The House Diaries
#37: Scotland's Hot List: slow mornings, wild swims, and all the places I’d send a friend in search of beauty and good bread.
When I tell people I love a holiday in the Scottish countryside, they either roll their eyes, thinking “Jesus, this lady never leaves Scotland”, or I can practically see their thoughts drift toward tartan, tweed, and a dram of whisky by the fire. Don’t get me wrong, I adore a bit of Highland theatre. But over the past few years, I’ve noticed something shifting.
There’s a quiet design revolution unfolding across Scotland - in the hills, lochs, and little towns - that’s rewriting the rules of what a countryside getaway looks and feels like.
It’s not just in the interiors (though believe me, they’re dreamy). It’s in the way food is celebrated. In the old farmhouses reimagined as off-grid sanctuaries. In the pride with which whisky is poured. And in the way every detail - from sourdough to soap - feels considered, deliberate, and deliciously well-designed.
So here’s my little black book of favourites. The kind of places you’d only send to a friend: cafés I return to for a cinnamon bun fix, cabins I dream about when I need a reset, and restaurants where the view might just make you cry a little (it’s the sea air, surely). I’ve been to every single one - well, with one exception, but it’s so new and exciting I had to include it - and I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Where I Stayed (and Never Wanted to Leave)
Glen Dye Cabins & Cottages, Aberdeenshire
If I could bottle the feeling of staying here, I would. Glen Dye is tucked into a private estate, and the cabins are styled like something out of a Nordic interiors magazine - wood burners, record players, wool blankets. One morning, I had fresh sourdough and coffee by the fire, then hiked up to a secret bothy for a cold wild swim backed up with a steaming hot tub plunge. I came back glowing.
