Neil and Vivienne
We are the brains and brawn behind Captain’s Rest which sits on Croft No. 4, Roag.
Neil was born and raised on the Isle of Skye and has always lived here. He is a local builder/stonemason – skills which came in extremely handy when designing and building Captain’s Rest.
Vivienne was raised in Glasgow but frequented Skye often to visit and stay with her grandparents. She had a career in the Civil Service for 25 years before moving permanently to Skye in 2004 to raise their 2 children.
Our Family Connections to Roag
Our family connections with Roag and the surrounding area on the Isle of Skye can be traced back to the late 1700s.
Neil’s family home was in Ardroag and Croft No 4 overlooks the original family croft house which can still be seen down by the shore.
Vivienne’s paternal grandmother was born and raised in Roag at No 8 and Vivienne’s great grandparents actually built the house there. Her grandmother went to Edinburgh in the 1940s and was employed in domestic service. During this time she met Vivienne’s grandfather who was in the Merchant Navy and latterly captained oil tankers. His job meant that both of them travelled the world and Skye became a second home.
In the early 1970s they retired back to Skye and built the house at the original No 4. – hence the link to the name Captain’s Rest. The house to the right of Captain’s Rest was the house Vivienne’s grandparents built in the mid 1970s. No 8 is where her grandmother was brought up.
Captain’s Rest
On the passing of her grandmother, Vivienne inherited the croft at No. 4 Roag and after some deliberation, it was decided that Captain’s Rest should be built. Ground was broken in late 2015 and Neil has been working tirelessly each Saturday and when his other work allowed to finish the build. It has been a slow process but one well worth the wait, as he has made an excellent job of it.
The view from the croft is just amazing and it cried out to be shared. We wanted to maximise on the views of the Cuillin Hills and out across the sea towards Rum and Canna. We think the 3 x 3-metre window/doors to the front and the 2-metre window to the side overlooking the MacLeod’s Tables achieve this – we hope you will agree!
There was some debate between us about whether to use stone on the entrance wall to the house. Vivienne argued that Neil, being a stonemason, would regret at a later date not using his skills – so that was that – Vivienne won, and Neil picked, cut and chiselled the granite to form the entrance. He did mutter on occasion that he could have had the house finished in the time it took just to do the stonework but I think even he agrees that it was well worth it.
We hope we have built a property that can be enjoyed in all seasons. Skye is not known for its fabulous weather but on a stormy, rainy day, there are advantages to being indoors – enjoy the sauna, sit by the stove and watch the dramatic scenery unfold.
Internally, we have tried our best to pick out the colours of Skye, the blues of the sea and sky, the greyness of a cloudy day, the dusky pink of a Skye sunset (which are amazing), the pale green and pinks of the ‘machair’ – and the light green low lying grass found down by the shore.
Find out more about the accommodation here and things to do.
