Relax in stylish comfort at Fern cottage, a boutique renovation in a scenic corner of Mull
I’m not sure if it’s a post-covid thing, but it feels a bit like we’re living in an era where nostalgia is everything. Reunion tours by ’90s bands, reissues of vintage furniture, reboots of classic TV shows… it seems we’re craving things from our past that made us happy, but with a 2024 update. And that extends to holidays, too.
More of us are revisiting the vacations of our childhood, whether introducing our own kids to some core memories or simply looking for the comfort of the familiar. At Fern Cottage on the isle of Mull on a recent visit with my daughters, I was transported back to my own childhood summers spent around the coast of Scotland and Ireland.
This cottage is just as nostalgic for its owners, Stephen and Lettie Corbett, and has been in the Corbett family for more than 100 years. A traditional farmer’s home, it sits in a secluded spot on the island’s south-eastern Croggan peninsula.
The couple were seduced by Mull’s charms – the profusion of wildlife, ever-changing skies, distance from the noise of the mainland. Stephen brought Lettie to the island numerous times over the years, where many of his family still live and where they now escape to as often as they can. And who can blame them? Their renovation of Fern Cottage has been remarkable; they have created a retreat that keeps them coming back with their family, and welcomes other visitors to this special nook of Scotland.
Sitting on the edge of Loch Spelve, Fern Cottage is a deceptively simple space. A 1950s ‘upgrade’ saw many of its original features stripped out, so Stephen and Lettie endeavoured to restore these. They’ve opened up the kitchen and living room area to allow for socialising and connection when holidaymakers are cooking, relaxing, playing games and chatting.
There are two bedrooms and a capacious bathroom, all decorated with flair: think floral repeats, sumptuous furniture and restful tones inspired by the surrounding natural habitat.
Raising the ceiling height has given a greater sense of space; it also allows natural light to dance around the wood-panelled walls, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Calke Green – a perfect foil to the kitchen island in Stone Blue.
Decked out in a mix of antiques collected over the years and elegant lighting by Pooky, Oka and Montes & Clark, this is a space that works no matter the time of day, where the mood is laidback and seems to whisper, go on, relax.
When you do venture out, you don’t have to go much further than the front lawn where loch views and XL sunsets, coupled with the neighbouring peacock and some rowdy chickens, will keep you entertained. (There is a TV, but this viewing schedule proved much more popular with us.)
Visitors should be mindful that Fern Cottage is isolated; the nearest shop is the Corbett family-run Old Post Office at Lochbuie which offers dairy and meat from local farms, kitchen staples and delicious homemade treats at the cafe. Tobermory, with its buzz of galleries and restaurants, is roughly a 90-minute drive away.
Continue on a little beyond it and you’ll reach the Glass Barn, which you might recognise from interior designer Banjo Beale’s TV show Designing the Hebrides. The Barn is home to Isle of Mull Cheese but it also has a beautiful cafe that is well worth queuing for.
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Inside is a hotchpotch of mismatched crockery and rustic furniture set within a glass structure that’s lined with foliage and draws the eye outside to the lush countryside beyond. Mull is a big island, but the road around it is single-track, so once you’re on it, it’s worth checking out as much as possible en route.
Head to Calgary beach; this is the kind of seascape that people post pictures of with the caption ‘Maldives or Mull?’, where the bleached white sands and azure waters make it hard to fathom that it could be Scotland. But it is, and it’s glorious. Even when the weather turns, the knowledge that your digs boast a cosy wood fire, woollen blankets and an abundance of boards games makes rainy days easier to handle.
Plus, the dramatic panoramas you’ll witness from the comfort of Fern Cottage have a restorative effect that perhaps only Scottish landscapes can bring. Nestle in, and book up a return trip.
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Prices start at around £2,100 for a week
Join us on an escape to the cosy award-winning Kildrummy Inn
