The Residences at John O’Groats
Our Mission
GLM designed and constructed 23 high-quality self-catering lodges at the John O'Groats development.
Alongside the redevelopment of The Inn at John O’Groats, our client Natural Retreats gave GLM the brief for 23 self-catering lodges. The client had developed these at another holiday destination and had requested that GLM take the fundamentals of the existing unit design and retain the good, lose the bad, and build it for £100,00.
On top of the existing challenge set by Natural Retreats, the lodges at John O’Groats had to be able to survive one of the harshest coastlines in the UK, be sustainable in all ways, easy to operate and most importantly, attractive to guests.
As Construction Managers for the project, we were up for the challenge!
Our approach was to keep elements that added value and lose those that didn’t. We packaged the works to allow design and procurement to run in parallel and worked with local manufacturers and suppliers (Norscot,, Ashley Ann, Russwood,) using their knowledge to drive value from the technical detail and materials choices. Where the market wouldn’t give value, such as the sedum roof, we invented our own, guided by a Liverpudlian wildflower charity.
The cottages are simple to make and maintain and disappear into the landscape.
The living roofs reduce the visual impact from the main southern approach.
The internals are spacious where they have to be and efficient where they do not.
The glass screens, which showcase the whole reason for travelling to John O Groats, are amongst the largest in Caithness.