Breathtaking, I exhaled as I arrived outside Glen Cottage-the origin of Saltwater Chronicles lodge-in January 2009. Even on a blustery day when the silver sky hung low and melted into the sea, the view from the cottage to the two coves, framed by matured woodlands, was otherworldly.
Reserved for estate workers, the Glen cottage originally had no bathroom. An outhouse stood in the garden, a tiny one-person shack that, at the very least, afforded great views while one conducts daily ablution. Completed in the 1850s, the cottage stood untouched for over a century. By my first visit, an electric stove had been installed, and the Estate added a bathroom with a tub and shower to the property.
It had some fascinating features that revealed the Victorian’s tendency towards puritanism. For instance, the spacious cottage had three bedrooms, but you must walk through all the bedrooms to get to the single bathroom that was located off the kitchen. Talk about being in everybody’s businesses!
The enormity of the project actually sank me into a depression. I was tasked to upgrade all the self-catering accommodations and improve bookings, but on a nearly non-existent budget. I truly had no idea how to maneuver, and every day that it sat empty was another day of mounting damage and ruin to the property.
We actually did not even get started on the renovation for this lodge until 2022, a year-long endeavor that ran ridiculously over budget in both time and cost. But I strongly believe that this new beauty, the Saltwater Chronicles, deserved nothing less than the absolute best. It actually took me four years to collect all the items I needed for the interior design of the space. Now featuring three bedrooms, three stunning bathrooms, and underfloor heating, with a private dock perched atop the cliffside, it’s my idea of heaven at Dunskey.
May this crown jewel begin to write new chapters of the Estate’s stories.
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