a Scots pine woodland near Melrose, facing a wildflower meadow and the Eildon Hills.

2 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£149_{a night}

Crosple Cottage, Melfort, By Oban

Melfort, Argyll & Bute

A secluded shoreline cottage for two on a private working hill farm at Melfort near Oban, with a wood-burning stove and sweeping views.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£170_{a night}

Knoydart House Studio Room with Large Lochside Hot Tub

Lochaber, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A studio for two in Knoydart with an antique French canopy bed and a large hot tub looking over the loch to the Small Isles.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£150_{a night}

Birch Cottage at Finnich Estate

Drymen, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

One of four cottages in a 19th-century red sandstone steading on the private Finnich Estate, on the edge of Loch Lomond National Park.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£175_{a night}

Kilnbarn Cottage

Sanday, Orkney

A Scandi-style cottage on Sanday in Orkney with its toes in the sea, ocean views from every room and an outdoor bath by the shore.

2 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£350_{a night}

The Four Sisters Boatel

Edinburgh, Edinburgh & Lothians

A four-star wide-beam houseboat permanently moored on the canal in central Edinburgh, a few minutes' walk from the castle and the Grassmarket.

2 Bedrooms
6 Guests

Special offer

From ^£160_{a night}

Smiddy Cottage

Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire & Royal Deeside

A newly built cottage up its own tree-lined lane near Stonehaven, on a raised half-acre plot beside woodland, with a large hot tub.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£750_{a week}

Craigton Croft House

Ross-shire & The Black Isle

A former crofting family's home right on the shores of Loch Carron, with wild swimming, otters and seals, kayaking and sunsets over the Bealach na Bà.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£2,295_{a week}

The Millhouse by Ormidale House

Glendaruel, Argyll & Bute

A nine-bedroom house for up to 22 on the Ormidale estate at the head of Loch Riddon, 1.5 hours from Glasgow, built around a 75 square metre open-plan kitchen and living space.

9 Bedrooms
22 Guests

From ^£900_{a week}

The Five Turrets

Selkirk, Scottish Borders

A Grade B listed coach house from around 1870 above the Ettrick valley near Selkirk, built like a small castle, with a triple-height living space in the old billiard room.

4 Bedrooms
8 Guests

From ^£275_{a night}

SeaBeds Luxury Lookouts with Hot Tubs

Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

Design-led lookouts perched above Loch Linnhe, each with a bubbling hot tub and sea-to-sky views.

1 Bedrooms
4 Guests

From ^£198_{a night}

Greengairs Highland Bothies

Blairgowrie, Perthshire

Five-star eco lodges for two on the Cateran Trail, each with a private wood-fired hot tub, no light pollution and views over the valley.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£350_{a night}

Wonderland Berwick

Berwick Upon Tweed, Scottish Borders

A Victorian pipe factory in Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, turned into a design-led house where each room tells its own story.

5 Bedrooms
11 Guests

From ^£500_{a night}

Seabank Farmhouse, Oban

Benderloch, Argyll & Bute

A coastal farmhouse in 130 acres with views over Loch Creran to the mountains, near Oban, with a large hot tub in the garden.

5 Bedrooms
10 Guests

From ^£700_{a night}

Seabank Lodge

Oban, Argyll & Bute

A contemporary lodge on the shore of Loch Creran near Oban, with a wood-burning stove, an outdoor hot tub and sea views from all four bedrooms.

4 Bedrooms
8 Guests

From ^£150_{a night}

Sycamore at Finnich Estate

Drymen, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

A cottage for two in the restored sandstone steading on the Finnich Estate, with views over 13 miles of countryside to Ben Lomond and estate tracks to walk.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£195_{a night}

RiverBeds Luxury Wee Lodges with Hot Tubs

Glencoe Valley, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

Compact riverside lodges for two in woodland in the Glencoe valley, each with a private veranda, firepit and bubbling hot tub.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£1,250_{a week}

Brevig View Cottage

Isle of Lewis

An architect-designed, eco-friendly home overlooking Broad Bay on Lewis, minutes from Stornoway.

3 Bedrooms
6 Guests

From ^£145_{a night}

Ward End Cottage at Newtonmill House

Montrose, Aberdeenshire & Royal Deeside

A restored cottage for two on the 25-acre Newtonmill Estate in Angus, between the east coast beaches and the Cairngorms National Park.

1 Bedrooms
2 Guests

From ^£295_{a night}

Kingsburgh Boathouse Skye

Kingsburgh, Isle of Skye

A stone boathouse from Jacobite times, restored for two on the edge of Loch Snizort on Skye, with flagstone floors, total privacy and sunsets from the terrace over the Atlantic.