In the north of Skye, on a peninsula that juts into Loch Snizort, a long sea loch, The Spoons is a gleaming, whitewashed building that stands out against the rough hills and inky mussel and seaweed-strewn shores that surround it. Opened by Marie and Ian Lewis last year, it will take time for the surrounding garden to settle in and soften the property's edges. But, despite its newness, the interior already boasts the kind of lived-in cosiness that normally comes with years of occupation.
The three guest bedrooms and open-plan dining and living room are laden with the objects picked up by Marie over the years. Antique mirrors hang over wood-burning stoves, old French cabinets hold designer lamps and a beloved sofa has been re-upholstered with a bale of Harris tweed.
The Spoons was five years in the making. Before that, Marie and Ian spent 13 years catering to the whims of some pretty high maintenance guests on Eilean Shona, a private island retreat off the Ardnamurchan Peninsula owned by Vanessa Branson. Marie made a name for her cooking on Eilean Shona and dinner was originally going to be a big attraction at The Spoons. However they have decided to stick to just B&B for now, a shame I feel, but Skye isn't exactly short of good places to eat – The Three Chimneys, Ullinish Country Lodge and Kinloch Lodge are must-stops for gastronomes.
The couple plan to use much of their own produce for breakfast as The Spoons is set on a working croft. "We have our own eggs and Ian has started bee-keeping," said Marie.
After ploughing through a tower of pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup on my first morning, I was in need of some exercise so set off to explore Skye. From the house there are lovely walks along the adjacent loch and river fishing on the nearby Snizort but, on Marie's suggestion, I stuck to the northwest of the island. Here you can shop at Edinbane Pottery, Skyeskyns – one of the few traditional tanneries in the country – and Shilasdair, the Skye Yarn Company.
After a bowl of rich fish soup at Loch Bay seafood restaurant in the pretty coastal village of Stein, I looped back to The Spoons via a stroll along the salt and pepper sand of the coral beaches beyond Dunvegan Castle and a hike around the nearby Fairy Glen, an eerie landscape of pocket-sized hills and tiny lochs.
Reaching a plateau at the top of one of the glen's Lilliputian summits, there were spectacular views out across a Skye tapestry of wind-battered cottages and wild, open grazing land. If I hadn't been so full, it would have been the perfect spot for one of Marie's made-on-request gourmet picnics.
