I spent a spellbinding night in Edinburgh's coolest self-catering cottage
This is my favourite place to stay
Since it opened back in 2009, I have made annual pilgrimages to the wonderful sculpture park Jupiter Artland, which is at Wilkieston on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
So, I was very excited to stay on site for 24 hours, in their lovely Artist’s House.
This property has never been on my radar. No wonder, as it’s on a path in the grounds that you’d never really head along, unless you were following the wrong breadcrumbs to any of their attractions.
There’s a spot to park your car, and pale green wrought iron gates outside this Hansel & Gretel-esque cottage, with frothy lady’s mantle and wild grasses growing outside.
Inside, and it’s just magic. Think African safari lodge meets Iris Apfel’s cabin-in-the-woods, with beaded yoruba crown chandeliers, and vast flower swags hanging from the wooden beams in the open plan kitchen, dining and living space, which opens out to the back garden, the wood-fired bath, Big Green Egg and views of Fife. There’s artwork everywhere in here, from bright abstract paintings of the sculpture park’s attractions, to a needlework of motorbiking black cats. Also, lots of interesting objects, like a beautiful crystal that looks like carved ice, a huge leather star cushion, a selection of fungi models and crockery by Swiss artist Nicolas Party, who also designed the park’s on-site Cafe Party.
It’s a feast for the eyes, but not precious. You can still lie full length on the sofa, or cover the dining table with crumbs.
There are three bedrooms - one twin and two doubles, all en-suite. It’s just us, so we choose our favourite, at the back of the building, with a king-sized bed, a rolltop bath in the boudoir, and a huge terracotta tiled wetroom and double sinks.
Every space is luxurious, but also inspiring, and that’s the point. If being here makes you feel creative, there are materials, like paints and brushes, alongside the obligatory board games including Scrabble and Risk.
Your booking includes access to the sculpture park, including a visit after everyone has gone home for the night. To walk through the grounds at dusk, and view pieces like Anish Kapoor’s Suck and Cornelia Parker’s Landscape with Gun and Tree, while the blackbirds perform their ablutions, felt like a real treat.
We were the only ones around when we saw Tai Shani’s The Spell or the Dream, which is in situ until the end of September, and features a huge luminous blue figure in a glass case, with a soundtrack to match.
During the day, you can also take a dip in Joana Vasconcelos’ Gateway heated outdoor pool, which is open to the public at various times until the end of September.
It’s in an amorphous ‘splat’ shape and is made from over 11,000 glazed Portuguese tiles, each of which is entirely individual, and based on the pattern of the artist’s astrological chart.
This is pretty well hidden, so we bumbled around for a while, until asking a member of staff where to go. They said that someone would collect us from a spot beside Jupiter Artland’s cafe, and they did, bang on time. There is a spacious changing area and once you’re into your Speedos, they lead you through a maze of yew hedges, where I spot a few of Helen Chadwick’s Piss Flowers, to the pool.
It felt very surreal, to creep down the steps into the water and be doing circular laps of this artwork, as an invigilator sat nearby.
Afterwards, we grabbed coffees from the Silverstreak caravan and had a look around their temporary exhibition in the Steadings Gallery and, of course, perused the gift shop, which is full of treasures.
The check out was tinged with sadness, because I want to live here. I can’t think of a cooler place to stay, especially as there’s so much on their programme this summer, from the Jupiter Rising music, art, poetry and performance festival on August 22, to wellness workshops and wild dining.
On Thursday nights, you can even swim in the watery bits around Charles Jencks’ Cells of Life sculpture. Then there’s their MAKE Studio, which offers free creative sessions.
If you don’t want to stay on site, it’s a bucolic bolthole that’s still near the city and all its festival shenanigans.
We leave feeling inspired. If I’d stayed any longer, I’m certain I would’ve picked up those paints.
Prices at the Artist’s House start from £360 per night for a minimum of two nights. Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston, Edinburgh, www.jupiterartland.org
Read more: “Art reviews: Dear Earth | Extraction”
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