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

A colourful goldfinch visited the nut feeder on the fence at Aspenwood on Saurday morning...a welcome sight as we do not see many of these although they are now becoming more common as garden birds. There are several bird books as well as a pair of binoculars in the cottage for guests to use to get a closer look at the various bird life that visit the table and feeders and bird bath. The goldfinch had a good feed and totally ignored the numerous playful red squirrels chasing each other along the fence and feeding on the adjacent feeder. The collective noun for goldfinches is a charm...what else could it be ? Another cheeky squirrel really enjoyed the peanuts that were scattered on the ground by the side of the bird bath. The deer didn't say much !

Labels: aspenwood, birds, goldfinch, red, squirrel

Enjoy Christmas at Aspenwood.

Aspenwood Cottage is still available for the Christmas period.
We offer guests a 7 night stay for Christmas, arriving on Saturday 20th December and departing on Saturday 27th December 2008.
The cottage will be seasonally decorated throughout......just unlock the door, relax and enjoy your festivities.
Although we cannot guarantee snow it is extremely picturesque when it does occur.
The cottage sleeps 5 comfortably and we now welcome 2 well behaved dogs.
The 7 night break is priced at 820.00 pounds sterling.
To book the Christmas period please use our instant easy Booking page on this website.

Labels: aspenwood, christmas, snow

Guests staying in Aspenwood Cottage last week were walking casually up the driveway when they noticed a large stag on the path ahead. It was standing quite still and staring at the two strangers approaching. Steve realised he had not got his trusty camera with him and, although very excited, he managed to keep his cool and slowly turned round and went back to the cottage for the equipment.When he returned the stag had not moved a muscle and thus the evidence was produced.Only when Steve and Barbara tried to get even closer did the stag turn tail and run off into Farigaig Forest. Thanks for sharing your photos.

Labels: aspenwood, deer, stag

We were very surprised and extremely pleased to see the following article in the 'Scotland on Sunday' newspaper.It was written by a very special young guest who regularly visits Aspenwood Cottage with mum,dad and gran.Youngsters between the ages of 5-12 were asked to write an article for the newspaper explaining where their favourite piece of Scotland was and why.
Megan's article was printed last Sunday and reads as follows:-

My little piece of Scotland - Inverfarigaig
You can see squirrels and deer from your bed in Inverfarigaig and you might even spot Nessie if you look hard enough.

MY SPECIAL place in Scotland is Inverfarigaig, on the south side of Loch Ness. I go there two or three times a year, to a place called Aspenwood. It has a great view of the loch and the hills on the other side.
When we arrive, there are always sweets for me, a biscuit for my dog and champagne for my mum, dad and gran as well as a nice note from the owners. There's an enormous kitchen for baking, and my room looks on to some woods where we often see red squirrels scampering around and sika deer wandering down towards the loch. We call my bedroom window Squirrel TV, and sit on the bed looking out to see what the wildlife is up to.
Mum and dad's room has a balcony. We sometimes sit out on it, even if it's cold, and play cards or Scrabble.
Once or twice I've seen a rainbow over Loch Ness, which looks magical. At night, there are no street lights, so the stars are amazingly bright. Tornado jets fly over every other day, and the noise is ear-bursting! Perhaps the racket they make is too much for Nessie, which is probably why we've never seen her.
My family and I go walking in Inverfarigaig forest. I found a tiny loch at the top of the hill, called Lochan Torr an Tuill. It has lily pads on it and trees shading the clear water, and there's even a table with a bench to sit on for a picnic. If it's rainy, I bake or paint with my gran, or we make cards for our friends.
I love Loch Ness because it is so full of mystery. Once, I found the skeleton of a sheep's head on the shore. I'm sure Nessie must have sneaked up on the sheep and devoured it.

Labels: aspenwood, inverfarigaig, Loch Ness, nessie, squirrels

It's a wonder we got any work done at the cottage on Saturday as every time we looked out of the lounge window more squirrels appeared. Managed to get this photo of three of them before they chased each other along the fence and up the aspen tree. As we went out of the back door we noticed a deer standing by the garden furniture munching away and quite unfazed by our presence.

Labels: aspenwood, deer, pine marten, red, squirrel

Red squirrels have been spotted in the woods surrounding Aspenwood Cottage and appear to have great fun chasing each other up and down the trees and playing amongst the bluebells in the undergrowth. They are very quick and do not stop to pose for a photo!

Labels: aspenwood, deer, red, squirrel

A new rectangular solid oak table and padded chairs are now in situ in the open plan dining area of the cottage. This week the fifth chair is not needed at the table so it is in the master bedroom. New table mats and coasters are in the kitchen drawer.
The snow has been gradually melting on the mountains opposite but - surprise, surprise - there is some forecast for this weekend!

Labels: aspenwood, Loch Ness

We had some business to attend in connection with our tourist group on the northern side of Loch Ness at the village of Drumnadrochit on Urquhart Bay and we were pleased to leave home with the sun shining. We enjoyed a pleasant leisurely drive into Inverness, crossed over the River Ness bridge and onto the busier A82 - the main road from Inverness to Glasgow.

After concluding our business near The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre at Drumnadrochit we continued on our homeward journey passing the ruins of Urquhart Castle jutting out on a rocky headland onto Loch Ness. Suddenly the clouds rolled in over the loch, the weather became more overcast and down came the rain. The water on the loch began to look more grey and menacing with the ominous rolling rain clouds approaching.

Luckily we were able to clearly see our house [Lower Birchwood House] and Aspenwood Cottage above it on the opposite shore of Loch Ness nestling in Farigaig Forest.
During the Easter break we are going to design and create a new bird table for our own garden area and - fingers crossed - it will be the highlight of the next entry here [watch this space!].

Labels: aspenwood, farigaig, forest, Loch Ness

Labels: aspenwood, farigaig, forest, red, snow, squirrel

Labels: aspenwood

Labels: aspenwood

Saw our our friendly female deer -our resident lawnmower - at Aspenwood on Saturday. She had a good munch by the sign to the entrance of the cottage and then enjoyed the grass clump under the bird table. After filling up she trotted casually down the bank to our house below. We've seen a very large brown hare several times on the path in front of our house and also on the grassy path to the wee beach. The birds are constantly feeding at the bird table now and more females of the species appear to have a ferocious lunch away from the nest. On the return journey from Foyers we spotted three red squirrels chasing each other around a tree trunk near Easter Boleskine - much too fast for a photo but I'll keep trying. Friends in the next village of Dores have seen an otter crossing back to into the waters of Loch Ness. We have seen our regular 'Ollie the osprey' flying over the loch a few times - he returns every year for rebuilding the same old nest and awaiting the wife for breeding purposes. The ospreys at Loch Garten have produced two eggs lately and we follow their progress through the local radio and news with enthusiasm. Bluebells are flowering profusely in the low damp undergrowth and on the banks all the way into Inverness - a ribbon of colour to match the yellow gorse. and primroses.

Labels: aspenwood

Labels: aspenwood

Labels: aspenwood

Labels: aspenwood

View The 'wee pond' in Farigaig Forest above Aspenwood Cottage. - Google Video to see a sneak preview of this movie before it is entered onto the Video Gallery page.This is only a short pleasurable walk from Aspenwood Cottage. Listen to the silence in the forest. You can almost smell the fresh air. Watch the eerie mist float across the surface of the water. Forget work and problems. Relax and enjoy.

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Aspenwood holiday cottage now offers the facility of a computer with Broadband connection for guests to use - at no extra charge. This may be useful for emailing friends and family and for booking your next holiday with us online!

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