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

Had a wonderful trip on the Loch Ness Express boat with the South Loch Ness Tourist Group of which we are members. The Express is now in its second year and is proving very successful and operates from Easter to the end of October. The Express carries up to 36 passengers and makes two return journeys daily between Inverness and Fort Augustus with a request stop available at Foyers, situated about halfway along the loch. You can cruise the entire length of Loch Ness, through the stunning scenery of the Great Glen. Enjoy the views from the comfort of the Harris Tweed clad seats inside but if it is fresh air you crave you can sit on the open air deck and look at the amazing wash from the rear of the boat. Refreshments are available on all sailings and there are plenty of eateries in Inverness and Fort Augustus. View Urquhart Castle close up as you pass by slowly enough to take great photos. For more information visit http://www.lochnessexpress.com/ .

During the day the snow gradually melted and it is clear around the house once more. The temperature rose and it is predicted that we hit double figures at the weekend, about time.
Saw our first lambs in nearby fields and I don't think they had been born very long as they were very wobbly on their spindly legs. Glad for them that the cold weather has now gone and they can look forward to skipping about in the grass. They are very funny to watch and seem to enjoy going about in gangs before rushing back to mum with their little tails flying behind them.

The weather forecast for this area is very good but we were hoping it would be wrong, after all we are now officially into Spring.
Went into Inverness for our shopping and sure enough the snow started as predicted. The further we drove home westwards the worse it got and it has now been snowing and laying quite thickly, you would honestly think it was Christmas. Please leave comments here if you are suffering as well. Would love to hear from you.

We take it that picnics and chilled white wine will not yet be served on the outside table...

It has been the coldest March we have known since we moved here and it is still bitter cold today even though it is the first day of Spring tomorrow. Most of the snow has now cleared on ground level but is still visible on the very tops of the mountains. After doing our shopping in Inverness we took the long way home and turned off the A9 at Daviot. We never tire of this route and saw many pheasants, curlews and oystercatchers busy searching for food in the fields alongside the sheep. Passed Bonnie the tame deer whose story is told in the Wildlife page under Things to do and she seemed very happy in her garden munching away with not a care in the world.

As promised it did snow at the weekend but we were lucky. I think it is because we live midway between the east and west coasts so we do not seem to get the very bad weather they do on the coasts. Glasgow caught it this time on the west and we read some horrendous stories. Luckily it gradually turned to rain and snow is now only on the mountain tops above 1000ft.

When we knew the roads were clear [ask the postman!] we went for a short ride to Loch Farr. It is very peaceful sitting on the bench by the side of the wee loch watching and listening to the various birds. We saw a Jack Snipe emerging from the undergrowth at home for the first time this year. Saw a Snipe last year strolling around the garden and what a difference in size between these two birds. The postman reported seeing a Hawfinch in the next village and was quite thrilled. We all had to feed the birds extra this year because of the bad weather. Roll on Spring!!

Just as we thought we were heading into Spring we now have a weather warning that snow will fall overnight and tomorrow to a depth of 20cms. We are not amused!!

Hopefully the worst of the snow and bitter cold weather has now passed by and yesterday we were able to drive into Inverness, a distance of about 16 miles from Aspenwood. The road runs parallel with Loch Ness and we looked across to see Urquhart Castle silhouetted against the snowy hills. Inverness was busy with a lot of people taking their first day out to get provisions and the pink sandstone of Inverness castle stood out against the blue sky and snowy gardens. On the way back home we stopped at the village of Dores and looked down the length of the loch nestling in the Great Glen and surrounded by towering snowy mountains.

After the blizzards subsided Maisie and I went out for a walk in the snow. She was very brave and normally does not like going out in the snow but she was very pleased to follow in my big-booted footsteps. She was happy to be out after being confined indoors with her sister Daisy due to the severe weather conditions and so was I !!
We walked slowly around the outside area of the house and it was just like being in a Christmas card. We do appreciate each day and realize just how fortunate we are.

Strolled down to our beach on Loch Ness after a day of snow showers and blizzards and sat on the rocks watching the glorious sunset. When the sun had finally disappeared over the mountain the air suddenly turned very cold and I hurried back home to the warmth of the open fire.