Electric gates, a lawn, and a hen at your feet
The gates open, you drive in past a red telephone box standing incongruously on the grass, and by the time you have got the bags out there is usually a hen inspecting your shoes. The Hen House is exactly what its name suggests: a small annexe inside a working smallholding on the western edge of Haddington, let out whole to one party at a time by the family who live in the house next to it.
Inside it is about forty square metres. A living room with a sofa, a flat-screen television and a staircase running up to a mezzanine, a compact kitchenette fitted properly enough to cook a real dinner, a private bathroom, and the double bedroom up in the loft under a Velux. The sofa downstairs folds out to a second double, so it sleeps four.
What lifts it is the hosts and the grounds. Rachel and Ross meet arrivals at the gate, leave milk and biscuits, and are the highest-scoring thing on the listing by some margin. Outside there is a garden with seating, a picnic spot, hens roaming, and a field fenced all the way round so a dog can run off the lead.
For dogs, and the people who bring them
This is one of the genuinely dog-friendly places rather than one of the tolerant ones. Pets stay free of charge, bowls and a basket are already in the annexe when you arrive, and the field beside the garden is enclosed on every side for supervised off-lead walking. A couple who came with two dogs in May 2026 said that field was what made the stay.
The grounds are behind electric gates with cameras outside, which is why so many reviews use the word secure. For anyone whose dog bolts, or who has spent a holiday hanging on to a lead in a field of sheep, that combination is worth more than a hotel's spa.
The hens are part of it too. They roam the smallholding, guests are welcome to go and collect eggs, and there are cats about as well. Families with small children write about this more than anything else on the property, which tells you who it suits.
What the listings get wrong
Three corrections. First, several listing sites name a castle south of Edinburgh and a museum in the middle of the capital among the attractions near here. Both are on the far side of the city, roughly an hour away, and neither has any connection to this address. What is actually near is Haddington's High Street, the River Tyne, Lennoxlove House and the East Lothian coast.
Second, the listing shows a personal trainer and a golf course within three kilometres. Neither exists. The nearest course, Haddington Golf Club, is about two miles away, and there is no trainer of any kind on a smallholding annexe.
Third, one aggregator calls the property not family-friendly, sets an eighteen-and-over minimum age and adds a balcony. All three are wrong: children of any age are welcome, there is no minimum check-in age and there is no balcony. What is true, and less often stated, is that there are no cots and no extra beds, so four is the ceiling.
Why book The Hen House?
One small annexe, four beds, a field of hens and a set of electric gates. Here is what it does brilliantly and the two things to check first.
The whole place is yours
Forty square metres with your own front door, your own kitchen, your own bathroom and nobody sharing anything. The hosts live on the smallholding and meet you at the gate, and then they leave you to it. Guests use the word private more than any other.
Dogs come free, and there is a field
Pets stay at no charge, with bowls and a basket already waiting, and the hosts have fenced a field all the way round so a dog can be let off the lead under supervision. One couple brought two and said the field was the thing that made the trip.
There are actually hens
The name is not decorative. Hens roam the grounds, guests are invited to collect eggs, and reviewers with small children keep writing about it. There is a red telephone box in the garden too, which nobody asked for and everybody photographs.
Mind the loft and the Wi-Fi
The double bedroom is up in the loft under the eaves, reached by stairs, and the ceiling is low enough that a guest of five foot two hit her head on it. The only step-free bed is the sofa bed downstairs. And the Wi-Fi is rural: free everywhere, but the weakest thing on the listing.
Check Availability at The Hen House
Interesting Points About The Hen House
- This is a single one-bedroom annexe inside the owners' own smallholding, not a hotel or a B&B, and the whole place is let to one party
- It holds Scottish short-term let licence EL00466F
- It sleeps four: one double bed in the loft and one double sofa bed in the living room. There are no cots and no extra beds
- The grounds are behind electric gates with CCTV outside, which is why guests describe the setting as genuinely private
- The fenced field is for supervised dog walking and the hosts confirm it is enclosed all the way round
- Parking fits a car and two motorcycles, free and on site, with no reservation needed
- The listing shows a personal trainer and a golf course within three kilometres. Neither exists. The nearest course, Haddington Golf Club, is about two miles away
- Some listing sites name a castle south of Edinburgh and a museum in the city centre as nearby attractions. Both sit on the far side of the capital and have nothing to do with this address
- The neighbouring property at 22 Letham Mains Holdings, Orchard House Lodges, is a separate business
Rooms & Accommodation at The Hen House
One-Bedroom House
About 40 m², the entire annexe, sleeps four
The whole annexe, about forty square metres, let to one party. Best for a couple or a couple with a dog, and workable for four if two of you take the sofa bed. Two honest notes before you book: the loft ceiling is low enough that guests have knocked their heads on it, and the sofa bed downstairs is the only sleeping option that does not involve stairs. One reviewer found it uncomfortable.
Check PricesIs The Hen House right for you?
Best Suited For
- Dog owners, given a securely fenced field and no charge for pets
- Couples who want somewhere private and rural within forty minutes of Edinburgh
- Small families with young children, who will spend the stay following the hens around
- Anyone touring East Lothian's coast, golf courses, castles and Glenkinchie Distillery
Worth Considering Alternatives If
- Guests who cannot manage stairs, unless you are happy with the downstairs sofa bed
- Taller guests who would rather not duck, since the loft ceiling is low
- Anyone who needs reliable fast internet, because the Wi-Fi here is rural
- Groups of more than four, and hen or stag parties, which are not accommodated
Amenities and policies
In the Annexe
- Kitchenette
- Private bathroom with a bath or shower, towels, toilet paper and a hairdryer
- Flat-screen TV with remote, and a radio
- Washing machine, clothes rack and drying rack
- Wardrobe, heating, linen and a socket beside the bed
- Private entrance
- Free Wi-Fi
- Non-smoking
The Grounds
- Garden with outdoor furniture and a picnic area
- Electric gates and CCTV outside
- Resident hens on the smallholding, and guests are welcome to collect eggs
- Secure fenced field
- Bicycle parking
- Not available: Personal trainer or on-site golf
Food and Drink
- Not available: Breakfast
- Not available: Restaurant or bar
- Haddington Retail Park, with a supermarket and a coffee shop, is about a 5-minute drive
- The Waterside Bistro on the River Tyne is about a 6-minute drive
Parking and Transport
- Free private parking
- Haddington High Street is about a mile and a quarter, a 25-minute walk or a 5-minute drive
- Not available: Railway station
- East Coast Buses X6 and X7 run between Haddington and Edinburgh, the X7 every 20 minutes on weekday daytimes
Policies
- Pets
- Non-smoking throughout
- Children of any age are welcome and there is no minimum check-in age
- Not available: Cots and extra beds
- Not available: Parties, hen and stag groups
- Check-in runs from 16:00 to 20:00 and you must give your arrival time in advance so the hosts can meet you at the gate
- Scottish short-term let licence EL00466F
Location and getting around
Haddington is the county town of East Lothian, about seventeen miles east of Edinburgh, a Royal Burgh on the River Tyne with a High Street of independent shops, William Adam's 1748 Town House and a monthly farmers' market. Letham Mains sits on its western edge, a little over a mile from the centre, and that is where the smallholding is.
Into town is a mile and a quarter, roughly a twenty-five-minute walk or five minutes in the car. Haddington Retail Park, with a supermarket, a coffee shop and a petrol station, is about a mile and a half and the sensible first stop when you arrive with an empty fridge. St Mary's Collegiate Church, the largest parish church in Scotland, and the Nungate Bridge over the Tyne are a mile and a half away.
Further out is the reason many people come. Lennoxlove House is three miles south, the National Museum of Flight and its Concorde six miles north-east, Glenkinchie Distillery eight and a half miles south-west, and the East Lothian golf coast at Gullane about ten miles north. North Berwick, the Scottish Seabird Centre and the boats to the Bass Rock are thirteen or fourteen miles, and Tantallon Castle sixteen. Edinburgh Airport is about twenty-eight miles and forty-five minutes.
- Haddington High Street: About 1.25 miles, a 25-minute walk or a 5-minute drive
- Haddington Retail Park: About 1.5 miles, a 5-minute drive
- St Mary's Collegiate Church and Nungate Bridge: About 1.5 miles, a 6-minute drive
- Lennoxlove House: About 3 miles, an 8-minute drive
- Longniddry station: About 5 miles, a 15-minute drive
- National Museum of Flight, East Fortune: About 6 miles, a 15-minute drive
- Glenkinchie Distillery: About 8.5 miles, a 15-minute drive
- Gullane and the golf coast: About 10 miles, a 20-minute drive
- North Berwick and the Scottish Seabird Centre: About 13 miles, a 25-minute drive
- Edinburgh Airport: About 28 miles, a 45-minute drive
Getting to Key Locations
The Nungate Bridge and St Mary's
6 min drive
A 6-minute drive into town, the Nungate Bridge carries its red sandstone arches over the River Tyne beside St Mary's Collegiate Church, the largest parish church in Scotland. The riverside path from here is the best walk in Haddington, and it is thick with swans and herons.
View on Map
Haddington High Street
25 min walk
A 25-minute walk east, or five minutes in the car, Haddington's High Street runs wide between eighteenth-century frontages with William Adam's Town House and its clock tower halfway along. Independent shops, cafés and a monthly farmers' market on Court Street on the last Saturday of the month.
View on Map
The River Tyne walk
25 min walk
A 25-minute walk from the door and then along the bank, the Tyne runs through Haddington under willows and past weirs, with paths on both sides and a circuit that takes an easy hour. It is the reason people who stay here end up walking into town rather than driving.
View on MapGetting to The Hen House
- By car from the A1: Leave the A1 at the Haddington junction by the Oak Tree, take the B6471 towards the western edge of the town past Haddington Retail Park, and turn into Letham Mains Holdings. The annexe is at number 20, behind electric gates, and there is free parking inside for a car and two motorcycles.
- From Edinburgh Airport: About twenty-eight miles and forty-five minutes. Take the city bypass, the A720, round to the A1 eastbound, then come off at the Haddington junction and into Letham Mains on the town's western edge. There is no direct public transport from the airport worth the effort with luggage.
- Arriving without a car: The hosts suggest two routes. Take a train to Edinburgh, then the local service to Longniddry, about nineteen minutes from Waverley, and a taxi for the last five miles. Or take the X6 or X7 bus from central Edinburgh to Haddington, between forty-four and sixty-three minutes depending on the service, and then a short taxi or a mile-and-a-quarter walk.
- Tell them when you are coming: Check-in runs from 16:00 to 20:00 and the grounds are behind electric gates, so the hosts ask for your arrival time in advance and come out to meet you with the keys. Check-out is between 09:00 and 11:00. Early or late arrangements are by request and are not guaranteed.
Haddington and East Lothian
East Lothian is the county Edinburgh forgets to mention: a coast of wide sands and championship links, a scatter of castles and distilleries, and a handsome county town at the middle of it. Haddington is that town, a Royal Burgh on the River Tyne with St Mary's Collegiate Church, the largest parish church in Scotland, standing beside one of its oldest bridges.
Spend a morning in town, on the High Street and the riverside path, then take the car out. Glenkinchie Distillery, fifteen minutes south-west, has been making the Edinburgh Malt since 1825 and holds some of the largest pot stills in Scotland. The National Museum of Flight at East Fortune keeps a Concorde in a wartime hangar. North Berwick has the Seabird Centre and boats to the Bass Rock, and Tantallon Castle sits on the cliffs opposite it.
Come between late spring and early autumn for the beaches, the golf and the long light. September brings the Lammermuir Festival, whose seventeenth edition runs from 8 to 20 September 2026 with forty-one concerts across thirteen venues, opening at St Mary's in Haddington. August is busy with Edinburgh festival overspill, which is exactly when a place forty minutes out of the city earns its keep.
Watch: a walk through Haddington
A walking tour of the county town a mile and a quarter down the road, from the High Street to the river.
Who is The Hen House for?
Book it if you want a whole small house to yourselves in the East Lothian countryside, and especially if you are bringing a dog: the fenced field and the free pet policy are the reasons people come back. The hosts are as good as any we have written about, and Edinburgh is forty minutes away when you want it. Do not book it if stairs are a problem, if you are tall enough to mind a low loft ceiling, or if you need fast internet.
What guests say about The Hen House
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Superb
These reviews read like a small, genuinely loved let rather than a rental. The hosts are perfect on the listing's own measure and guests name them, describe being met at the gate and mention the milk and biscuits waiting inside. After that it is the cleanliness, the privacy of the gated grounds and the animals, which children in particular write about. The complaints are few and specific: the downstairs sofa bed, one report of a damp smell in the loft that cleared once the heating went on, and the Wi-Fi, which is the one score that sits well below the rest.
Found it spotlessly clean with welcoming hosts and delightful hens, and could not fault a thing.
Rachel
Found it spotlessly clean with welcoming hosts and delightful hens, and could not fault a thing.
2026-08-13Came for a weekend with a toddler and a dog and loved having the whole cottage to themselves. She praised the friendly welcome and the tour on arrival, and said the little one adored the hens. She noted it is only a short drive into town for cafés, shops and good restaurants, and would happily return.
2026-07-26Felt genuinely looked after in an immaculate and superbly equipped home run by lovely people, with nothing lacking.
2026-07-12Described it as small but ideal: private, quiet, immaculate, well equipped and close to Edinburgh. The hosts made her, her husband and their two dogs feel welcome, and she especially valued being able to exercise the dogs in the secure field.
2026-05-17Called it a perfect base for their plans: a relaxing countryside feel yet close to Haddington and the wider county. She appreciated the enclosed parking, the safe setting and how responsive the owner was.
2026-06-27Found it comfy and cosy and perfectly placed for what they had planned, with everything already provided and hosts who put them at ease. Her daughter loved watching the hens roam.
2026-04-04Called it a lovely little house he could not fault, and gave it top marks.
2026-05-29Good to Know Before You Book
Tell the hosts when you are arriving
The grounds are behind electric gates, so check-in is a meeting rather than a key safe. The window runs from 16:00 to 20:00 and the property asks for your arrival time in advance so somebody can come out and let you in. Check-out is between 09:00 and 11:00, and anything earlier or later is by request and not guaranteed.
Mind your head in the loft
The double bedroom is up in the loft under the eaves and the ceiling is low. A guest of five foot two reported bumping her head on it more than once, which is a useful yardstick. The stairs are the only way up, so the downstairs sofa bed is the only step-free option, and one reviewer found it uncomfortable.
The Wi-Fi is rural
It is free and it covers the annexe, but it is comfortably the weakest score on the listing and the setting explains why: this is a smallholding on the edge of a small town. Do not plan a week of video calls around it. Download what you need before you leave the city.
It is fully self-catering
No breakfast is served and there is no restaurant or bar. The kitchenette has an oven, a hob, a microwave, a kettle and a fridge, which is enough to cook properly. Haddington Retail Park, with a supermarket and a coffee shop, is a five-minute drive and worth a stop on the way in.
Four is the maximum, and no parties
There are no cots and no extra beds, so the double upstairs and the double sofa bed downstairs are all the sleeping there is. Children of any age are welcome and there is no minimum check-in age, but hen and stag groups are not accommodated and parties are not allowed.
Cancellation terms depend on your rate
Prepayment and cancellation conditions vary by the option and dates you choose, and the exact terms show before you confirm. One aggregator lists the property as non-refundable, which is not what the fine print says: check the conditions attached to your own booking.
Photos of The Hen House
Frequently asked questions
Genuinely, yes. Pets stay free of charge, bowls and a basket are provided, and there is a field beside the garden fenced all the way round for supervised off-lead walking, which the hosts confirm directly. A couple who brought two dogs said the field was the best part of the stay. No weight limit or number cap is published, so mention your dogs when you book.
Four. There is one double bed in the loft bedroom upstairs and one double sofa bed in the living room downstairs. There are no cots and no extra beds available, so four is the hard maximum rather than a starting point.
Check-in runs from 16:00 to 20:00 and check-out is between 09:00 and 11:00. Because the grounds are behind electric gates, you need to give the hosts your arrival time in advance so they can come out and meet you with the keys. Early check-in and late check-out are by request only and are not guaranteed.
Yes, free private parking on site with no reservation needed, inside the gates. The hosts confirm there is room for a car and two motorcycles. No height or size limit is published, and guests specifically mention how reassuring the enclosed parking is.
There are. The annexe sits inside a working smallholding and the hens roam the grounds, along with cats. Guests are welcome to go and collect eggs, and reviewers with young children write about this more than anything else on the property. The hosts confirmed it plainly when asked: the chickens will be here.
No. This is a self-catering let with a fully equipped kitchenette, so nothing is served and there is no restaurant or bar. Haddington Retail Park, with a supermarket and a coffee shop, is about a five-minute drive and is the obvious stop on the way in.
Haddington has no railway station. The hosts suggest a train to Edinburgh, then the local service to Longniddry, about nineteen minutes from Waverley, followed by a five-mile taxi. Alternatively take the X6 or X7 bus from central Edinburgh to Haddington, between forty-four and sixty-three minutes, then a short taxi or a mile-and-a-quarter walk. By car, Edinburgh is about forty minutes and the airport about forty-five.
No. The fine print rules out hen parties, stag parties and anything similar, and parties and events are not allowed on the premises. It is a one-bedroom annexe inside the owners' own grounds, so it is not a house that could take one anyway.
Only partly. The double bedroom is in the loft and the stairs are the only way up, and the ceiling up there is low. The sofa bed in the living room is the only step-free sleeping option. There is no lift and no accessible bathroom is documented, so we would not describe the annexe as step-free.
No to both, despite what the listing's amenity block says. Those are taxonomy artefacts rather than facilities. The nearest golf is Haddington Golf Club, about two miles away, and the East Lothian championship links at Gullane are around ten miles north.
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Gates, hens and a field for the dog
A whole one-bedroom annexe to yourselves on an East Lothian smallholding, forty minutes from Edinburgh, with pets staying free. Check your dates.
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