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

Labels: osprey, robin bird wildlife, squirrels, swallows

Labels: deer, pheasants, squirrels

Labels: birds, ice, snow, squirrels

A real wintry start to the week with strong winds and driving rain. Quite a few trawlers chose to use the Great Glen route to avoid the choppy Pentland Firth and several ferry routes to the islands were cancelled due to the high winds. The RNLI Loch Ness Lifeboat has been seen out on training exercises. We were quite surprised to see 'The Lord of the Glens' cruise liner travel along Loch Ness towards Fort William. It glided silently past in the dusk of the late afternoon with a light shining from the front mast.

Labels: coal tits, deer, great glen, lord of the glens, pheasants, RNLI, squirrels

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

Labels: red, squirrel, squirrels