Scandinavia shakes hands with Scotland in Borradill, two thoughtfully designed holiday homes on the west coast
In Denmark, ordinary people have holiday homes. Not just uber-wealthy sorts with year-round tans and whitewashed villas on the Riviera. Normal people with regular jobs and summer houses, or sommerhuse: modest cabins in rural idylls, planted deep in the woods or overlooking a lake. So observed the interior designer for Borradill Claire Mookerjee when she spent time living and working in Copenhagen. “The Danes would go to their summer houses every year and live very simply for a few months,” she says. “I found it completely beguiling.”
Escaping to a remote utopia like Borradill wasn’t a novel concept to the designer. She and her husband Will live in London and have holidayed on the windswept Ardnamurchan peninsula for many years, sharing a caravan on the beach with friends. The “mad idea” to put down deeper roots emerged during the pandemic after seeing two Swedish timber-framed buildings up for sale in Glenborrodale, not far from their treasured coastal spot. “It struck me how many similarities there are between Scandinavia and the West Highlands in terms of bothy culture, and what you can do outdoors – foraging, kayaking, wild swimming,” says Claire. So they remortgaged their house and transformed the lodges into two Danish-style self-catering holiday lets in 25 acres of private woodland. Fertile ground for what Claire, a mum of two, describes as “Enid Blyton-style holidays, where kids can go wild”.
Our toddler, though intrepid, isn’t quite at the knapsack stage. But the moment we arrive at Borradill he scrambles down the steps, eager to explore. “HOLIDAY!” he bellows, pushing the door open to the house. It’s the larger of the two properties – sleeping up to six people – with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge, kitchen, dining space, snug and boot room. The four-hour journey from Glasgow took us on the Corran Ferry and along twisty roads, so he’s like a sprung coil, ricocheting with delight from room to room. “I thought you said we were staying in a shed?” asks my husband. Er, I may have downplayed Borradill a bit.
I mean, it is made from wood. But it is spacious, homely and colourful – like a Carl Larsson painting complete with tongue-and- groove panelled rooms, cosy nooks and storytelling furniture. “I wanted the house to sing in a bright and joyful way,” says Claire. “The muted, minimal style that’s in at the moment can sometimes feel a bit worthy.” Cue ochre and powder-blue walls, terracotta woven wall-hangings and tangerine chairs, tempered by straw and sage tones drawn from the surrounding landscape.
Scottish and Nordic influences embrace like old pals at Borradill: textiles from Dundeebased Hallie Stevensons, checked fabrics by the Finnish artist Synnöve Lindberg. Wicker baskets hang from Shaker pegs, and hand-painted tiles above the fireplace tell the story of the Viking prince rumoured to be buried further up the hill. The place smells like whisky and honey, warm timber and clean air.
This part of Scotland is sparsely populated and astonishingly beautiful. Half an hour from Borradill is Sanna Bay, a fat ribbon of white sand lapped by turquoise waters. Closer by is Loch Sunart, where we take a boat tour with Ardnamurchan Charters. Our skipper points out seals and shags (birds, before you snicker) as we sail between ancient mountains looking for dolphins. Claire likes to snorkel here. “Underneath the water is just as extraordinary,” she says. “Kelp forests, all different colours of starfish. Really special.”
Back at Borradill, the loch is framed by vast picture windows. In the mornings we admire it outside from the decking. At night it is absorbed by a sky milky with stars. It’s peaceful just the three of us, but we talk about how nice it would be to have friends here making use of the long dining table and the firepit outside. I start to feel guilty that we haven’t gone full Enid Blyton, unless there’s a Three Snooze on the Sofa I don’t know about. But then I spy a compendium of Mary Oliver poems on a Borradill shelf and remember her wisdom in Today: “I’m taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I’m travelling a terrific distance.”
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Looking for another countryside escape? Try Inverlonan, a cluster of bothies overlooking Loch Nell – just as heavenly and secluded as the Danish-inspired Borradill holiday home.
Inverlonan bothy sits quietly in the dip of a grassy hill overlooking Loch Nell
