This is Eastside

Name: This is Eastside
Address: Eastside, Penicuik, EH269LN, GB
Telephone: +441968677842
Price range: £££
Rating: 4.4

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This is Eastside

Explore the heather covered hills, long walks and breathtaking views, just 10 miles from Edinburgh.
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Eastside Cottages are the perfect place to enjoy a hide-away in the country. Overlooking the farmyard with spectacular views beyond these cosy cottages have everything you could need; with walking country on your doorstep and Edinburgh a short drive away.

22/07/2024

Eastside rewetting project: As part of our 5 year agri-environment plan we are working to (create and) manage our wetlands and water margin to optimise these biodiversity superchargers! Throughout the Eastside glen we are creating a string of wetlands, water margins and scrapes to hold water, slow the flow and act as an insect engine house.

Each big idea starts with small steps. Donaldson Forestry & Fencing completing the fencing - it really is an art form as it weaves along the contours and water courses. Watergates beautifully designed to react to the ebbs and flows of our strange new climate.

Our wetland grazing plan has been carefully designed to reduce the risk of fluke (a parasite) that wetlands inevitably bring to our organic flock. Working with The Moredun Foundation alongside our ecologist The Farm Environment Ltd our timings are optimised for reduced fluke risk and boost ecological outcomes.

There is a huge amount of thought, planning and work that goes into these projects from a great many skilled folk. It has been an absolute pleasure working with each and every one.

Next the diggers & drain blocking.

17/07/2024

Shearing started in earnest yesterday. One of those seasonal jobs at Eastside that gets done much as it was in yesteryear.

We have a shed now to get sheep and shearers out the worst of the wet or sun. But still clip (granted with an upgrade to the old hand shear), roll and pack the wool sheets. Our organic wool clip going to Galashiels to be sorted, graded and sold on to carpet, tweed, mattresses or insulation makers.

We raced the thunderclouds and won this time, gathering and sorting amongst black clouds and a distant rumbling. 618 down, roughly the same to go.

24/06/2024

On Sunday we walked out with Graham this time. Looking to tag our late kestrel chicks before they fledge.

There were 5 eggs remember. Graham roped up and scaled the tree. “How many are we thinking?” He asked. “5” we said, ever the optimists.

His hand went in the box & one by one the young birds were bagged & carefully hoisted down for ringing & tagging.

How many chicks you ask? 5, incredibly, all late chicks hatched and grew. Fluffy & feathered at 21 days old they are just a week off leaving the nest & a month off independent living.

Incredible creatures, let’s hope their late luck lasts out.

19/06/2024

In the last few weeks our wild hill sheep have been gathered down off the hills to Eastside, a little stop/start as we try to avoid the heavy June showers.
It’s an all hands on deck family affair. Our first opportunity to properly check the all the ewes after lambing, mark our lambs with the traditional Eastside lug mark and shear each hefts hogs.
In many ways not much has changed as we echo the work and cyclical calendar of times gone past - & yet much has changed. The best of old & new working in harmony.

18/06/2024

Hill farm / high fashion + dear Oscar.
Delighted to spend a good couple of days clambering through the heather & hill grasses with the team.

03/06/2024

On Sunday we walked out with Keith (our resident bird man) & his daughter to check on the Kestrel nest. Perched in an old Scot’s pine Keith roped up and climbed the trunk to take a look.

Usually by now the chicks are a few weeks old and ready to ring. The weather has delayed this nest, but incredibly there were 5 eggs pipping, hatching imminent as the young kestrel cheep inside their eggs.

Late but great news. Fingers crossed for dry weather and good vole hunting.

02/06/2024

…There are spectacular unspoilt mountain views from every direction with their appearance ever changing as the weather drifts - which is often in Scotland!

29/05/2024

Verdant

25/04/2024

Chop chop 🪓
10% off all stays until the 23rd May.
Book with EASTSPRING

13/04/2024

Wee extras : Guests are given a rucksack, flask & tin cups to take out into the hills. We love these green waxed bags made right here in Scotland by They feel at home here, a fitting addition to our wild Scottish accommodation where the hills are always calling.

11/04/2024

A grazing management plan : Our wonderful ancient hefting system was used to determine areas, habitats and grazing pressures. This allows us to optimise the grazing for both biodiversity and animal health. We currently manage upland species-rich dry and wet meadows, upland habitat mosaics, water margins, wader areas, SSSIs, wetlands and moorland by careful manipulation of sheep within their hefts.

As well as our ecologists we have been working with our farm vets and the team at Moredun to look at disease risk management in the organic flock. Grazing dates of wetlands & water margins were altered, very slightly less ideal for habitat management but hugely reducing the risk of fluke, a parasite found in wetter areas. This edit allowed our organic flock to manage the grazing with a lot less (hopefully no) need for treatment - which is great for the invertebrates & dung beetles too.

A balance is important, we make a living from farming sheep in the uplands. Our ecologists and ourselves believe that sheep can be an ecological management tool for good. The fungi surveyors recognised our wooly friends as the perfect partners to the incredible waxcap and coral fungi diversity shown in the Pentlands, and although cattle after often touted as the answer for conservation grazing (& in lots of places we completely agree!) we have been advised that for many of the more fragile areas here they would be inappropriate.

It is nuanced upland management, it is complex and it is wonderfully wild.

Right tree, right upland scrub, right grazing management, right pond, right peatland restoration (backed up with a just transition and sustainable income for the Scottish rural communities) right place Leo. ✌️

08/04/2024

Nature for breakfast. Forest bathing from the breakfast bar.

07/04/2024

I’ve been waiting a good long while to post this. A wee capture of a wonderful afternoon with Tony, Richard & Michael; chatting grazing programs, regen scrub, aspen, lichen, bryophytes, peatland, wild hill sheep, waxcaps, SSSIs, the less than delightful people who cut fences & the creation of biodiversity superchargers!

Watch this space.

The Farm Environment Ltd NatureScot

06/04/2024

This year in collaboration with NatureScot, ScotGov Rural & The Farm Environment Ltd we are starting work on a new agri-environment project. We have been working with a fantastic team of ecologists to conduct a whole-farm biodiversity audit & advise us on how we should best be managing the complex mosaic of habitats that make up this upland farm. Tony, Richard & Duncan spend weeks walking the farm taking detailed notes of species, habitats, condition & potential. We have put together a wonderfully exciting, (mostly funded) phase 1 to be implemented over the next 5 years.

Over the next few weeks and months we hope to take you along with us, planning, building & recording; one step at a time.

05/04/2024

The days lengthen and the curlew arrive to nest in the wild hill pasture. The lambs are not far away with a mid April start, later in the hills in the hope of warmer weather. Come stay this spring for long walks, leaping lambs, curlew calls, steam saunas and roaring fires.

10% off with EASTSPRING

30/03/2024

I am a firm believer in putting my money where my mouth is. Rewarded for our crowd funding investment with this extraordinarily beautiful piece made entirely from Blackface wool.

Thank you Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere & Merrick. A fashion statement grown in the uplands, fair trade wool supporting the farming communities in the Galloway biosphere.

06/03/2024

Gosh it has been too long. Buried under a mountain of paperwork & baby muslins - I emerge. Happy to be back out on the hill gathering with dad and Bruce. Remembering why I love this place with all my heart.

08/02/2024

And all was white.

Our little woodshed, tucked in behind the original stone d***s. Just like it belongs, sewn into the landscape by ancient lines of local stone painstakingly constructed by those that went before.

06/02/2024

Due to a cancellation the Steading cottage is now available for February break. The perfect hilltop hideaway for four to stay & more to gather. Short breaks available. Come stay.

31/01/2024

Home is where the heart is.

26/01/2024

just let your heart be fire
and let your soul be wild
and let your spirit glow.

24/01/2024

The Woodshed illustrated.

Dappled light, flickering flames & wild hill views. The perfect winter bolt hole to escape from the world.

https://www.eastsidecottages.co.uk/holiday-cottage/near-edinburgh/westside-woodshed

23/01/2024

We are always so grateful for kind words:

“There was lots of snow and it was very cold but the cottage was lovely and warm and the log burning stove made us want to just cosy up by the fire and read. You can see the beautiful landscape from all windows of the cottage and this was enhanced by the thick covering of snow which enticed us to use the sledges provided.”

A beautiful landscape to explore come rain or shine or thick blanket of snow, tempting one out with the snow boots and sledge.

Address

Eastside
Penicuik
EH269LN

Telephone

+441968677842

Website

http://www.eastsidecottages.co.uk/

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Videos

The wee Steading, one of our favourites. With sheep counting from the kitchen window as standard. Available throughout the February break, 9th - 16th. Come stay. #thisiseastside #februarybreak #holiday #adventure #hillfarm #slowtravel #places #magic #pentlandhills #scotland #thiswaytothehills #pentlandhillsregionalpark

Returning from a wonderful meeting with Project L&. NatureScot #FIRNS Have your say https://l-and.co

Thank you

We’re checking out from Facebook till the New Year, but not before thanking all our guests this year. Every last one of you are owed a big hug from us & a big thank you from this wee business. See you on the other side, big love. X #thisiseastside #biglove #bigthanks #farmlife #people #scotland #thiswaytothehills

Last minute cancellation in our little WOODSHED Escape to the country for long walks, picnics and hilltop sunsets, returning to evenings in your private hot tub under the stars. Monday - Friday next week just £753 https://www.eastsidecottages.co.uk/holiday-cottage/near-edinburgh/westside-woodshed

Once the tobogganing is done for the day, the sun sets and the sauna is lit. A genuinely Finnish experience this December hot spring water steam interspersed with icy plunges. There is something quite magical about a sauna in the snow. #thisiseastside #sauna #snow #december #christmas #farm #wilderness #explore #farmlife #holiday #agritourism #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #scotland #thiswaytothehills #kiphideaways #hiddenscotland #sawdaystravel

The Wash House on a bright winters day. Light streaming in every window and dancing over every surface. Today we were making up beds and setting fires in preparation for a Sawday's inspection. We can’t wait to show them around.

Woodshed by daylight #thisiseastside #agritourism #woodshed #autumn #weather #fall #sunlight #holiday #hillfarm #landscape #wild #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #farmlife #scotland #thiswaytothehills #sawdaystravel #hiddenscotland

Facebook vs reality. As the saying goes, never work with children or animals. Jack & Bruce have limited patience for reels that aren’t about them - especially when it’s raining! #thisiseastside #pups #sheepdogs #weather #rain #autumn #fall #agritourism #holiday #hillfarm #landscape #wild #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #farmlife #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural

Lots of golden October weeks to be had in the Woodshed. No filter necessary. https://www.eastsidecottages.co.uk/holiday-cottage/near-edinburgh/westside-woodshed #thisiseastside #autumn #fall #agritourism #holiday #hillfarm #landscape #wild #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #farmlife #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural #sawdaystravel #woodshed

Out in the hills today. Taking in the heather, the bees and the views. There is no where else I’d rather be. 🤍 #thisiseastside #placestostay #slowtravel #hillfarm #hillpasture #agritourism #farmhouse #escape #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #thisisfarming #farmlife #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural #sawdaystravel

It feels just right to be riding up the old drove road on horseback. A car seems to fast, too enclosed. You need to be out in the elements, out in the dappled shade with the wind blowing through the trees and the rhythmical crunching of horse shoes on gravel. Slow travel needs to be done on foot, on push bike or best of all on a horse. #thisiseastside #placestostay #august #slowtravel #horse #droveroad #hillfarm #agritourism #farmhouse #escape #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #edinburghfestival #august #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural #sawdaystravel

All done!… bar the odd one hiding in the bracken. Until next year. #thisiseastside #placestostay #hillfarm #agritourism #farmhouse #escape #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural #sawdaystravel #gorural

Our little Cartshed has some last minute availability. 7 wonderful nights from the 12th August. Come stay and embrace slow travel; take a bottle of whisky for sunset on a nearby hilltop, spot wild flowers, butterflies and birds in the cottage garden or just relax in your own woodland sauna under the stars. https://www.eastsidecottages.co.uk/holiday-cottage/near-edinburgh/eastside-cartshed #thisiseastside #cartshed #placestostay #hillfarm #agritourism #farmhouse #wild #escape #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural #sawdaystravel

At last some welcome rain. #thisiseastside #placestostay #agritourism #gorural #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #scotland #thiswaytothehills #visitscotland #sawdaystravel #hiddenscotland

Lowend coming in. We were lucky to get this heft in before the heat arrived. Clipped and out again. All farm work stops now until the cool returns. Working in the heat no good for man nor beast as dad says. For now we rest and try to find cool shade with a slight breeze. #thisiseastside #hillfarm #heatwave #shearing #pentlandhills #pentlands #thiswaytothehills #hiddenscotland

Westside Woodshed

Our little Woodshed has some rare availability. 7 wonderful nights from the 24th June. Come stay & embrace slow travel; take a bottle of wine for sunset on a nearby hilltop, spot wild flowers, butterflies and birds in the cabin garden or just relax in your own wood fired hot tub under the stars. https://www.eastsidecottages.co.uk/holiday-cottage/near-edinburgh/westside-woodshed #thisiseastside #woodshed #placestostay #hillfarm #agritourism #farmhouse #wild #escape #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #scotland #thiswaytothehills #gorural #sawdaystravel

Storm Eunice

What a difference a day makes. #thisiseastside #stormeunice #slowtravel #holiday #placestostay #agritourism #pentlandhills #pentlands #edinburgh #scotland #thiswaytothehills #hillfarm #gorural #sawdaystravel

S T O R M D U D L E Y #aquietminute

Oh Storm Dudley, so wild but so beautiful. #nofilterneeded #aquietminute #thisiseastside #slowtravel #placestostay #agritourism #pentlandhills #pentlands #scotland #thiswaytothehills

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Our Story

Eastside Cottages are the perfect self catering retreat in the hills. The holiday cottages are hidden up a quiet glen surrounded by the spectacular Pentland Hills on Eastside, our working sheep farm. Designed as a home-away-from-home, each cottage has a fully equipped kitchen, sitting room with wood burning fire, cosy bedrooms & private gardens. All cottages have stunning views of the hills & walking from the doorstep.

Visit our beautiful, rugged landscapes. Enjoy long walks then curl up in your cosy cottage by a log fire. Being so near to Edinburgh brings you the best of town & country all year round.

A working Scottish Sheep Farm

Eastside Farm is 1230 hectares encompassing some of the best known hills in the Pentlands. The South Blackhill, Hare Hill, Scald Law and The Kipps will be familar to walkers and are iconic of the region. At its lowest point the farm is 262m above sea-level rising to 579m at the top of Scald Law.

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