Beam me up, Scotty: blackout curtains are essential in these Orkney lighthouse cottages on sale for £300,000

These pretty Orkney Islands cottages, with breathtaking clifftop views, look just the ticket for those seeking to truly get away from it all.

However, would-be buyers of the £300,000 properties should budget for a set of excellent blackout blinds because the lighthouse still functions and flashes three times a minute during darkness!

The larger three-bedroom cottage was once occupied by the principal keeper of the Cantick Head Lighthouse, on the island of Hoy, while his assistants lived in the two smaller cottages.

The two-story main cottage includes a living room, dining room, office, bathroom and kitchen with pantry.

Both of the two-bedroom cottages are run as holiday lets, but the whole compound could provide a perfect seven-bedroom hideaway for extended families or friends.

Although the beam from the lighthouse could be seen as a drawback, the islands' latitude means that summer days are very long, with the sun barely setting at all during June. Fortunately, the foghorn was discontinued in 1987.

Hoy is most famous for the Old Man Of Hoy, a sandstone pillar off the coast that is Britain's tallest sea stack at 450ft, while the island also boasts the Gable End theatre and cinema.

Hoy is served by a ferry service to Kirkwall on mainland Orkney, from where ferries go to mainland Scotland and flights to London City Airport take less than four hours.

Cantick Head Lighthouse Cottages are for sale by Lows Solicitors at a guide price of £300,000.