Meall Mo Chridhe

I had the pleasure yesterday of visiting Meall Mo Chridhe, a grade 2 listed building, which was, until the 1970s, the Kilchoan manse. Sited just below the ruined church of St Congans, the section of the building on the left of the photo is the original manse, built in 1790. In 1829 the front was added, possibly when the parish had money donated by merchants on Mull. This south-facing part, with its splendid view across Kilchoan bay, contains most of the rooms which are used in the present business, the sitting room and dining room on the ground floor, and two of the three bedrooms on the first floor.

On the inside, the Georgian house has been extensively refurbished without losing any of its character - as if it has mellowed with age rather than been suddenly dragged into the 21st century. For example, the windows are the original sash windows, with shutters on the inside, and the slates which had to be replaced are all Ballachulish slates, which are notoriously difficult to source. The two public reception rooms are beautifully proportioned, filled with light when the shutters are thrown back, and tastefully decorated. I particularly liked the warmth of the dining room, shown below, which can seat up to eighteen people.

One of the pleasures of the house are in the antiques which grace every room, many of them bought in Provence. The photo below, of the hall, is a good illustration of the tasteful way in which the furnishing has been done. My favourite small piece was a tray in the sitting room decorated with a picture of a modern nautilus from the Pacific. The sort of thing that would interest visitors are that Kilchoan has its own, rather bigger nautiluses, the 130-million-year old ancestors of the Pacific species, hidden in the rocks below Ormsaigbeg.

Meall Mo Chridhe is is a lovely building. Described on its website as a "restaurant with rooms", its cheerful owners, Stella and Dave Cash, take immense pride in serving food which is sourced from their own fields and from the immediate area.