The Highlands' coolest ? and most remote ? cottages

In Durness, in the far north-west of mainland Scotland, two luxurious and cosy eco cottages offer chic design and spectacular views of Loch EribollDurness: 58 degrees north, closer to the pole than Gothenburg and Juneau, Alaska. This is the land of single-track roads and passing places; of herds of deer and heather-coated mountains and cliffs that plunge into the icy sea. It is now also home to Croft 103, the only five-star accommodation for 100 miles in the extreme north of Scotland.Impressive when you consider that by Christmas the sun will only be up for around six hours, if it's visible at all. The past two years, when temperatures hit obscene lows and the UK seemed to endure its own brief ice age, the wee village in Sutherland must have felt like a Siberian prison."Oh no, it was magical," says Fiona Mackay. "We're really going to push for winter bookings."Along with husband Robbie, she is the owner of Croft 103 and Mackay's, a four-star hotel in Durness mainland, Britain's most north-westerly village. "There was one night we were finishing off our new cottages at the edge of the loch. The snow was all around, the sky was clear, the northern lights were great, and a big heard of deer came in off the hills to keep warm. It was just magic." It sounds more Philip Pullman than Dostoevsky.It's just about possible to make the journey via bus from Inverness, but when the weather is good the drive ? especially the stretch between Ullapool and Durness ? is one of the most spectacular in the country, if not all of Europe. The lack of traffic is a bonus, not least because of the amount of braking that's required every time another impossibly beautiful landscape pops round a tight bend.But this far north life tends to the extreme. Just as it's dark for a long time in winter, so the summer nights stretch past 11pm. At the Durness golf course there are tales of playing past midnight, and of watching killer whales hunting seals in the bay next to the 18th green. Nearby, Smoo is the largest limestone cave in the UK; similarly, out at Cape Wrath the Clo Mor cliffs are our highest sheer cliffs, and one of our best sea bird colonies. It's craggy and wild ? just as the end the world should be.In contrast with all that, the Mackays' new property is a picture of serenity. Croft 103 is actually two self-catering cottages: the Hill and Shore Dwellings, located a few miles outside of Durness. Well off the main road, they are set a couple of hundred yards away from one another, offering total peace and quiet. They look east over Eriboll, a vast sea loch where the last German U-boats surrendered at the end of the war, towards Ben Hope, the most northerly Munro.Robbie led us down to the Shore Dwelling where we found a basket full of local cheeses, smoked salmon and other seasonal Highland treats. It's possible to request him to dive in the loch for fresh scallops to supplement the bounty, but we weren't so cruel.Before arriving I had imagined self-catering in this part of the world would mean perilously waving a net around off a cliff in hope of catching a puffin. A few years ago, maybe, but today Durness is surprisingly cosmopolitan in its tastes. In the local newsagents we found perfectly ripe avocados, soy sauce infused with sesame and a respectable Argentinian malbec. Failing all of that, we were of course welcome to eat at the restaurant in Mackay's hotel.But back at the cottage, the kitchen is all brushed aluminium and locally milled Douglas fir. Everything is, of course, brand new ? the dishwasher, the oven sunk into the wall. You want to cook in a place like this.The rest of the cottage has a linear design, so with all the doors open it's possible see from the front door to the bathroom at end of the building. This allowed me a very long track on which to run, then jump on to the gargantuan bed ? a bespoke seven foot by seven foot ? in the penultimate room. My Olympic effort barely got me half way across the emperor-sized monster.The dash took me past a cosy rug in front of a woodburner, past a huge swallow-you-whole couch, and past a Bose sound system piped into the walls, next to a 50-inch plasma TV. Just to the right, though, there's a 50ft screen to watch the world in glorious technicolour. Enormous glass runs the length of the building, offering utterly spectacular views across Loch Eriboll from every room in the house. Perhaps the biggest achievement at Croft 103 is that despite all this glass, the near-Arctic location, and the polished concrete floors, it is quite a warm property.The key is in the design, which the Mackays say is "carbon negative". While the front is all glass, the back of the property is cuddled by a small hill. The rear wall is also insulated with sheep's wool, and tyre bales salvaged from a nearby scrapyard. Many of the stones used in the construction were sourced on-site, and everything else ? down to the toilet roll holders ? bought from Highland suppliers, or designed and fitted by local tradesmen. On top of all this (literally) there is a wind turbine that generates enough electricity to power both crofts, and still export 10,000kw hours a year back to the grid. The Mackays aren't kidding about this stuff.We went outside to enjoy the perfect silence. Croft 103 is aimed at couples looking for a romantic getaway ? and it would suit that perfectly ? but I couldn't help think that it would be a great place to write a book, too. A path to the end of the building led us to a barbecue and, to our surprise, a free-standing outdoor bath. We looked across the loch, to the purple and gold hills, and up to the cloud-free sky exorcising the earth of its last heat. "Hmm," we thought, glancing back at the hot water tap with suspicion, "maybe not today."? Port na Con, Laid, Durness, 01971 511202, neverwanttoleave.co.uk. The Hill Dwelling and the Shore Dwelling both sleep two people and cost from �600 for three-nights or �1,100 per week. Easyjet (easyjet.com) flies to Inverness from Bristol, Gatwick and Luton from �50 return, and from there rent a car for the 2�-hour drive to Durness. Inverness Airport Car Rental (invernessairportcarhire.net) costs from �17 a day HighlandsSelf-cateringScotlandUnited KingdomShort breaksLuxury travelguardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Wrap up: Wedding album arrives from VioVio [CONTEST]

Lola Akinmade �kerstr�m finishes up her VioVio photo printing review.

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Down-home Dutch cooking in Amsterdam

Filed under: Food and Drink, Europe, NetherlandsDutch cooking isn't one of Europe's famous cuisines. Yet while it can't compete on the world stage with Italian or Spanish cuisine, Dutch cooking can been really good and travelers to The Netherlands shouldn't dismiss the culinary side of their trip. Here are three cheap to mid-priced restaurants that will make you appreciate Dutch cooking.

De Stadskantine
This "city canteen" at Van Woustraat 120 is run by friendly folks who decided there needed to be a cheap, quick, cafeteria-style restaurant in Amsterdam, something between the grab-and-gulp fast food joints and the sedate sit-down restaurants.

They succeed admirably. The long tables allow people to mingle in an informal atmosphere and each dish is already prepared so you don't have long to wait. This is especially good if you're just visiting Amsterdam, because you can rest and refuel without losing a big part of your sightseeing day. The servings are hearty and the food well-prepared and healthy. I had the turkey with tomato sauce, potatoes, and green beans. This isn't haute cuisine; this is tasty, filling food the way you mom used to make, assuming your mom was Dutch.

De Stadskantine has only been open eight months and it's already hugely popular. It hasn't made it onto the tourist trail yet and the only language I overheard was Dutch. The menu changes regularly and there's always a meat dish, a fish dish, and a vegetarian option. Entrees are all under ten euros ($13.50), a bargain for Amsterdam. Check out their website for what's on today.Continue reading Down-home Dutch cooking in AmsterdamDown-home Dutch cooking in Amsterdam originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Observer winter travel special

For a full-on, glitter-coated Christmas extravaganza, there's no better place than Mexico City. And when you've had your fill of street parties and mariachi bands, head south to Oaxaca for a far more sedate experiencehe road that leads east out of Mexico City has a roller-coaster surface, and driving it is not normally a particularly uplifting holiday experience. But last year, as I escaped the early Christmas season mayhem of the capital, my route through the mismanaged urban sprawl actually intensified that wonderful sense of impending freedom.I had promised my carload of visiting family glorious views of the Iztacc�huatl and Popocatepetl volcanoes on the way ? on a clear day they are a near-constant presence all the way to Puebla, about two hours into the journey south to Oaxaca, our destination.Oaxaca, the capital of the southern state of the same name, is a place where indigenous, colonial and modern traditions meld into an explosion of colour, as well as being a hotbed of political activism. It is also pleasantly Christmassy: there are no jingle bells, nor the weather to go with them, but there is a lively yet unhurried aura of celebration.The contrast with Mexico City is stark, at least in those frantic weeks of record-breaking traffic jams leading up to Christmas Eve, when Mexican families hold their late-night Christmas feast. This is not to say you cannot have seasonal fun in Mexico City; you just have to plan it. The trendy bars in the Condesa and Roma neighbourhoods and the slowly rejuvenating colonial historical centre are buzzing, while the street markets are filled with modern takes on traditional crafts.You can go people-watching at the huge ice rink in Mexico City's Z�calo plaza in the shadow of the cathedral, the National Palace and the ruined Aztec Templo Mayor. A punt around the canals of Xochimilco between floating gardens can veer between relaxing and frenetic, with mariachi bands on boats drawing up beside yours, touting serenades.By contrast, Christmas in Oaxaca is an altogether gentler experience: it's a place to wander through with a vague idea of where to go and a willingness to change your mind if something more interesting crops up on the way.It is foolish to stay anywhere but in the centre, with its elegant green-tinged stone buildings and squares. Last year I had failed to book in advance so we ended up having to search around for vacancies. We should have put a seasonal spin on the nuisance, given the Mexican tradition of las posadas. These re-enactments of the search for a room at the inn are nightly celebrations that begin on 16 December and end on Christmas Eve. They tend to be private parties, or, in the smaller towns, they are organised by, church congregations and often include processions complete with somebody dressed up as the Virgin Mary, and a plaintive song in which pilgrims holding candles ask for shelter.Christmas is also a good time to visit the city's many colonial churches. The most impressive is Santo Domingo, a baroque extravaganza next to an austere and imposing monastery that houses a good historical museum and provides lovely views of the surrounding mountains and the city's famed ethnobotanic garden ? unmissable for anyone with interest in cacti. Even for those without such enthusiasms, the garden's arid exuberance is oddly beautiful and reflects the input of Oaxaca's most famous living artist, Francisco Toledo. Toledo has been a driving force in ensuring the city's restorations have respected tradition, down to a successful campaign a few years back to keep McDonald's out of the main city square.Oaxaca oozes confidence in an artistic tradition that goes far beyond Toledo and includes a ground rock of accomplished artisans whose work is on display in shops and markets around the city and in villages outside. But on the night of 23 December it is the turn of the masters of vegetable sculpture. The century-old noche de r�banos, or the Night of the Radishes, is one of Mexico's oddest Christmas festivals. It reputedly builds on a radish-carving tradition said to have first been encouraged by Dominican friars centuries before.The radish artists take over the city square all day, producing extraordinarily intricate religious and secular scenes in time for the competition that evening. Winners and losers then watch their creations rot away.Oaxacan food to eat, as well as to look at, is often best in the smaller restaurants and the markets. Snack on fried chapulines (grasshoppers), test out one of the seven varieties of mole (an incredibly complex chilli sauce), and wash it down with tejate (a drink made from corn, cacao beans, mamey seeds and rosita flowers). Christmas also brings street stalls in the city square selling bu�uelos, a fried sweet sprinkled with cinnamon, served in an unglazed pottery bowl that you are supposed to throw over your shoulder, making a wish as it breaks.Between the full-blown resort at Huatulco and the surfers' mecca at Puerto Escondido are a series of quieter and quite lovely little villages, including Mazunte and its next-door neighbour San Agustinillo. The most direct road includes a seemingly endless stretch of switch-back curves leading down from the mountains through tropical vegetation until you finally get to a small town called Pochutla and relief that you are almost there.Friends swear it takes six hours, but it took us around 10, owing to numerous stops when little faces turned white. A longer but straighter, and in some ways more spectacular, route through the sierra down to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and then back along the coast is easier on the stomach. For either road leave plenty of time to complete the drive in daylight both in order to see the view, and also as a basic security measure. You can also fly to Huatulco and take a taxi.Mazunte and San Agustinillo are both hippyish hangouts and most accommodation is quite simple, but there is also at least one luxury hotel, some perfectly comfortable cabins and a range of houses to rent.We rented La Casa del Arquitecto, which was perfect ? once we had dragged the bags up 100 odd steps and the owner had dealt with an invasion of giant ants. The facilities were basic but the view out to sea breathtaking, particularly while sipping a beer and watching the sunset from a tiny pool overlooked by vultures.Mazunte and San Agustinillo are most famous for the sea turtles that nest in the area ? particularly the Olive Ridley species that return year after year to Playa Escobilla. These turtles are rather solitary, but between June and November, a couple of nights or so after the full moon, they lumber up the sand en masse, scoop out a nest and lay around 100 eggs before setting off into the waves again.Villagers depended on the trade in turtle meat and eggs until a 1990 ban forced them to reinvent themselves along eco-friendly lines. There is a museum and breeding centre in Mazunte, and locals tout boat trips out to sea in search of turtles swimming along with what seems like grim determination. We also spotted a few passing dolphins.The bay at Mazunte is populated but not uncomfortably crowded and the waves big enough to be fun, but not too daunting. There are plenty of places to snack on the beach itself, though the better restaurants are inside the village. Long, deserted beaches stretch beyond, though the open Pacific sea and stories of rip tides ensured none of us dared go in.After a few days it was time to make the long journey back to Mexico City. This time we caught sight of Popocatepetl volcano along the final approach, complete with a small plume of gas and ash rising out of the crater.Back in the capital the Christmas season had almost fizzled out bar the last bubble of excitement in the lead-up to El D�a de Reyes, Kings' Day, on 6 January. My visiting family had flown away by the time Mexican children were taking part in my own personal favourite of all local seasonal traditions: releasing a small gas balloon and watching it disappear into the distance. The balloons carry letters for the Magi, asking for a particular toy in the hope it will appear on the next morning. And when the Mexican Christmas is over la cuesta de enero, or the January climb, begins.EssentialsMexico City Condesa df (condesadf.com); Hotel Maria Cristina (hotelmariacristina.com.mx); La Stanza (stanzahotel.com) Oaxaca Camino Real (camino-real-oaxaca.com); Las Bugambilias (lasbugambilias.com/oaxaca-bed-breakfast.htm); Posada Don Mario (posadadonmario.com/home.html) Mazunte/San Agustinillo Casa Pan de Miel (casapandemiel.com); Un Sue�o (unsueno.com/flash/index.html); Rentals laondade lacosta.com/housesforrent.htm; Flights Netflights.com flies to Mexico City from Stansted from �1,140 return with KLM (klm.com). For more information on Mexico, go to planeta.comMexicoChristmas and New YearMexico CityNorth and Central AmericaChristmasJo Tuckmanguardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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London's Billingsgate fish market

Karen Kay buys fish at the market, then learns how to prepare it at Billingsgate Seafood Training School

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Oyster bay: a Danish fishing safari

In the swish restaurants of Copenhagen you pay a premium to dine on fresh oysters, but join a tour on the west coast of Denmark and for �25 you can fill your bucket with fresh oystersLars Eriksen

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Mancuso Rocks Whiteface GS for 11th Career Title

.....Lake Placid, NY (Ski Press)-Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso captured the 11th U.S. title of her career with a victory in the women's giant slalom to close the 2010 Visa U.S. Alpine Championships at Whiteface Mountain Tuesday."I actually haven't skied giant slalom since the Olympics, so it was nice to get back on my GS skis," Mancuso said.Mancuso was also the giant slalom champion in '09, '05, and '03. With 11 titles, she now moves past U.S. great Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most titles of any American male or female, breaking a record that has stood for 55 years.The weekend brought some closure to a season�in�which�Mancuso had long worked hard ."Coming back from a back injury I always had the goal of getting ready for the Olympics. Even going into last season it hurt. I wanted to keep trying. Just being able to see the reward of the plan paying off was really amazing," Mancuso said.Second place for the day went to Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, OR) who produced the fastest second run. Ross was also third in the super G and second in the combined at Whiteface.Malin Hemmingson of Sweden was third followed by U.S. downhill champion Leanne Smith (Conway, NH).The top U.S. junior was Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH) out of U.S. Development Team, though the fastest junior was Erin Mielzynski of Canada. J-2 Foreste Peterson (Berkeley, CA) of the Squaw Valley Ski Team was the next fastest U.S. junior followed by Abby Ghent (Edwards, CO) of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.The USSA Western Region took the 2010Tom Garner Regions Cup with 2,903 points, followed by the East with1,869 and Rocky/Central with 986.Tuesday also marked the final race for Kaylin Richardson (Edina, MN), a two-time Olympian and seven-year member of the U.S. Ski Team. She ran both runs of giant slalom in a puffy red one piece ski suit circa 1980, with her parents making the trip from Minnesota just to see their daughter's last event.Numerous athletes, including Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) now move directly to Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, VT for the annual charity slalom hosted by two-time Olympian Jimmy Cochran tomorrow.OFFICIAL RESULTS2010 Visa U.S. Alpine ChampionshipsLake Placid, NY - March 22, 2010Women?s Giant Slalom1. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 2:07.522. Laurenne Ross, Klamath Falls, OR, 2:08.113. Malin Hemmingsson, Sweden, 2:08.254. Leanne Smith, Conway, NH, 2:08.985. Megan McJames, Park City, UT, 2:09.17

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