Croft 21

Luxury glamping pods near Beauly, half an hour from Inverness

Croft 21 is two pods on a working croft at Ruisaurie, up the hill from Beauly and about 30 minutes from Inverness. The Coo sleeps two and was built for couples. The Stag sleeps up to three and takes a dog. Both have a king-size bed, a private en-suite shower room, a proper kitchen with an oven and dishwasher, and a deck with a Ninja BBQ and a pizza oven, which puts them nearer a small hotel room than to camping.

The croft sits high enough that the view is the point, and with only two pods on it the place stays quiet. It works as a Highland base or as a first or last night on the North Coast 500. The one thing to check before you book is the walk up from the car park.

Good to know

Features

Location

The two pods

The Coo

The more romantic of the two. Open plan, with the bed, living area and kitchen in one space, a king-size bed with White Company linen, a leather electric reclining sofa and a glass dining table for two. The en-suite means there are no shared facilities to think about.

The Stag

The same specification with more flexibility. Alongside the king-size bed there is a sofa bed for one child aged five or over, and this is the pod that takes a dog. It suits a couple travelling with one child who still want the privacy of a pod to themselves.

Inside the pods

Both kitchens are proper kitchens rather than a camping worktop:

Each en-suite has a shower, WC, vanity unit, illuminated mirror, shaver socket, towels and toiletries. Storage is better than pods usually manage: a dressing table, drawers, hanging space, a shelf, a hairdryer and blackout blinds, which makes a stay of several nights realistic rather than a one-night stop.

Outside, each pod has its own decked area with seating, a Ninja electric BBQ and a pizza oven. The pods are set to keep the views open and to keep the two decks out of sight of each other.

Where Croft 21 puts you

Beauly is the nearest village, a few minutes down the hill, with cafés, shops and the roofless priory church in the middle of it, which is free to walk round. Inverness is about half an hour east, close enough to eat there and drive back.

Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and Glen Affric are all within a day trip, and the road north out of Inverness makes this a sensible first or last night on the North Coast 500. Golfers have Aigas, Muir of Ord, and Fortrose and Rosemarkie inside half an hour, which is a very different proposition from the usual golf hotel; there is more in the guide to golf stays in Scotland.