The best things don’t always come in small packages. Complete with four airy, en-suite bedrooms and an array of spacious socialising spots, The Stables blends its plentiful square footage with stylish design and luxurious amenities.
Part of Saltcoats Steading, formerly a 19th-century farm, The Stables is a long, rectangular stone building. Once open to the elements so horses could easily come and go, much of its ground-floor frontage now features floor-to-ceiling windows (operated by snazzy electric blinds) to ensure natural light.
At the heart of that ground floor await your social areas. Amid the spacious sitting room are three cushion-strewn sofas. In soft shades of silver and vanilla, these face both the wall-mounted, 65-inch TV – complete with Sky Q – and a log-burner. Just outside is the cobbled courtyard area, whose patio table and chairs encourage al-fresco eats.
Otherwise, everyone can dine together in the vast kitchen-dining area, sprawled below a high cathedral ceiling and old rafters. Beyond the wood-and-glass table are numerous top-notch appliances – an electric range cooker, fridge/freezer, and dishwasher, plus a chunky island counter. High chairs beside this allow for casual coffee chats or simply for the designated chef to have some company while cooking.
Three bedrooms also occupy the ground floor, with a fourth up in the eaves. Each is decorated in warm, neutral tones, and each includes sophisticated seating. Especially notable, however, are their size, even with the provision of king or superking-sized beds. These are chambers in which you’ll be happy to linger – especially the largest, a master suite courtesy of sofas, another 65-inch, Sky Q TV, and a desk for working.
Equally impressive are their opulent bathrooms. Designed in chocolate shades or pale hues, these capacious sanctuaries come with walk-in showers and tubs for long, candlelit soaks. The outside world? You’ll struggle to remember it at all.
Do try, however, because East Lothian has heaps to see and do. Sitting in the middle of Scotland's Golf Coast, golfers are but a lob wedge away from Gullane No. 3 course, with the town club’s other two 18-hole links challenges scarcely further. On top of that, you’re also close to Muirfield, a regular Open Championship venue, and the world’s 13th oldest club in North Berwick as well as The Renaissance Club - Home to the Genesis Scottish Open.
Then there are the two award-winning restaurants – La Potiniere and Michelin-starred Tom Kitchin’s Bonnie Badger – in Gullane itself, the sublime curve of golden sand at Gullane Beach, the cafe-sponsored shopping in independent stores at seaside towns North Berwick and Dunbar, the Gertrude Jekyll-designed gardens, the seabird safaris, the nature-reserve walks, or the 30-minute trains to Edinburgh.
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