Boutique Self Catering Accommodation near Fort William
After our last newsletter, it has been lovely to hear from several of you and to receive some last-minute bookings from returning guests. We have also enjoyed meeting some new Ard Daraich visitors and extending our friendship to more people. Just today we said goodbye to a friend returning to Malawi; tomorrow we do so […]
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We know it’s difficult to believe that spring has arrived, especially after the recent return to wintery weather! There have been some nice days and it’s on these that we try to get out into the garden – as there is so much to discover. Crinan’s column Hello, my name is Crinan and I have […]
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As the RSPB weekend of action approaches, 26th to 28th January 2019, we have started to prepare. There are masses of garden birds here at Ard Daraich and often visitors are transfixed by the number and noise they make. I have written elsewhere about the collared doves who arrived as a pair, a year or […]
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As wood burners have increased in popularity their reputation has grown in controversy. Apparently more and more people are installing them in urban and suburban areas as a way of reducing their heating bills. But they are also creating a clean air issue, something we are lucky enough not to have to deal with here […]
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Two nights ago we officially moved from summer into autumn and whilst I was on Mull there was a huge harvest moon that slid up over the horizon to light the landscape for the whole night. Autumn has arrived early this year with the first tree turning in late July and when the rain came […]
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Here on the West Coast of Scotland, we are lucky enough to live in a temperate rain forest. Some people complain about the high rainfall and Highland mists but in a global context we are lucky to be the home of some internationally significant plants – Bryophytes. Wikipedia defines Bryophytes as “an informal group consisting […]
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When I arrived at Ard Daraich in 2004 the Maclarens had a thriving nursery garden that specialised in Rhododendrons and Azaleas. There was a busy potting shed in the old garage with a huge pine table used for potting propped up on wooden blocks to raise it to working height. Outside, there were raised display […]
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It’s morning, and I go into the garden to seek out flowers. Wandering about the woodland I look up, and it’s as if someone has lit a match, the canopy of the trees is showing patches of fire that dance in the sunlight. On the rocks and ground a number of red, purple and orange […]
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