Ockle Holidays

From Sue Cameron

Ockle, on the north coast of the Ardnamurchan Peninsular (just visible to bottom right of this photo), enjoys the most spectacular views westwards to the islands of Inner Hebrides, fantastic sunsets, an abundance of wildlife, and an unforgettable peace and tranquillity.

The crofting Township of Ockle once housed sixteen families on eight crofts, but some emigrated to America and Canada in search of better lives, others went to live in the big city of Glasgow, while those who remained carried on working the crofts. Now there is only one permanent resident, my brother-in-law Dugald (Dougie), who takes care of the sheep.

Dougie, my husband Duncan (Dochie) and I run Ockle Holidays, three self catering properties Burnside (above), Sruthan Ruadh (below), and Tigh Dochie (lowest picture), each very different in its own way. We first started letting Tigh Dochie back in 1985 when Pamela Campbell, the then owner of Steading Holidays, took care of the bookings for us. Tigh Dochie was such a popular wee house that we could have let it out several times over. So when in 1994 an opportunity arose to renovate two of the old uninhabited croft houses, we took the bull by the horns - as they say - and the huge task began of clearing out the insides of the two until nothing remained but the four walls. The interiors were modernised to an up-to-date standard with modern facilities like washing machine/drier, microwave, fridge, freezer, satellite TV, and DVD player.

Sruthan Ruadh was ready to let in 1995 and Burnside in 1996. As we had such good bookings those first two years we decided the following year to advertise and take the bookings ourselves, saving on the agent’s fees, and that was the birth of Ockle Holidays. We have never regretted going it alone, and with the help of the internet and Jenny and Nigel Chapman of Achnaha, who made our website www.ockleholidays.co.uk, we have continued to enjoy having many visitors to our houses, many of whom return each year - one couple actually come for five weeks spread throughout the year.

I take care of the bookings/cleaning/laundry and generally making the houses feel like homes, while Dougie and Dochie take care of the outside things like grass, hedge cutting repairs and general maintenance.

For more information on Ockle Holidays visit www.ockleholidays.co.uk or email us at info@ockleholidays.co.uk