Ethel's House, Armadale

10/06/2024

The local legend of the Split Stone just east of Melvich :)

01/06/2024

The rangers are running regular puffin walks this summer :) Something to incorporate into a day out west perhaps?

Have you ever seen a Puffin? Donald the Ranger is leading a guided walk most Mondays through June and July starting 1.30pm at Balnakeil at Durness in search of puffins. It is also a great place for orchids and other rare plants as well as birds and butterflies.

22/05/2024

19/05/2024

If you're staying during the periods when Lotte's studio is open, it's well worth a look - her sculpture croft on the far side of Loch Eriboll is an amazing place to spend a couple of hours.

19/04/2024

18/04/2024

A Throwback Thursday to when we first started renovating Ethel's - standing in the king-size room looking through to the single bedroom on the left and the landing on the right!

17/03/2024

Cocoa Mountain also back open at Balnakeil for guests exploring the North West corner - they really do make the best hot chocolate ever.

17/03/2024

Everything is starting to reopen for the season - FBI back from next Friday with a new menu.

Website revamp alert 🔥 let us know what you think! ⁣(link in bio)
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⁣Those who check out our new(ish) site get a sneak peak of our brand new spring restaurant menu pre launch 🤭
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⁣Open every day from Friday, 22nd March 2024 08:00 - 22:00.
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28/01/2024

A fresh coat for the downstairs windowsill while we have a few days empty. I need slightly nicer weather to do the outside ones, but at least the snow has cleared!

18/01/2024

There's an Ethel's down there somewhere! Having a bit of weather up here at the moment, but our current lovely guests are being amazingly stoic and have built a magnificent snowman in the front garden :)

13/01/2024

If you want to come and stay with us this year - don't leave it too long to book! This is what our booking calendar looks like this morning, white days are available, green days are booked, purple days are blocked off (maintenance in January, short holiday for us in November, the odd single days are because I'm now working full time and can't do a same-day changeover on a weekday!). On a quick count-up, we only have 11 full weeks left available for 2024.

The 2025 calendar is open if you feel like planning well in advance, or alternatively we do have another house a bit further west which is less busy as it's more remote. Three bedrooms, sleeps six, accepts up to three dogs - it's called Tor Aluinn and it's in a tiny little hamlet called Coldbackie, just outside Tongue. https://www.cottages.com/cottages/tor-aluinn-uk30486

11/01/2024

Guided ranger walks for the first quarter - the Poulouriscaig one is literally on our doorstep, that's the clearance village on the hill behind the house.

23/12/2023

Just finishing up before today's guests arrive - we've had a bit of snow this morning, this was all green 3 hours ago!

19/12/2023

Christmas and New Year hours for The Store - yes, they really do open on Christms Day!

A quick reminder of our festive opening hours for the main dates.

Outwith these days we are open as usual 🤗

Open 365 days of the year 🎄 🍻 🥃 🥂

🎱 Pool & Darts competition 26th December

📝 Pub Quiz 2nd January

🎶 live music 5th January by ARENA

For any of you travelling Craigdhu - Bettyhill Caravan and Campsite is also open 365 days.

15/12/2023

I keep hearing rave reviews about this place and haven't managed to get there to try it out yet! It's nearly an hour from Ethel's, but a really special experience; just one table, so private dining, and your food is cooked in front of you. The beef is from the owner's own herd, you pick one main steak and he chooses complementary cuts to go with it. It books up VERY fast, January is already sold out and February is nearly full already, so if you're booked in here and you fancy trying it, book your table well ahead of your visit.

All little finishing touches are now complete in the kitchen and dining area..✅👏🏻

It's taken a wee bit of time to get things to the full vision that I wanted over 1 year ago, but we got there and I am delighted. A big shout-out to MEP Services for all the joinery work that was done in both areas. Amazing job.

On another note, January slots are now fully booked and there are only a handful remaining in February. So once again, I'd like to say thank you so much for all the support..🙌🏻

26/11/2023

New menu at The Store Bistro & Bar - Bettyhill - Mick had his favourite seafood platter and I went for the stew, which was a delicious chicken and chorizo today. They're also really good on gluten free options if needed.

17/10/2023

We have now moved to our winter opening hours so will close at 3.30 p.m. on Saturdays and will only be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays

17/10/2023

We are extending our opening hours!

1st Apr to 31st Oct, Mon to Sat, 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm).
1st Nov to 15th Dec, Tue to Thu, 11am to 3pm (last entry 2.30pm).

03/10/2023

Ranger walks for the next couple of months.

19/09/2023

Northern Lights season is starting off with a bang this year, we've had a couple of very strong displays already. Caithness last night

Sky is glowing again over Caithness tonight.
Loch Watenan earlier tonight.

17/09/2023

Our restaurant and bar meals are still very busy. As we have only 1 Chef, please book ahead to avoid disappointment

27/08/2023

Following the previous sell out weekend we are having our September Steak & Lobster weekend the very first one of the month 🥩🦞

Friday the 1st and Saturday the 2nd of September we will be cooking some tasty steaks alongside locally caught lobster and langoustines.

The forecast in Bettyhill for next weekend is beautiful. Crisp white wine and lobster weather 🤤

Call to secure a table - full menu to follow 😃

☎️ 07944 978332

11/08/2023

If you want to do the farm tour in Melvich, best to book well in advance, particularly during school holidays - they get busy :)

04/08/2023

No one on the beach but me and the dogs this afternoon :)

01/08/2023

30/07/2023

Local visiting his local! He's usually up here at this time of year, he takes his role as Chieftain of the Mey Highland Games very seriously. We're in full Highland Games and Gala season up here now - Bettyhill gala starts 3rd August, Mey Games 5th August, Helmsdale 19th August (where you might see Edwyn Collins, a former Games Chieftain himself wandering around).

Big wave from the King today 😁

22/07/2023

Finally a bit of sunshine this month :)

23/06/2023

So for those of you who have stayed and copied down the biscuit recipe from the info book, I discovered a new thing to do with it this week - roll balls of mixture about the size of a fat ball you'd put in a bird feeder, squash them into flat discs, bake, and then top with a scoop of ice cream! Makes 10-12 from a single batch of dough.