Travel: Scarista House, Harris

Perched on a remote wind-swept hill, Scarista House looks out onto a beach that could rival any that exist in tropical climes.

The hotel, a former manse, caters for the boutique market having only five guestrooms and two cottages at the rear.

We were welcomed at the door by the personable Patricia Martin who owns and runs the hotel with her husband Tim.

First of impressions is of an establishment full of rustic charm.

Inside it is like Harris itself. Peaceful and thought-provoking.

At the door there is a bag of old golf clubs accompanied with binoculars and an array of old boots. In the library stands shelves of well-thumbed books and a rather grand looking chessboard.

After dumping our bags, we were served tea by Patricia.

My travelling partner Victor Brierley of Bagging Scotland said you can always judge the quality of a place by its tea.

On this test, Scarista passed with flying colours.

We then headed down to Scarista beach where we spend a pleasant 30 minutes or so staring into the turquoise waters and enjoying the emptiness around us.

You could spend a day here simply in awe of the beauty of the place.

Before dinner we spent some time checking out our room.

Exploring it was a pleasure.

The rooms are immaculate yet have retained the rustic charm of the rest of the house.

From the powder-soft beds to the velvet-feel towels this was a room where real effort had been exerted to ensure comfort.

After enjoying a whisky in the study we headed down to the four-table

dining room.

Scarista's reputation for its food is well-renowned.

Patricia and Tim, alongside managing the hotel, are also respected chefs.

The kitchen draws on vegetables grown in the garden with the vast-majority of food locally sourced.

For starters we were served Salmon Mousse followed by seared loin of lamb and rounded off with a Harris cheese board.

All were immaculately presented and packed with fresh flavours.

Few hotels embody the rustic nature of their location while providing a luxurious setting to unwind in.

Scarista House achieves this in droves and it's little surprise that it has developed an almost wild-fire reputation which has spread far beyond the Outer Hebrides.

• Double and twin room prices range from 180 to 200 per night for bed and breakfast

• Website: www.scaristahouse.com