New lease of life for derelict coastal cottages

A ROW of historic 19th-century fisherman's cottages is to be restored and turned into holiday lets.

Building preservation charity the Landmark Trust raised 600,000 to save the Shore Cottages in Berriedale, Caithness.

Rent income from the properties is expected to pay for their continued preservation.

The cottages were built in the 1840s for crofters who were moved to the coast during the Highland Clearances.

They have been derelict since the 1950s, battered by the weather and the sea, until the charity took them over in 2008.

In 2010, the Landmark Trust undertook work on the cottages to make them weather-proof and ensure their condition did not worsen while the restoration funds were being raised.

The cottages will be restored using traditional materials and skills; the original Caithness stone will be recovered from beneath modern concrete floors and a cobbled sluice area which may have been used for gutting fish.