Perfect for couples wishing to get away from it all, relax and unwind.

Mrs Leonard's is part of a new retreat Bothan Jura located 5km out of Craighouse.

 With magnficent sea & mountain views, star gazing is second to none from your private sauna & wood fired hot tub.



A 10 min walk to the expansive beach at Corran Sands & a 20 min walk to the gateway to The Paps.

Walk, run, swim, cycle, SUP, kayak, bird watch then relax & unwind, the cottage is the perfect base & getaway.

 Ideal for 2 adults. (Extra beds are available in special circumstances)


The Neighbourhood
Mrs Leonard's Cottage is located in the crofting community of Knockrome, heading north on The Long Road.

Close to the beach, it is an active crofting hamlet with livestock roaming freely. There are no fences in Knockrome. Please keep dogs under control and on leads.

It takes 7 mins to drive into Craighouse or a 40 min walk along the coast. If you'd like to rent bikes please let me know, we have two for rent (£15 per day) and we can also organise bikes from Jura Bikes.

We are developing a wee retreat for up to 8 guests, the cottage is the first accommodation to be ready, please bear with us as the site is still in development.  Mrs Leonard's is located at the bottom of our garden, it faces due south and the garden and the cottage is not overlooked.  You may hear our children catching the school bus in the mornings, but it really is quite private.

The Space

The cottage is ideal for 2. It can sleep more on request under certain cirucmstances.  (2 extra adults is charged extras.)

Downstairs: Double bed
Loft: Double mattress on floor

The recently renovated Crofter's cottage, affectionately named Mrs Leonard's locally (who once lived there) had been left to the elements for over 35 years. It's taken 2 years to develop the site, and the cottage (along with our house behind it) were the first things to be completed. The vision for Bothan Jura is to build simple but luxurious self catering accommodation on the site with an open retreat space in the shed for yoga, meditation, crafts and workshops.

The cottage is only 7m x 4m internally and was originally a traditional 'butt and ben' layout with two rooms. To maximise space we have opened it up so that it is open plan with kitchen and living at one end and bedroom and shower room at the other end, all on one floor. Only the bathroom is separated by walls, everything else is open!

The sitting room has a sofa (not a sofabed), a table and 2 chairs and a wood burner. The main heating comes from the wood burning stove.

The kitchen has tableware for 4 people, full size oven with grill, induction hob, fridge with freezer compartment, Nespresso coffee machine, toaster and kettle and microwave.  There is a caserole pot that goes on the induction hob and can then be kept warm in the oven.

The bathroom has an electric shower, toilet and sink. The cottage is on a septic tank so please be mindful of what you put down the toilet.

The porch has a comfortable large bench seat with storage and shelves full of books and a place for your mugs of coffee.

The loft area is accessible by sliding library ladder. There is a double mattress up there, and roof windows on both sides with amazing views of the paps and the sea out each side of the cottage.

Electric Sauna

The original toilet was located outside in the lean-to and we have converted this into a 2 person electric sauna. It takes 15 mins to get to temperature.  From the sauna you can jump from stone to stone to the outdoor cold shower and then hop into the 2 person Swedish Hikki wood fired hot tub.

Hot Tub

We have Bohemen Hikki Hot tubs which are large bath tub style that holds two adults and two children and has a built-in wood stove. No complicated settings, no flashy lights or fountains and jets. Just a genuine, Scandinavian hot bath in water heated by a real log fire. The water is freshly changed for each use, to offer relaxing outdoor bathing comfort.

The hot tub takes about 2hrs to heat up, you need to plan this, as the fire needs looking after the whole time to get the water up to temperature.

We can light it for your arrival if we're here (cost £20) you will need to give us exact ferry times. (Please note the hot tub is not on all the time, but is available to be heated at any time during your stay, we supply logs for your first tub, logs after this are purchased at £10 a bag)

Getting To and Around Jura

Car ferries run from Kennacraig to Islay. You can then get the wee ferry from Port Askaig, Islay pretty much every hour (check timetable) The ferry goes from Port Askaig to Feolin and is only a 10 min ride!

There is a passenger ferry from Tavyallich that runs from March - October for foot passengers or those with bikes. You can get buses from Oban or Glasgow.

There is a bus service on Jura, and bikes can be hired from us or Jura Cycles.

Mrs Leonard's Honesty Box

Logs: £10 a bag
Kindling: £8 a bag
Heat Logs for Hot Tub: £8 for 10 (great for quick, strong heat)

Frozen Food – Freezer in Shed

Island Bakehouse Pies various: £6 each
The Antlers: Veggie Sausage Rolls: £2.50

Transport

Lift to Craighouse: £10 one way
Lift to Feolin Ferry: £20 one way
Bike Hire: £15 per day


Fuel: Electricity / Logs / Gas as you will be aware are at an all time high, even more expensive on a remote island. The electric heaters in the cottage are for ambient temperature control only. They are programmed for certain times / temperature. One basket of logs is supplied at the beginning of your stay enough for a hot tub and a fire in the woodburning stove. Logs after this inital basket can be purchased from us at £10 a basket.

Stay on Islay

We have two holiday lets on Islay too, close to Bruichladdich Distillery, Portbahn and Shorefield www.portbahnislay.co.uk