It's not often you find a sweet little cottage in an equally picturesque setting, but one such is the Honey House, which stands in a quiet lane of traditional, terraced stone-built cottages just across from the river in the little Borders village of Longformacus.
Inside, the clever refurbishment of the cottage has, if anything, added to its character and has certainly endowed it with the Wow! factor. For one thing, conventional layout has been inverted. On the ground floor you have a double and a single bedroom with additional pull-out bed and a shower room. Stairs lead you up to the well-equipped and comfortable open plan living area which is dominated by a set of huge windows overlooking the pretty cottage garden.
For all its rustic peace and rural charm, Longformacus (pronounced Long-for-make-us) is very accessible and also very well placed for exploring this attractive area. On the edge of the Lammermuir Hills and right slap-bang on the Southern Upland Way, it is perfect for walking out in all directions. Picturesque Abbey St Bathans (hotel) is just a few miles up the road and you can continue from there to the coast at Cockburnspath, the fine sandy beach at Coldingham or the dramatic RSPB reserve on the cliffs at St Abbs.
Historic Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was punted back and forth between Scotland and England for much of its existence, is well worth a visit. Go on down the Northumbrian coast to Lindisfarne and Holy Island, Bamburgh and Alnwick (castle and gardens). In the other direction, you can be playing golf at Luffness or even Muirfield itself within the hour. (There are many other less prestigious but excellent courses in the nearer vicinity.)
Edinburgh itself is just an hour away in the car.
Heating by night store electricity, bed linen and towels are all INCLUDED. Sorry, no pets or smoking within the cottage.
