House of the Northern Gate

28/07/2024

Very excited to share that the Flow Country near us was, this week, awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status for its globally important ecosystem quality. It is the most expansive and best example of peatlands and blanket bog in the world, and joins the Serengeti, the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef in securing this status. 💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇳

The Flow Country is a vast peat bog that covers much of Caithness in the north of Scotland. It hosts a diverse range of specialist plants and wildlife that have evolved to live in this environment and stores 400 million tonnes of carbon formed as vegetation rots and turns to peat. This is more carbon than all the UK’s forests and woodlands combined.  And, on top of that, It is also an internationally important place for wildlife, including birds like red-throated diver, golden plover and greenshank.

           

19/07/2024

Very excited to be featured in The Times this morning as a very special place to stay in the beautiful far north of Scotland.

           

19/03/2024

Gym update. Nearly finished! Just need to put in the rowing machine and some other equipment and we will be ready for guests. It has an inbuilt sound and lighting system but the views are motivation!

           

11/03/2024

Building works again? We are updating the garden room. Any guesses on what we're doing? Hint: here's a piece of equipment being tested in the cellar before being moved to its new home...

Lots of insulation going in (see the "before" infrared picture) as well as, sprung wooden flooring, internet connections and smart heating and lighting. More updates to come.

06/03/2024

Which brochure cover looks best? I'm trying to decide between the elegant minimalism of a simple monochrome cover or the more engaging and inspiring view out to sea at sunset. What do you think?

Get in touch if you would like a copy!

13/01/2024

Indulge in a multi-course dinner by Grant MacNicol, private chef, followed by a relaxing stay at House of the Northern Gate.

A rare opportunity to book an individual room at the House of the Northern Gate and to wake up to romantic views over the ocean at the most northerly place in the UK.

£200 per person.
Friday 16th February
Limited tickets.
Call 07787 880022
to book!

11/01/2024

Hi all,

Plenty of you have enquired about our Valentines weekend at House of the Northern Gate

We now have our menu ready!

This is going to be a really special night so if you want to treat someone you love then call 07787880022 to make a booking.

- An overnight stay at a beautiful period property, House of the Northern Gate
- Enjoy a 5 course dinner
- Relax with views across the coastline
- Breakfast included

£200 per person

Thanks, Grant.

08/01/2024

07/01/2024

sent us this sketch of the house from his stay last Autumn. Based on the Isle of Wight, he is the artist behind the stunning pictures of Dunnet Head in the dining room and main hall of the house. Even when it is dark outside, you can enjoy the spectacular views from the house. Thanks Alex!

02/01/2024

Happy New Year from !

Here is an unusual view from the house on a calm and sunny winter’s morning.

Thank you to everyone who stayed at the house in 2023 and all the many people in Caithness and beyond who came together to make their stays magical.

All of us Dunnetts wish you a very happy 2024 full of fun and adventure together. We look forward to welcoming some of you to the house in the year ahead.

North Coast 500

12/11/2023

The House of the Northern Gate floating above a sea mist in Dunnet Bay today. Thank you to Jennifer Gunn for the picture.

10/09/2023

Beautiful transformation of the dining room yesterday

21/08/2023

Great shots of this weekend’s event

21/08/2023

Beautiful wedding at House of the Northern Gate this weekend. I love it when people come to the house for the first time and discover the incredible views

17/08/2023

A guide to a huge array of things to do in the far north of Scotland.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/travel/6029851/5-reasons-you-have-to-visit-caithness-and-sutherland/

17/08/2023

Of course we are Scotland’s best destination! Explore the region while staying with us at the House of the Northern Gate

18/06/2023

Great list - so much to do around Caithness!

10/06/2023

Visit Scotland has awarded us their rare five star rating for accommodation in Scotland and we are very grateful and excited! Only about 200 out of 8000 exclusive use and self-catering properties in Scotland get this rating and after years of hard work renovating the house by an excellent team of local craftsmen, it feels good!

“An exceptional renovation of the house and a well deserved award”

Comfort, quality of fittings and furniture, decor, linen, bathrooms, personal touches and a warm welcome are all assessed and, as we hoped, were all found to be of the highest standard.

14/05/2023

Our new green roof on the garden room is laid! It is growing well, absorbing carbon and helping the building in the walled garden to blend into the landscape.

These pictures show the house and garden building before we laid the green roof, then the laying and now how it looks.

We are really excited to have it fitted and love how it looks from the house and how the greens and reds and browns match the surrounding heather, ferns and moss of Dunnet Head. Hope you like it too.

06/05/2023

Here in the United Kingdom and at the House of the Northern Gate today, we have been celebrating the coronation of our king and queen and the start of the Carolean era and remembering the honour of the visit of King Charles to our house to review the renovation works in 2021.
We would like to send our best wishes to Their Majesties King Charles Ill and Queen Camilla on their Coronation Day at Westminster
Abbey today.

18/04/2023

The last of our posts about the nine different bedrooms in the house. This is Hoy bedroom. One of our smaller ensuite rooms, Hoy is named after the Old Man of Hoy - an Orkney sea stack, the top of which is visible from Dunnet Head. The double room has an ensuite shower room.

04/04/2023

Mey bedroom. Painted in Farrow & Ball Red Earth, this room is where the Queen Mother reputedly looked from the window and saw Barrogill Castle which she proceeded to buy and rename as the Castle of Mey (and then spend several weeks in every year). The room can be double or single and has an ensuite bath.

21/03/2023

Holborn bedroom. Named after the headland visible from the window and, unlike the place in London, the “L” is pronounced. On an exceptionally clear day, you can see beyond Holborn Head and its lighthouse to Cape Wrath in the far distance. The room has a large French wardrobe and an ensuite shower room.

18/03/2023

Be inspired at House of the Northern Gate in the far north of Scotland. Since renovating the house, we have had several amazing artists stay at the house and find inspiration from the views of land and sea that stretch as far as the eye can see. In this post, artist Alistair Gordon paints Dunnet Bay and the house from the cliffs of the estate.

07/03/2023

Stroma and St. John's bedrooms. Named after St John’s loch (amazing for bird watching and fishing) and Stroma island (a deserted island in the Pentland Firth) which can be seen from the windows (all our bedrooms are named for what you can see from them). These rooms can be single or double and are the only rooms in the house which share a bathroom - decorated with Timorous Beasties wallpaper.