Take Highland Inspiration For Log Cabins

Building garden log cabins may be something many people do, but the question of how one can be given a theme is something many will ask. However, a spark of inspiration may come from the Scottish Highlands.

It appears many have cottoned on to the appeal of staying in a log cabin in a wood or by a loch, far from the madding crowd and where the wooden structures blend in perfectly with the environment.

This has been highlighted by both The Times and Conde Naste Magazine recently. In the former case, the Red Squirrel Cabin at Ullapool in the Highlands is one of ten top log cabin experiences named by the paper. It is located by a loch, deep within woods, self-catering and in a perfect spot to see red squirrels, as the name suggests.

Conde Naste featured a similar log cabin in its feature of Britain’s top secret secluded spots to stay. This included a pair of log cabin bothies in self-catered seclusion, with their own pizza ovens. Known as Inveronan, it is based near Oban and best approached by boat across Loch Nell, which offers the opportunity for wild swimming.

Of course, there is much about these log cabins that cannot be recreated by most householders; Very few people will own large tracts of land in some remote wooded lakeside area but will live in a town instead. And if there are squirrels about, they will be grey in most parts of the UK.

However, there may be some aspects you can replicate. You could have an outdoor pizza oven, for example, or perhaps even beds to permit an overnight stay. If you have trees in the garden, perhaps your cabin can be the other side of these from the house, creating a micro-oasis of seclusion.

These might not match the splendour of the wilds of Britain’s most rural areas, but they could provide a year-round opportunity to taste a little of something different, bringing a hint of the wilderness back home.