Cottage Diary - Aspenwood self catering luxury Holiday Cottage overlooking Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland.

During January we have been busy refurbishing the cottage and giving it a proper Spring-clean. The decoration inside the cottage has now been completed and we are very pleased with the result. The covering of warm colours on all walls, ceilings and radiators make it look like a new cottage. All carpets have been steam cleaned, refreshing them and bringing them up like new. The new three-piece suite in the lounge is really comfortable and colourful. The double room now has twin beds with a table in between for lamps, radio etc. The master bedroom has a new Vi-spring king bed and a wide screen TV with DVD player and Freeview. Photos will be posted on our website soon.
Weather has been chilly lately and it was very frosty overnight. Today the frost remains and there is a beautiful clear blue sky.

It was a wonderful clear night with a spectacular full moon which lit up the sky. We thought we had overslept as it woke us up in the early morning shining right into our bedroom window. The reflection on the loch was breath-taking. Saturday was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, a bit chilly but the rain has stopped after two days of showers and downpours. The loch is quite low - the water level is well down on Farigaig pier - so we did need some rain.

The snow has disappeared and it is much milder today although you do need to wrap up warm. Went down to the beach which is just a short pleasant stroll from our house and Aspenwood and saw some weird low cloud formations hovering right across Loch Ness and reflecting in the clear water.
This photo is looking down towards the busy village of Fort Augustus at the south-west end of the loch. The photo below is looking towards the hamlet of Loch End at the eastern end of the loch. Here the loch ends and water divides into the Caledonian Canal, built by Thomas Telford and opened in 1822, and the River Ness which winds through the city of Inverness and empties out into the Moray Firth. This is a haven for wildlife and last year we were fortunate enough to see the famous Moray Firth dolphins for the first time and what a magnificent sight they were.