House Sitting in the Scottish Highlands

The first time I ever laid eyes on the landscape of the Scottish Highlands I absolutely fell in love. It is just a wildly beautiful and rugged place full of ancient geological features, vibrant mosses and mystical-seeming wildlife. Here is a highlight video!

One of many incredible views of the Scottish Highlands. See more photos here.

I decided I wanted to work from Scotland for a month this past holiday season so that I could enjoy a slower trip without any rush to see things. In order to afford a full month I knew I needed to find accommodations that were nearly free so I started looking into house sitting.

I had met a woman in Mexico a few years ago on a diving trip who travelled from house sit to house sit and no longer had a home of her own. She was in her late 60's and had the most incredible stories of places she had stayed, pets she had met and the time she walked dogs with Melinda Gates. She told me about the app/website called Trusted House Sitters. So I built out a profile while I was researching my Scotland trip and voila! I had accommodations.

I ended up choosing a family that needed house sitting in the very far north town of Elgin, Scotland. This was truly the middle of nowhere and turned out to be the luckiest situation (it could have gone so many ways). This family was headed to the alps for a ski trip over New Year's and needed someone to watch the house, dog and cat.

The house! It felt like living in The Holiday Movie!

They had a big property out in the countryside that backed onto a forest. There were four houses total on the property and three of them were active Airbnb's that guests could check in and out on their own. The main house was a traditional stone house with an addition built on that was a glass reading room with a beautiful fire place. When I arrived, I had to actively try to keep my jaw off the floor. This was the coziest, most perfect not-so-little cottage in the Scottish countryside.

The sweet dog Maggie was a perfect hiking companion who showed me the trails, the creek and tracked down all of the pheasants who quietly followed us around on our hikes. The cat was a sassy girl who came and went as she pleased and eventually showed me some love by bringing me her hunted creatures. It was the three of us gals living outside as much as possible during the short winter days. The sun set at 3:30pm, which is never easy to adjust to but we managed!

I took day trips on some of the days to the surrounding beaches, trails and towns. And since I work East Coast time (of North America) I would log into my work day once the sun set until my day was done. It was honestly the most perfect way to enjoy my Scottish day and then get my work day done!

The woods behind the house where Maggie and I roamed each morning. Video tour here.

Trusted House Sitters was a great platform to connect with this family and I would definitely use it again. The exchange of house sitting for a place to stay is free for both parties. The only cost is the $120 annual fee to the app that covers a background check and keeps the app slightly restricted to more serious folks (who are genuinely interested in sitting or offering homes). They have homes all around the world so it's a traveler (and pet lovers) dream!

For 25% off of a Trusted House Sitters membership you can use this LINK.