Lochinver, Scotland

About this house sitting position in Lochinver

Who we are:

We are a family of 3 living on a woodland croft/smallholding in the Highlands. We have 2 dogs, English Shepherds Geo, who is 6 and Trix (1 3/4) and 4 cats - 23 paws in total (one cat has only 3 legs! :-) )

We are next looking for house sitters for just over 2 weeks in September. The dates already factor in a handover at the start (we will be leaving in the morning of September 12th and would like sitters to arrive on the 11th). We are returning on Saturday 29th and sitters could either leave that morning or stay another night (which we'd prefer) - we had both set ups and whilst it's always nice to catch up we can work around it if somebody has to leave promptly that day.

Our loghouse is situated on a woodland croft (croft = a scottish term for a smallholding), in the North-West Highlands of Scotland, in an area called Assynt, 5 mins outside the village of Lochinver. Approximately 2 hours drive north of Inverness. Assynt features amazing white coral sand beaches (we are 5 mins from the famous Achmelvich Beach) as well as great mountains. A fantastic area to explore.

Area & House:

To enjoy the area you are ideally an adventurous spirit with a willingness to embrace the rural experience. Whilst not a farm our house is on croftland - wonderful to explore but no paths, no street lights! The same goes for the area. There are some more gentle paths but the willingness to explore 'off track' will greatly contribute to the experience.

We have mountains to climb and stunning white coral sand beaches to explore. We often have people ask what the best time is to visit our area and September is definitely our recommendation!

Our house and its surroundings are rustic - wooden floors rather than carpets and heather, and gorse rather than manicured lawns and flower beds. You will hear stags roaring in the autumn!

The house has 3 bedrooms - 1 double, 1 double sofabed in the second bedroom/home office and 1 child bedroom with single bed. Broadband/Wifi (about 5-7mbps download speed). Sky TV. Washingmachine/tumble dryer. Dishwasher. Microwave. Gashob/Electric oven.

We heat the house with a multi-fuel stove - as handling open fires in a wooden house is a more involved task and responsibility we are ideally looking for sitters who have experience with this type of heating, although in September you will probably don't need a lot of it as our loghouse absorbs any heat from the sun very efficiently .

Please note it is *essential* to have a car, to get here and to get around locally! We only have one vehicle and are unable to leave it for sitters, so having your own or renting one is a necessity . We would also expect you to take the dogs in the car (and will provide sturdy covers for boot and back seats).

Responsibilities & Pets:
We are looking for a couple with proven experience in looking after at least medium-size dogs, and who have done sits with more than one dog. Our dogs are friendly and love people but they are also used to being a key part of our family and need somebody who confidently takes over the role of being in charge. English Shepherds as a breed are known to have an 'off-switch' and there is no specific minimum requirement for exercise per day. Whilst exercise is not the most important thing it is really important for us that somebody keeps the dogs safe and gives them affection freely and enjoys that. They are used to being part of our family pack and so the housesits that have worked best in the past were those where sitters truly enjoyed the company of dogs and enjoyed spending time with them, on walks, but also cuddling on the sofa, and similar. To walk the dogs you have our 36 acre woodland croft at your disposal (if you are confident with off-the track walking and rough ground) or taking them to the beach, or on other walks in the area. You must be prepared to take the dogs in your vehicle - we provide boot & backseat covers.

The cats are outdoor cats - they might bring in the odd mouse, or have ticks that need removing. We regularly worm them but again there is no guarantee that they aren't afflicted when we are away. Please be sure you are ok with this kind of 'rustic' pets.

We want sitters to keep in touch with us when we are away with emails/Facebook or WhatsApp and photos and messages about the wellbeing of the pets, but also their own Read more...