Cully Pettigrew had a love affair with Creagard Country Cottage for 20 years before he finally snapped it up as his holiday home.

A keen sailor, he came across the ruined cottage on a trip off Oban back 1977. The property, in the village of Cullipool on Argyll's isle of Luing, immediately set his imagination racing.
He said: "Looking at a map of the area, I saw the name Cullipool and because it was so similar to my own name, I decided to investigate.
"In the village I found a cluster of old slate miners' cottages, many of which were in ruins. One in particular caught my eye. It was known locally as the 'quarry house' and had originally been made up of three cottages and a taller two-storey building which had housed a pump engine.
"The house is situated at the edge of an ancient water-filled quarry and the pump was used to clear the quarry of flood water.
"It was love at first sight!"
Cully stopped by to see the house whenever he was sailing in the area and when it went up for sale in 1992, he thought about buying it. But he knew he'd have to plough thousands into repairing it so he let the sale slip.
It was a different story, however, when the house went back on the market in 1997.
Cully, 55, of Glasgow, said: "The woman who'd bought it in 1992 had already done a considerable amount of work on the place and it was a much better prospect.
"I'd always been attracted to the place and decided that if I was going to go for it, then that was the time to do it."
Although the previous owner had carried out some restoration, there was still a lot of work required to bring the place up to the standard Cully wanted.
Built in the mid 19th century of local slate and lime, the 2ft thick walls of Creagard Cottage, gaelic for 'rock on the point', were in need of repair. But upgrading the place was far from simple and the task became a personal labour of love for Cully.
He said: "When I asked a local builder what he would suggest as the best method of repair, he said that I should shove the whole lot into the quarry! It didn't put me off, though, I was determined to see the project through.
"I had various estimates for the work but it was all too expensive so, in the end, I decided to do it myself and took a crash course in lime pointing at the Lime Centre in Fife. After six weeks of lessons I started work on the ruin.
"It was important to use lime in the repairs because, unlike cement, it 'breathes' when it gets wet, meaning the house won't get damp despite the amount of rain on the west coast."
Cully, an art dealer, spent most weekends and holidays toiling away at the house and it took a gruelling 1800 hours to complete the lime work.
He then called in local builder Paul MacMichael to finish the building work on the interior. The result is a stunningly restored cottage with three bedrooms, two public rooms and an inviting kitchen. The cottage sleeps six to eight and cully rents it out for most of the year but he always makes sure he's able to fit in a few trips throughout the year himself.
He added: "It's my favourite place in the world and I'd love to be able to retire there in 10 or 15 years time.
"It's easily reached in a short ferry crossing from Seil, which is about 18 miles from Oban, so it never feels too far away.
"As well as being set onn the water, it's a great place for bird and wildlife spotting - there are porpoises and otters off the island and there's also deer and wild goats.
"It's an ideal relaxing holiday destination. Whenever I go there, any stress I've been feeling just melts away.
"I love having my own little place to escape to and the fact that it's so close to home makes it all the better."

If you'd like to stay at Creagard Country Cottage, contact Cully on 0141 639 4592, email him at
cullypettigrew@hotmail.com or see www.scottishcountrycottage.co.uk