Rooms

This bijou bolthole feels like an exclusive home from home. There are just three rooms (created from the seven-bedroom house), two with dressing rooms. With a nod to the building's heritage, each is named after a character connected to the manse. Melville (Robert not Herman – although there are whales on the wallpaper) and MacInnes (the family which converted the manse into a B&B) both have loch and mountain views, Telford has garden and Scoraig Peninsula views.

Room interiors are sumptuous, think leather armchairs, soft tartan rugs, original fireplaces, local artworks, Roberts radios, Nespresso machines and homemade biscuits. We stayed in lovely MacInnes, and from its huge, high and supremely comfy Princess-and-the-Pea-style bed we watched seagulls swooping and ferries coming in through the shuttered sash windows. Bathrooms are large, each with a walk-in shower and free-standing tub. Have a soak in the bath (ours was bergamot, cardamom and pepper-scented), then pad down the corridor in a fluffy robe to the honesty bar to mix a G&T.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Hairdryer
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

Chef David Smith's tasting menu is the star turn. This is a destination restaurant. The intimate dining room is partly partitioned off for a chef's table and gin sampling room. The seven-course menu starts with snacks – our allium tart was a moreish mouthful of caramelised onion, wild garlic and onion seeds on crisp pastry. Each course is summed up with a single word. 'Hay' is the bread course because baked hay is infused in the water used to make the bread. The loaf arrives hot and crusty, with butter smeared across a rock from the shore. Our carrot course was elevated with a spicy pesto sauce, and our rich turbot was paired with celeriac, oyster leaf and a fish veloute. Each creation is presented on bespoke Highland Stoneware reflecting the local geology. There's a vegetarian menu alternative on offer too.

For breakfast there's porridge, of course, but the Hebridean Eggs is worth the extra calories, switching hollandaise with whisky cream and Stornoway black pudding to give the traditional eggs benedict a Scottish twist.

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast
• Coffee maker
• Organic produce
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby
• Vegetarian options

Activities

• This is the Scottish Highlands with the big outdoors on your doorstep. There are mountains to climb, cliffs to clamber and lochs to explore; you can buy fishing permits locally
  
• To the west is raw, rugged Inverpolly National Nature Reserve, home to two of the region's most famous summits – Stac Pollaidh and Suilven – along with pine martens and wildcats. Scan the skies for buzzards and golden eagles
  
• There's a 9-hole golf course on the edge of the village
  
• Check out the beautiful sandy beaches nearby, some within an hours' drive including Gruinard Bay, Clachtoll, Achmelvich
  
• Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve is another highlight and is part of the North Highlands Geopark, home to three billion years of geological history – check out Norman MacCaig's poetry carved into the rock
  
• To the south are the dizzying depths of Corrieshalloch Gorge and the spectacular Falls of Measach, best seen from a Victorian suspension bridge. The River Droma rushes through the tree-lined canyon, threaded with woodland trails
  
• Nearby Ullapool Bike Hire can cater for mountain biking enthusiasts

Kids

The Dipping Lugger is more of a romantic, couples' getaway sort of place, so it's probably better to leave the kids at home. Rooms, although spacious, do not lend themselves to extra beds. However, if your little one can fit into a travel cot, these can be provided at no extra cost.

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years)

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Ullapool is a bustling fishing village on the shores of Loch Broom on the west coast of Scotland; The Dipping Lugger is found on its picturesque, whitewashed waterfront.

By Air:
Inverness airport is an hour and a half's drive away on the east coast, with flights from around the UK.

By Car:
This is road trip country so it's easiest to arrive by car. There's a small private car park for residents.

By Ferry:
You can catch a ferry here to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.