Wildflower Eco Lodges - Harrier

The straw bale one, beside its own loch

Harrier is one of three lodges at Wildflower Eco Lodges, a small site of handcrafted cabins in the fields at Lonmay, and it is the one built from straw bale. That gives it thick walls, deep window reveals and a warmth that is noticeable rather than theoretical, and it is the reason the wood burner rarely needs much feeding.

It sits beside its own small loch. The floor-to-ceiling windows look straight out over the water and the birdlife on it, which on this stretch of Aberdeenshire is considerable. Inside it is one open space: king bed, seating, a proper kitchen with a conventional oven, and an en-suite with an electric shower and a heated towel rail.

Between the three lodges, Harrier is the one to book if you want the water view and the stove. Heron is the other waterside lodge and has a hammock platform instead of a fireplace; Peregrine sits out in the fields.

Good to know

Features

Location

Which of the three lodges

All three sleep two in a king bed, take dogs, have an en-suite with a heated towel rail, wifi, a smart TV and towels and linen provided, and all three are £85 a night at the time of writing.

Where it puts you

This is the corner of Aberdeenshire most visitors drive past, which is the argument for it. Fraserburgh Beach and the quieter sand and dunes at Philorth are ten minutes; the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in the town is better than it sounds, built around Kinnaird Head lighthouse itself.

For birds, the Loch of Strathbeg is one of the largest dune lochs in Britain and one of the best reserves in the country, a few minutes up the road, and the seabird cliffs at Troup Head and the Bullers of Buchan are within half an hour. The Formartine and Buchan Way, an old railway line, runs south for walking and cycling. Aberdeenshire has the rest.