Our Story
About Us
I grew up on the farm here, and one of my strongest memories is working in the field we call Cairn Dyke during silage time. It’s the highest field on the farm, right behind where the lodges now sit, and from up there you get the bay and the hills laid out in front of you, with the boats moving across the water below. I’ve always loved that view, and building something here was really about giving my family, and other people, the chance to enjoy it as much as I have. It’s where two of the lodges get their names too: Cairn Dyke after that top field, and Millers Hill after the one just behind the lodges themselves.
The lodges sit on my brother Robert’s land. He’s the fourth generation to farm here, and my dad is still out and about on it most days. Building somewhere like this on working farmland felt right. It’s quiet, it’s real, and it’s ours.
Lottie, my partner, is an occupational therapist with over twenty years’ experience, and she’s had a big hand in how these lodges are laid out: wide doorways, walk-in showers, step-free access throughout. Some of our lodges are dog-friendly, some aren’t, but every one of them is built to feel easy and unhurried the moment you walk in.
Built by Hand, Not Delivered on a Lorry
Every lodge here was designed and built on site, working with local tradesmen from right across Dumfries and Galloway. There’s no flat-pack shortcut to any of it: underfloor heating, Sonos, smart TVs, all fitted properly, by people who live and work nearby.
It took longer than buying something off the shelf would have. But it meant every lodge could be built to make the most of where it sits: that glass wall facing exactly where the view is best, decking angled for the evening sun. The kind of detail you only get when you build it yourself.
Life on the Farm
The farm carries on around the lodges: lambing in spring, silage in summer, harvest in autumn. Guests often tell us they’ll sit on the decking with a coffee and watch Robert moving sheep in the next field, or just see what the weather’s doing to the hills.
If you’d like a closer look at what goes on day to day, my brother runs Littleton Farm, which gives a good sense of life here beyond the lodges.
The View We Built Around
This is the reason the lodges are here at all. From the glass wall you can watch the light change over Fleet Bay through the day: clear mornings with the hills of the Lake District visible across the water, snow settling on Cairnsmore in winter, sailing boats out on the Solway in summer. On a good day you can see the Isle of Man.
Most of our guests end up doing exactly what I used to do: morning coffee looking out at it, a glass of wine as the sun goes down, not really doing anything else. That’s the whole point. If you’re looking for somewhere to properly switch off, with a view that’s different every time you look at it, this is it.
Meet Your Host
I look after the lodges myself, bookings, questions, everything. So if you get in touch, it’s me you’ll hear back from.
James Dodds
+44 7715 370946
bookings@gatehouseluxurylodges.co.uk
WhatsApp
Gatehouse Luxury Lodges, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, Scotland, DG7 2DE
Accommodation Highlights
Luxury self Catering Lodges
What we mean by luxury self catering
Dog friendly holidays
Your local guild on what to do
Building the dream
How we build our lodges
Walking Guide
Walks in the local area
