Boutique Self Catering Accommodation near Fort William
The rattle on the window makes me sit up and look out. The hail and snow are horizontal. Outside on the bird table, the Siskins, Sparrows and Goldfinches are stuffing themselves with homemade fat balls, peanuts and wild bird seed. They are lucky to be so well fed. Preparing for the spring. It’s time to […]
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How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? On New Years Day the sun was bright and the sky blue. A great start to the New Year and a day to be marked by going outside. No doubt the New Year’s walk is an institution in the life of many families but we are not […]
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In the deep midwinter, the day length is short and often the weather a bit harsh. In fact, this winter has been mild and dryish until the recent snowfall and so we have managed to garden more often than we usually can in January. It still leaves us with long evenings to find an indoor […]
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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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When you grow up somewhere different, in my case the south of England, there are some things you miss even though you would never turn back the clock. I have been surprised by the things that have lodged in my heart and that I still pine for. One of the most surprising is the sound […]
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