Harlosh - Black H

A black house on open croft

Black h is a house for two on the owners' croft at Harlosh, and the building itself is the reason to come. Dualchas Architects glazed both ends floor to ceiling so the house works as a frame: Macleod's Tables across the water one way, the Cuillin ridge the other. The black timber cladding carries on into the rooms, so inside and outside read as one space. Dwell describes the form as modelled on the traditional longhouses of this part of Scotland, so the name is about the colour of the timber rather than a converted blackhouse.

Inside it is open plan and split level, and small on purpose. There is one bedroom with a king bed facing the view, one bathroom with a walk-in shower, a well equipped kitchen with a dishwasher and a fridge freezer, and a wood burning stove in the living space. The furniture was made for the house by Namon Gaston. A basket of wood comes with the let, so the stove is usable the night you arrive.

It takes two adults and no one else, with no children at all. Pets are not accepted and there is no smoking. Sarah and Jason moved to Skye and built Wood h, which sleeps six, before building this one.

Good to know

Features

Location

Where it puts you

Harlosh is a peninsula on the west coast of Skye, between Loch Caroy and Loch Bharcasaig, which are two arms of Loch Bracadale. Harlosh Island and Tarner Island lie just offshore, and the ruined broch at Dun Feorlig is along Loch Caroy to the north east. It is a crofting corner rather than a village.

Dunvegan is the nearest village, about four and a half miles away, and the owners give Portree as 25 miles. The Cuillin fill the southern horizon, and the Fairy Pools at Glen Brittle sit under the western side of that ridge. The owners' gallery carries a photograph of the northern lights over the house, which tells you what the sky does on a clear winter night.