Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Reaching for the stars on Skye?

Post Thumbnail

Shaz and Ali Morton are crofters and designers. Together they have spent more than three years restoring and rebuilding Mint Croft in Waternish, an area in north-west Skye, but this was no ordinary croft house transformation.

Ali is a master builder and product designer, while Shaz was formerly a production designer for film and theatre. Together they have designed and built the interiors and made some of the furniture.

Mint Croft now comprises The Blackhouse and The Stonestore Suites, originally built more than 150 years ago with stones from the field. The turf which features on the roof of The Blackhouse was dug by Ali from the same field.

On the turf roof wild flowers including orchids come into flower throughout the summer. Their mission has been to create warm and inviting interiors where guests can relax in beautiful surroundings.

The croft is six acres, with 920 acres of common grazings. Shaz is the grazings clerk for the township. The croft had been in the MacKinnon family for generations and the pair have taken the best of what they built and updated it.
As new crofters, this goes hand in hand with their relationship with the land – sustainability and self-sufficiency are as important as the quality and attention to detail in their accommodation, food, service and atmosphere they offer their guests.

That hard work has seen Mint Croft receive a top award from VisitScotland.

Shaz said: “We’re over the moon to receive VisitScotland’s Five Star accreditation for Mint Croft Luxury B&B. We continue the Highland tradition of welcoming visitors from near and far into our croft home where we continue the living tradition of crofting into the 21st century, following generations who built with stone, wood and turf from the land.”

Guests staying in The Stonestore Suite will find themselves in a spacious, light filled two-storey bedroom apartment with large picture windows and stunning views out to the sea cliffs and the beach beyond. Some say The Stonestore was originally the old infirmary for the township.

It is decorated in a gentle palette of wool, local sheepskin and linens, inspired by the shimmering light on Loch Snizort.

A roomy, relaxing sitting space has a generous sofa and a comfortable reading chair. The Fired Earth bathroom has a large bath with a rain drench shower.

The Blackhouse Suite is an updated, traditional Hebridean Blackhouse with a turf roof. The walls are nearly one metre thick and make this room very cosy. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in maximum light and look out to Loch Snizort and onwards to the islands of Harris and Lewis.

A comfortable sitting area has a relaxing sofa and reading chair. The room is decorated with Harris Tweed and beautiful linens inspired by the colours of the flowers and plants on the surrounding land.

Shaz & Ali designed and built the interiors to individual design and these blend antique with contemporary, pattern and texture, Scottish textiles designed by Timorous Beasties, Anta, Harris Tweed Hebrides and gorgeously soft Skyeskyns sheepskins mixed with traditional fabrics by Zoffany, Sanderson & Harlequin.

Contact: www.mintcroftskye.com