Lotte Glob's 'Sculpture Croft'

I know how awkward it can feel to walk into a small gallery and discover that the artist is sitting there. You haven’t yet decided what you think of the work, but you’re already wondering what to say about it. Before taking guests to Lotte Glob’s Sculpture Croft beside Loch Eriboll, I tell them that her work has a very particular character and that they can enjoy the visit without wanting to take any of it home. That usually makes it easier to start looking, and there’s plenty to find before we get anywhere near the studio.

Lotte is a Danish ceramic artist who has worked in the north of Scotland since 1968, and although she makes bowls and dishes, you might struggle to find a place on the dresser for some of what we come across outside. There are forms that look more like buildings made from clay and minerals, and others that could have been beamed down from somewhere well beyond Loch Eriboll. You spot one beneath a tree, turn a corner to look at another, then notice something half concealed by flowers moving in the wind. The loch and hills are still there behind it all, but by then you’re paying rather more attention to what might be waiting in the next patch of garden.

When Lotte made her home here around the turn of the millennium, she began planting and working ground that offered little encouragement. The trees and flowers you walk among now are as much part of what she has made as the sculptures, and they draw you farther into the croft until you come upon something like the Book Broch. Inspired by the ancient round towers of the north, it houses her ceramic books, which is quite a discovery to make while wandering beside a Highland loch. Lotte is one of my favourite personalities on the North Coast 500, and I love being able to show guests a place that owes so much to the person who lives there.

There’s a studio and gallery where you can see more of the work, and if something does appeal enough to buy, be prepared for the price. These are individual works by an established artist, and they are expensive. I’d give yourself time to wander first, because much of the pleasure comes from finding things among the planting and seeing how they sit against the landscape. Public visits are by appointment outside advertised open periods, so check Lotte’s website and arrange a time before you go. It’s somewhere to leave a little room in the day for whatever catches your eye.

To learn more, book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.