ESCAPE NEWHALL MAINS

Luxurious interiors and thoughtful finishing touches make this beautifully restored mains building in the Highlands a tempting retreat

- Miriam Methuen-Jones

Tucked away in the Black Isle, just a short drive from Inverness, is a holiday retreat with a difference. Newhall Mains is a gloriously renovated former farm building arranged around a courtyard where up to 28 people can stay across four double bedroom suites and five individually themed cottages. You could book the whole thing for a wedding or special event, but it’s equally enticing if you’re just passing through on an adventure (the North Coast 500, say, or whale-watching in the Moray Firth). Not that there’s any pressure to be energetic: the spacious interiors, comfortable and beautifully designed, invite you to kick back and relax in style.

I was booked into Irene, a two-bed cottage (the cottages and suites are named after the family who lovingly renovated Newhall Mains). Like the rest of the accommodation (including the luxe bridal option, which comes complete with a huge tub in the bedroom and a dressing room full of mirrors), it has been given purposeful individuality by interiors firm Kelling Designs through stylish decor and quality materials.

A cottage stay is billed as self-catering, but an impressive breakfast selection is available if you want it, served in the expansive communal dining room. I also tried out the ‘Meals at the Mains’ service which delivers a hamper to your door; all you need to do is heat up the oven. Even I could manage that… And the food was phenomenal. The rhubarb crumble alone is worth coming back for. The delivery service is a great option if you’re arriving sans car or if you’re so bewitched by the soothing atmosphere that you can’t bring yourself to venture beyond the gates.