We stayed in Tooting Lodge in July.
We had such a lovely welcome. Jayne and Andrew are the perfect hosts and the lodge was faultless. Everything you could possibly want (and more) was provided. Added to this we had the benefit of various cameras watching the wildlife action around the lodge.
This is a really warm, comfortable place to stay and oh my, seeing red squirrels and pine martens every day from the window was magic !
This was one of our best holidays ever and we can't wait to go back, in fact we have just booked for October.
Upfront Reviews for Mingarry Lodges
Read what our guests think about Mingarry Lodges and their holiday in Moidart, Ardnamurchan and Lochaber. Guests staying at Mingarry Lodges are invited to submit a review by UpFront Reviews, an independent and trusted review provider. We hope you find these reviews useful.
This was our first time at Mingarry Lodges, but it will definitely not be the last! The accommodation is first class and very comfortable, with everything you need to make your stay enjoyable. With the Lodges being set back from the road and in a plot which has been dedicated to wildlife, you have every chance of seeing some of the "locals" going about their business. Jayne and Andrew go the "extra mile" to make sure your stay is enjoyable, they make you feel very welcome and are always available for help or advice. There is lots of information in the Lodge on what is available in the area, from wildlife walks, to places to eat and places to go. A very peaceful place with a much slower pace to life, ideal for recharging your "batteries". Definitely a place to revisit, we will be back.
A fantastic week, everything was perfect and spotless clean. The pine martens, birds and squirrels were wonderful to observe and our hosts were some of the nicest people you could wish to meet. Our best holiday ever in Scotland and we will definitely return.
Thank you so much Jayne and Andrew for another wonderful stay in Tooting lodge last month for our Wedding Anniversary. The hot, sunny weather just added to our enjoyment of the stunning scenery around Mingarry Lodges. We were able to take advantage of the weather this time to cycle to both Ardtoe and Castle Tiorem and take a wildlife cruise on Loch Shiel during our stay. The lodge was just as we remembered it, absolutely everything provided that you could possibly need, a real home from home. From the comfort of the sitting room, we were able to watch the pine martins, red squirrels and a constant stream of siskins and other small birds. An added bonus this time was being able to watch the bluetit nest cam on the television and come down each morning to see that another egg had appeared, we do hope they fledged successfully!
Eric and Sheila
After a life time of self-catering we found the accommodation in which all eventualities had been covered. The comfortable bed, settees, the well-appointed kitchen, the huge fluffy bath towels are the givens. Add to this there was the thought that had gone into the details to make it easy for the occupant - extension cables on slightly inaccessible sockets, an A-Z of the lodge and the area, detailed list of where one could walk and eat. Add to this the feeders which attracted wildlife such as pine martens (seen every day), red squirrels (seen most days), great spotted woodpeckers, siskins and other bird species to the lodge. Add to this the cameras linked to the television which in our case showed us the development of four young birds in the nest right up to fledging - fascinating. Jayne and Andrew should be commended for the thought and effort they have out into the preparation of the lodge for their guests. Quite exceptional.
Brilliant lodge Jayne and Andrew awesome hosts with great local knowledge, and as the title suggests the wildlife both from the lodge and in the area was stunning ( except the wee timorous beasties) aka the Scottish midge.
Would thoroughly recommend to anyone who loves wildlife and its also a great area for walking and cycling.
We had an idea of what the Mingarry Lodges provided as we had googled them prior to booking. However, we were completly bowled over by what we found when we arrived after a long journey from West Sussex. The Lodge was, in our opinion, 5 star in everything and we found that apart from food we needed nothing for our stay. There was even the nice touch by Jayne of providing us with basics of milk, tea and other items including a scrumptious lemon drizzle cake and Scottish shortbread which we felt had to be eaten. The location was outstanding, for us coming from the crowded South it was quiet and peaceful with very little traffic on the roads. As for the wildlife, it was fantastic to see one of the Pine Martins come as near as 2 feet away to eat the food provided by Jayne. We also saw a Badger, Squirrels, Woodpecker and many other birds. We even saw, thanks to the cam, accessible from the TV, blue tit chicks in their nest and the parents feeding them which was an eye opener for us. Overall, we were very happy with the Lodge and the area and intend to go back in the near future. Only have two words of caution, neither of which is down to Mingarry. Firstly, we went in early June and got severly bitten by the pesky Scottish midges so make sure you take insect repellent and cream and secondly, if travelling to Fort William we suggest you use the road via Invergarry rather than the ferry which at £8.20 each way for a 5 minute journey was very expensive. Enjoy!
Spent a lovely week at Tooting Lodge. Had amazing weather (no rain all week). Lovely hosts, providing everything plus more you may need. Cosy lodge, great wildlife and peaceful. Lovely area of Scotland, very picturesque. All 4 of us really enjoyed our stay.
We had a wonderful break at Tooting Lodge. It has been very comfortably appointed with a great deal of thoughtfulness to make it homely and a great place to stay. The welcome pack was generous and comprehensive and the equipment, reference books and dvd collection and games provided in the Lodge were excellent. Andrew and Jayne clearly invest a lot of time and thought into ensuring everything is catered for.
The spring break we had was like being in a private episode of Springwatch, with live access to cameras in nest boxes and views of feeders within 2-3 metres of the lodge windows, which attracted a huge variety of birds and, to our delight, red squirrels. We also encountered deer and, thanks to Andrew and Jayne's advice, were able to see a white tailed Sea Eagle.
Local walks were excellent, with comprehensive notes and maps provided in the lodge and we also went on a trip to see the puffins at Lunga and Fingal's Cave, which was well worth the effort.
In short, this was a break where we totally slowed down and had time to actually see and appreciate all that nature has to offer- often from our very own comfortable sofa inside Tooting Lodge!
A fabulous location with amazing wildlife. A beautiful lodge with all the comforts of home. Perfectly situated for exploring the stunning area. Our hosts could not have been more welcoming and went to great lengths to ensure we had a great holiday.
Mingarry lodges are in a wonderful setting - in a remote area but accessible to delightful villages , coves, nature reserves and wildlife hides. Jayne and Andrew have created a wonderful place to visit and so much love and care has been put in to making us comfortable and welcome. We have had a wonderful stay cycling and walking the ardnamurcan peninsula which is stunningly beautiful . We can recommend loch shiel cruises to see the White tip Eagles and a visit to arnamurcan lighthouse and new distillery is recommended . The nature centre at glenberg is also recommended - lovely owners and great lunches - we were spoiled ! Back to tooting lodge - it is spotless and so cosy and warm - beautiful scenery to the woods behind to watch the wildlife , opportunity to feed birds and other magical creatures. Jayne and Andrew have put so much thought and care into creating a wonderful holiday experience for people who appreciate nature and wildlife xx we will hope to return one day as we are very lucky to have found this special place in an untouched part of the U.K. . Xxxx
Five star everything - the welcome, the wonderful lodge accommodation, the wildlife on the doorstep (literally) - and even the weather! (on this trip!). Beautiful & peaceful retreat, great area for walking and just getting away from it all.
Hooting Lodge is a perfect location for visiting the Ardnamurchan area. Plenty of local wildlife and excellent facilities in the Lodge, including helpful information about the area.
What can I say.. from the moment we arrived it was like heaven. A cacophony of birdsong greeted us as we opened the car door, and I've never seen so many siskins! The lodge was by far the best and most luxurious place we've ever stayed at, and was so warm and cosy. Jayne and Andrew have thought of absolutely everything you could require for a week away and the welcome tray was such a lovely touch. We had the most glorious weather and saw so much wildlife including sea eagles and pine martens.. but if it had rained all week we'd have been more than happy watching all the wildlife from the lodge! A dream to sit having a cup of tea in the morning watching red squirrels only feet away on the feeders.. I was up at 6am each morning watching them and all the different birds from each window. We hardly watched any regular TV all week.. preferring to watch the live webcams from the nest boxes and 'rodent cam' which was usually visited by 'Roger' the red deer stag! Jayne even let us borrow a bat detector which was great fun at dusk. She was so friendly and informative on the local area. We've fallen in love with the whole area and Mingarry lodges are the perfect place to stay.. Can't wait for our next visit.
This lovely lodge was so cosy and comfortable and felt like home as soon as we arrived. The location is fantastic and a treat for nature lovers. For anyone who loves the outdoors and the stunning beauty of Scotland this is the place to stay.
My stay at Mingarry Lodges was a wonderful experience in every way. The accommodation could not have been better, the level of equipment being beyond all reasonable expectations.
Jayne and Andrew spared no effort to enhance our stay, making us comfortable, giving us information about the local area, the wildlife, and places to go, even to the extent of providing a weather forecast and tide information for the week ahead! Our frequent chats about what we had seen and where we had visited were a delight, and I very quickly felt as if I had known them a considerable time.
I heard about Mingarry Lodges form a former guest, and like that family, would highly recommend staying there to anybody who likes comfort, wildlife, has an interest in geology, and amazing scenery.
This was our second time at Mingarry Lodges and Tooting Lodge was every bit as good as Hooting Lodge. Although we knew what to expect, the extra little touch of an Easter Egg awaiting us on arrival, alongside the welcome tray with all its goodies, and all the comforts of the lodge made it a pleasure to be back again.
As well as the high quality of the accommodation, it was again wonderful to enjoy the wildlife right on the doorstep. Although we did not see some of those who came visiting in the dead of night, the highlight, that we were even able to capture on camera, was a reindeer, enjoying the grass in the front garden!!!
The location is also a perfect base from which to explore the many of the hidden treasures of the area. For us, this included returning to some of the places we previously explored such as Sanna Bay, Castle Tioram and Smirisary. However, new ground was broken through completing several of the walks right on the doorstep of Mingarry, the most notable of which was the Silver Walk along the edge of Loch Moidart.
Another first was lunch at the Acharacle Tearoom, next door to the village Post Office. Although the car park was jam packed when we arrived and the Tearoom was bustling we were able to get a seat and highly recommend the food and service. Although we would strongly suggest leaving space for the delicious home baked cakes. Our only regret was that we didn’t manage to get back for a second visit but we will be back next time we are in the area.
We would highly recommend Mingarry Lodges and look forward to returning again.
We had a brilliant week in Tooting Lodge at the end of October. The weather was variable but there are some wonderful walks and beautiful scenery only a short distance from the lodge. The wildlife was spectacular whatever the weather with red squirrels, pine martens, a pair of jays and so many other birds visiting daily thanks to Jayne's assiduous feeding programme. The lodge itself was cosy, homely and immaculately clean, stocked with a huge number of books, maps, guides, DVDs and CDs. We could not have wished for more and we intend to return!
Jayne & Andrew were perfect hosts, friendly, informative & welcoming. The log cabin was very well equipped with everything we needed for a comfortable stay. Bedding & towels supplied were of good quality with lovely big towels. Heating system was very efficient. We enjoyed watching a wide variety of wildlife around the cabin and many species of birds. We would definitely recommend the log cabins to anyone wanting to explore the Ardnamurchan peninsula, we visited Sanna Bay & the lighthouse at the end of the peninsula, went across the ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory on Mull for the day, Castle Tioram is quite near to the cabins as is the beach at Ardtoe, another good day trip is to Arisaig and the singing sands at Morar, then on to Mallaig.
I would say that Mingarry lodges made the perfect base. We will hopefully visit again and have already recommend to our family & friends.
Very good holiday, accommodation very good and weather helped. Jayne full of information to help plan you're days out. Pinemartin on veranda table every night was a special treat, even looked in window on first night