Port Donnel Cottage

Very comfortable property.

Well equipped and generally internally in good condition.The external requires painting as it gives an initial poor impression. The views out are stunning.The front garden is private and leads down to a private beach. Sits on Solway coastal path with easy walk to Kippford for pub lunch

We found the house and garden perfect for our needs and the two dogs.

The private beach was a perfect bonus.

A fabulous place on the shore.

First time here and thoroughly enjoyed the house and Rockcliffe and the area. We felt very comfortable here and will definitely look to book again. As a holiday home that welcomes dogs, the size of the grounds is fantastic. However, a gate would be useful across the open access point to the beach (but we had bought a barrier just in case!).

A gate with ‘private’ is needed to close the gap in the hedge from the garden to access the small beach.

Twice, in one afternoon, people tried to enter Port Donnel garden at low tide through this hedge gap; one actually came into the garden with a very large dog before seeing me and turning back. Fortunately I had put our nervous rescue dog on a long lead but this was unexpected and did not feel safe.

We had a wonderful time.

Rockcliffe is a favourite place and we loved the little shell beach in front of the house. The house was very comfortable and suited us well. Kitchen was well equipped. We could have done with a couple of deck chairs. The building would be enhanced with a coat of white paint. I’d happily have painted a wall!

The cottage is located in the most beautiful place and has everything you need or should want for you to enjoy the most relaxing stay between the forest and the sea.

Perfect location.

Very comfortable and well cared for old cottage. Some updated furnishings and a gallery of paintings. A profusion of cushions, cutlery and good quality crockery. Despite earlier comments about dog smells, there were none and we are not dog friendly. We loved it.

Ideal location for a lovely Georgian property tastefully decorated and furnished ⁰

A wonderfully warm, quiet and comfortable house in a lovely spot.

I left a note with some observations (not niggles), which hopefully were helpful. We really enjoyed our stay - the sound of curlews and oystercatchers was special.

A lovely cottage with the most amazing views out to sea and the nearby islands.

Having such close proximity to our very own little beach, was truly heavenly. We were very lucky as the sun shone all week, and we were reading on the beach, and eating outside all week. Wonderful coastal walks on the doorstep. A very attractively furnished cottage. Kitchen was excellent. We swam every day in high tide. Such a special place - our three adult sons and my husband and I loved it. Thank-you for such a uniquely located cottage and on our arrival, everything so clean and tidy, and the tray of teas/coffees much appreciated.

Absolutely lovely cottage, great location.

Views are spectacular. Only slight issue was the 'dog' smell, but when you rent a pet friendly property it's to be expected and almost impossible to avoid. Next time I would look for 1 small dog or cat only properties as 2 large dogs feels very different.

The cottage is beautifully decorated and situated ideally for privacy.

The views across the estuary are superb and ideal for any bird enthusiast. The walks are ideal and you can have a lovely stroll on the beach. The refuse collection needs to be addressed as the general waste bins were full when we arrived (wed)they should have been emptied Tues the day before. This was the only downside and we all had a wonderful time here. Many thanks.

We spent two wonderful weeks in the vacation home.

The house is beautiful, the location right by the sea fantastic, especially the short distance to the beach. There are also various hiking trails right on the doorstep (the screel hill is particularly worth a visit). The vacation home is well equipped overall. However, it would be nice if there were more things in the kitchen. There are only a few dishes, so sometimes dishes had to be washed by hand in between. It would also be helpful if there were a few more kitchen appliances (e.g. a mixer). It would also be nice if the NT welcome folder contained a bit more information about possible excursion destinations. In between there was some confusion regarding service clean. We may have overlooked the information, but apparently you have to contact the NT directly in advance if you want a service clean to be carried out for a stay of more than a week. A friendly gentleman from the NT was still able to hand us five towels spontaneously. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and can only recommend the vacation home.

I last stayed in Port Donnell Cottage in 1988!

It hasn’t really changed apart from the kitchen extension. Its secluded location is beautiful and Rockcliffe is still very special. The well stocked shop at Colvend is handy, otherwise Castle Douglas has adequate shops inc CoOp. I do hope the exterior will be painted soon as it’s looking rather grey and forlorn. Also, on a sunny day it would be nice to have a bench or garden chairs to sit comfortably outside? There used to be a bench! The interior is comfortable and warm and welcoming. The kitchen is well stocked. If I could ask one thing - could the oven be kept switched on for new arrivals as it’s a trial to look at instructions for setting the clock so the oven works, after a long journey! We had a happy stay and it was lovely to return after 36 years!!

The accommodation was excellent & everything was catered for our holiday.

Along with immediate access to a little beach what more could you ask for. Rockcliffe is stunningly beautiful with lots of breathtaking walks. So clean as well. Make sure you come equipped with groceries etc as there is no shop or pub in the village.

The cottage is really lovely.

The situation is perfect with parking garden and own beach. The house was cosy and homely and we soon settled in. The location of Rockcliffe is so peaceful and relaxing with lots of walks in the woods and on the shore and cliff path. Our dogs loved it too. We have booked it again for next year

Cottage was very clean and had everything included to allow a comfortable stay ; a real home from home.

All facilities were great ( other than the lounge chairs , see below). We visited in Winter and the cottage was very cosy. Well appointed and the situation of the cottage made an ideal base for walking and exploring the local area. Local shop had a good selection of goods. We would definitely recommend the cottage stay and would return in the future. One minor piece of feedback : all the legs of the chairs in the lounge have been fitted incorrectly and one of the legs is broken in one of the chairs . This made us very wary to sit on any of the chairs - easily resolved if the legs were fitted correctly.

Fantastic stay at Port Donnell.

The location is what attracted us and we were not disappointed. The view is amazing. We love the sea and it was so quiet and relaxing. The property was spotless and well stocked. We will hopefully be back.

One of the best properties we have stayed in.

Very clean with good quality facilities. Perfect location for a peaceful break. Wonderful views and very private without being isolated. Will definitely return.

Port Donnell cottage was absolutely perfect.

A wonderful location right by the sea, glorious views, quiet and all rooms were beautifully decorated. Lovely walks from the door and handy for visiting Kirkudbright, Threave House and other delights. We did not want to leave.

Rockcliffe an amazing place, we swam in the sea, walked across to Rough Island then to causeway to the Anchor and then over the cliff home.

The most fantastic week we have had, we loved the kitchen and all the Denbyware. Prefect position, hoping to visit again.

Had a wonderful time.

The cottage was lovely and clean and felt very private. We had our own entrance to the beach and as the cottage was on the end of the road we didn’t have people walking past so it was very quiet. It was so peaceful and we would definitely return. The picnic bench in the garden was a nice touch that we used a lot to eat our evening meals at to take advantage of the nice weather. Also the cottage had everything we needed such as hair dryers, dishwasher and even washing up liquid and tea towels provided! 5 stars we loved it

This place is fabulous.

Peaceful location and stunning views. We loved it.

Cottage was delightful.

No negative comments!

A really lovely cottage in a stunning spot.

Very well equipped kitchen wise.I was hoping the fire would be laid on arrival but took some logs with us along with kindling and firelighters.The shop in Colvend is very good though and they sell logs.If I had to make a few points in making this cottage better then one would certainly be a bath mat as the bath is so slippy if you follow on from someone else.The settee and double bed are not the best.We did also come back to find a local with his dog off the lead just coming back through the grounds even though we closed the gate behind us.He said it was a public footpath and when I asked the NT for clarification they never got back to me.All in all a lovely week though and would definitely return.

Only thing missing was an antslip mat for the bath

This is our second visit to Port Donnel.

We absolutely love the house and the beautiful location. However, we were disappointed to encounter the same problem as last year: the house had not been cleaned and we had no bed linen. Sykes and the local National Trust of Scotland contact dealt with this quickly and we had a brilliant holiday in spite of some rough weather. We fully support the work of the National Trust of Scotland but issues about cleaning have been raised before and it would be good to know that communications will work better in the future.

We had a fabulous stay over Xmas.

A tree had been put up at our request, the property was warm and we had everything we needed. The property was spacious and ample gardens and a step and you are on your own private beach. Our only feedback would be that the furniture in the living room needs an update as it was slightly uncomfortable, the dining room window and front door were leaking in high winds and rain, paint peeling in places, damp in the bathroom. We were advised to take the bins out on bin day which we did. But they were not collected (perhaps as it was Xmas), but it was already full on our arrival so we could only fit a small amount in. Again this wasn't an issue for our family. Perhaps a larger double bed for longer people! Our feet sticking over the end. Perhaps some shoe storage near the back door may help. We had a thoroughly fantastic stay and would definitely return if a general refurbishment had taken place. Thank you very much.

Although this property is sited in a wonderful location, we found that it lacked maintenance, was dirty, uncomfortable & with facilities that did not work.

In particular, the lounge furniture was tatty & uncomfortable; the TV had no reception (the roof aerial appears to have broken from its mounting & is resting on the roof slates); the shower only worked intermittently as the on/off switch seemed to be faulty; the oven was filthy & the sight of it made my wife nauseous & the markings for the control dials were obliterated so it was difficult to ascertain functionality; the entire property had not been properly cleaned for a long time as evidenced by the large number of residents (spiders) & most surfaces were coated in accumulated dust; the dustbins had not been collected & one was overflowing with waste. In our opinion, the property is in urgent need of refurbishment because, at the moment the condition of the property & its fittings & furniture do not justify the excessive rental charges.....in short, a rip-off!

I have raised a complaint that the level of cleanliness was unacceptable and wear and tear of the property was very disappointing

A lovely cottage in a lovely peaceful and scenic location.

We would recommend this cottage and are looking to book for next year.

Lovely cottage

Great cottage in wonderful location we enjoyed every minute of our stay there and would love to go again at some point in the future, the only negative was the cleanliness of the cottage, although the bedding and towels were lovely and clean the cottage itself could be improved there were swathes of cobwebs above the dresser in the dining room and in the fireplace as well as the lounge, the cupboard under the sink was dirty as was the oven and when i went to plump up one of the yellow cushions in the lounge a plume of dust came off it.

Only mentioning as if people are being paid to clean this they are not doing a great job. However this did not detract from a lovely stay and would definitely return