About Badrallach Campsite, Bothy & Cottage
A Campsite, Holiday Cottage & Bothy in a stunningly beautiful Scottish Highalnd location near to Ullapool.
Badrallach Campsite, Bothy & Cottage Description
Badrallach Campsite, Bothy & Cottage is comprised from a campsite, bunkhouse and holiday cottage. We attract people from all over the globe and many people become addicted to the peace and quiet and the rare air of the Scoraig Peninsula. A hill-walkers dream as we are surrounded by Munros and Corbetts from An Teallach across the loch to Beinn Ghobhlach on our side of Little Loch Broom. The wildlife diversity is nothing short of spectacular - what you can see around here cycles throughout the year. We have sunsets and clouds to take your breath away. The weather can be crazy, but it has the bonus of making the scenery look fresh and new every hour some days. On a clear night the milky way makes a stark appearance and the Andromeda Galaxy is easily visible to the naked eye. It would be easy to go on. . . but the most important thing we should mention is that it is incredibly rare to see someone who does not enjoy staying here!
New management started for the 2017 season and are working towards refreshing and revitalising the site. . . Without overdoing it or making any drastic changes! Expect to find more foraging plants, bee-friendly plants, local wildlife information amongst other things in 2018!
Here are some important details on our accommodation:
The campsite has 20 pitches. We can take campervans and caravans but spaces are restricted for larger vehicles and towing vehicles - please read the details below at the asterisk*. The main campsite comprises 12 larger pitches on the main camping field for small vans and small campervans, and for all sizes of tents.
The last 8 pitches are small tent pitches sheltered amongst the gorse - very much favoured by wild campers! There is no vehicular access to these pitches, but there are places are the site to park. There is also space for 4 electric hookups on site. There are toilets and showers on site for everyone's use.
Campsite fees: £5 /adult /night; £2. 50 /child /night (infants under 2 go free); £2. 50 /vehicle /campervan /motorhome /caravan /night; £3 per electric hookup /night.
Bothy: The 'bothy' is somewhere between a bothy and bunkhouse. A luxury bothy if you like. The bothy sleeps up to 12 people - you must bring your own sleeping bags and mats as there are no actual beds, but spaces on the floor and an upper tier (top bunk! ) designated for sleeping areas. We have a simple cooking area beside the bothy, containing a large sink, shelves for food and a small fridge /freezer. The toilets and showers are for everyone's use. The bothy is a self-catering facility. It is useful to phone ahead with any enquiries so as to avoid disappointment is the accommodation is privately booked or full. The bothy accommodates multiple guests at any one time, much like a hostel.
Bothy fees: £8 /person /night (infants under 2 go free); £2 /vehicle /night; Sole use /Private Bookings are £100 per night or £150 over Christmas and New Year.
Pottery Cottage: This old stone cottage was modernised by the previous campsite owners - it is very much unique in character and has been a favourite of many repeat customers over the years. It sleeps four (the beds can be pushed together to make comfortable doubles) and we are flexible with bookings. It has it's own private garden which is currently being landscaped so you can watch the colours change throughout the year! Enquiries should be made by phone or email. Pre-booking is essential.
Fees are variable dependant upon time of the year and length of stay. For a week we usually ask £300-£350. Please get in touch for more information!
Please be patient whilst we update the information on our website over the next couple of months! We apologise for any out-of-date information still appearing on the website!
*No vehicles over 6 metres in length and no caravans without four-wheel drive vehicles are allowed on site. We are restricted to no more than 3 large campervans /motorhomes /caravans on the site at any one time. Smaller vehicles such as VW's and transit conversions, etc are not included in this restriction. There are no hardstandings on site - in extreme wet weather conditions please phone ahead or check the ground carefully when you arrive.
Reviews
Hey folks, I know I have some regulars on the facebook page here, and folk who have expressed interest in hiring the cottage, so I thought I'd put out a message that we've had quite a few bookings already for next peak season in the cottage so it may be better to book earlier if you can.
Weeelllllll the weather's so rubbish this week that the yurt building is having to be spread out over until next week. We've started the groundwork, bashing big supports in the ground and with the help of our awesome neighbours, starting to carry much of the heavier stuff down to the loch shore. Much gorse clearing to be done today but only after an enormous bowl of soup. Still puppy-dog-excited despite the rain and wind :-P
Thanks to our online booking provider (for the cottage) freetobook we can now share our reviews on facebook!
As an edit from my previous post - the dates the yurt will be going up are between the 22nd-27th, rather than just the 21st - something I misread. All communications for folk interested in helping are still to go to Owen as per my previous post. Sorry for the mistake! Chris.
On the week of the 21st (EDIT: 22nd-27th) of this month we are putting up the yurt down at the loch shore! We are looking for extra hands to help us construct it - so if anyone is interested in coming up to help there will be free camping available for you :-) Also, it should be an interesting, educational and fun day!
If you are interested please contact Owen on 01854 613240 or owen@integralherbalism.com - you can try and contact myself by the usual means too, but I am curr...ently changing our ISP and cannot promise a smooth transition and perfect contact at this time!
Thanks - hope to see you there!
Chris
See More
Doing the cottage turnover between guests today and I get a surprise knock at the door. A surprise because the visitors were Jehovah's witnesses. Not a common feature of the wild west. Even more surprising because they said "we were just passing through..."
...Uuuuuhhhh...on your way to where exactly...?
Pretty cool to see a white-tailed Eagle flying over the campsite this morning :-)
Well, that's August over - the end of the busiest part of peak season... But we're still open all year round and the campsite will generally be quite a bit quieter during September - it can be one of the best times of year to visit along with May. There are available dates for the holiday cottage re-appearing for September as well - also a really good option, so I'll post them in the next couple of days.
Still a little bit to go before the main season is truly over, but I think it's nice to give a little nudge that we're always a good (and cheaper) option and alternative to the bigger sites at this time of year ;-)
Oh happy day! After months of internet troubles I believe we are finally in the clear! Our shared IP had been blacklisted and caused havoc with replying to emails. No more! Huzzah!
Oh my God. This rain. I think it's worthwhile suggesting not to travel to Badrallach today if you had any intention to. As much as I like having guests on site the weather is quite unbelievable and probably not worth the risk of getting stuck on the grass pitches. The bothy, unsurprisingly, is full! Stay safe and cosy, folks. I hope at least some of you get a duvet and hot chocolate day today!
Last chance to sign up for the September retreat hosted at Badrallach! Details below:
We're in another feature! This time on the Blacks blog:
https://www.blacks.co.uk/blog/10-autumn-c ampsites-for-2019
To the Italian gentleman who stole all my toilet rolls and left without paying:
You left your dressing gown. And there was £20 in the pocket. I'll politely assume that was some roundabout way of making payment. Thanks ;-)
From Owen & Bo, who are hosting the September retreat at Badrallach:
So. Badrallach campsite had, not so long ago, some more secluded "wild" camping pitches. Over the last few years they've been a bit neglected. Not purposefully, but much down to an ever-increasing workload and not being high on the priorities list of said workload. But! Today I tentatively opened out 4 of those pitches with more to follow in the coming weeks. It was always my intention to get walkways installed in the boggier parts and this is now also in focus now that I hav...e the wood supplies to do so. We have the materials! We have the time! We have the power! So although they aren't yet perfect and they don't have vehicular access, I'm chuffed and a little relieved to say that we now have 16 usable pitches, expanding to 19 in the next couple of weeks and a bit more brush whacking and gorse thinning :-) Phew!
In other news I'm hurtling unstoppably towards to better on-site waste-management. The old on-site wheelie bin store near the bothy has turned into a compost bin and it is perfect for the job, and I believe it'll be worth using bokashi bins for meat and dairy waste - all good for the polytunnel, all good for future produce a permaculture products to do with the retreat centre when it comes.
Given the amount of plastic waste that appears in the bins during the summer I may decide to give - upon the suggestion from Owen - ecobricks a tryout as well. It'll all depend on storage space and time - if it's something I can get guests involved in then it could well be a hit! On more step towards better sustainability and living by our ideals and ethos.
All these ideas. Getting there! Watch this space!
See More
We have now just one week of peak season dates left for booking in the cottage - The last week in September from 24th onwards, into October. From October - March we go to the reduced rate for bookings - definitely still a good time to visit!
Availability: http://www.badrallach.com/bookings/cottag e.html
Photos of the holiday cottage at Badrallach -we'll add new photos as time goes on.