The Lookout - Skye

A passive house on the Waternish hill

The Lookout is a small house built for two above the fishing village of Stein, and what sets it apart is the way it is built. It is a passive house: sealed, heavily insulated, and ventilated through an air recovery system that holds the inside temperature steady whatever the Minch is doing outside. That is why the owners include fuel, heating, and electricity in the rent rather than metering them.

Inside there is one room to live in and one to sleep in. The open plan kitchen and living space has a wood burning stove and opens onto a sheltered decking area, and the kitchen is a working one with an oven, a microwave, a dishwasher, and a fridge freezer. There is a washer dryer, which matters on a week's stay this far out. The bedroom has a king bed and picture windows, and the bathroom has a large walk-in shower with bathrobes and a heated towel rail.

It takes two adults and no one else. No children, no pets, and no smoking, which is what keeps the house as quiet as its position. Mobile reception up here is limited, so the free wifi and the Sky package on the smart TV earn their keep.

Good to know

Features

Location

Where it puts you

Waternish is the middle of the three peninsulas at the north west end of Skye, and it is the one most people drive past. The road in is the B886, which leaves the A850 at the Fairy Bridge and carries on past the house to the ruined medieval church at Trumpan. Stein itself is a walk downhill: one row of white houses along the shore of Loch Bay, the Stein Inn, which is the oldest inn on the island, and the Lochbay Seafood Restaurant. Also on the peninsula are Skyeskyns the sheepskin tannery, the galleries at Dandelion Designs and Halistra Pottery, and Diver's Eye boat trips.

Dunvegan Castle is back at the foot of the peninsula, with Coral Beach at Claigan on the road beyond it. The Cuillin, Talisker, and Portree are a drive rather than an outing, and the owners' own directions allow an hour from the Skye Bridge to Dunvegan before you turn off. That distance is the trade off with this end of the island, and worth weighing when you choose where to base yourself.