The 19th Hole

After a wet weekend the weather has now improved and it feels more like summer at last. It was a very unfortunate period for the Scottish Open Golf Championship held for the first time at Castle Stuart just outside Inverness as the play had to be delayed and even stopped due to thunderstorms. They were eventually able to finish the golf on Sunday and it was won by Luke Donald. Castle Stuart is holding this event for the next two years so fingers crossed for more positive climatic conditions in future years so the world over can appreciate the true beauty of the Scottish Highlands.
Since the golf finished the weather has improved and we have been enjoying blue sky days and sitting outside watching wonderful sunsets in the evening with a wee dram.

STOP PRESS

Due to a late cancellation there is now a week available this coming August.

The week of Saturday 6th August to Saturday 13th August 2011 is now available at the price of £980.

This amount will have to be paid in full due to the proximity of the booking.

This week can be booked via our booking system on this website and paid by Direct Bank Transfer or cheque. Alternatively please feel free to phone us [ 01456 486415 ] and we will do the booking for you and give you any more information if needed.

A wonderful chance to enjoy the magic of the Scottish Highlands and the'Aspenwood Experience'.

New Tesco Store opening soon.

 The new Tesco store on the Dores Road at Drumblair is very near completion and is due to open on Monday 18th July. We drove past it today and were amazed at the speed things have been progressing. This store and petrol station will be so handy for us and our guests as it now the nearest one to Aspenwood.

Trip to Culbin Sands.

The weather was fine last week so we packed a picnic and drove to the coastal town of Nairn on the Moray Firth, a journey of about 38 miles and took one and a half hours at a leisurely pace. We drove just beyond the town and headed for Culbin Sands. This is a RSPB Nature Reserve owned by the Forestry Commission and contains a variety of habitats - a long stretch of sandy beach covered in shells,sand dunes,tidal sands, pools,salt marsh,mud flats and Culbin Forest. This area is ideal for different species of wading birds all year round and we saw a mixed collection on the sandy spits and several grey herons.
After a peaceful walk across the marshland, through the dunes and along the long unspoilt and empty beach we drove back to the seaside town of Nairn and enjoyed a picnic on a bench looking out to sea. The weather was terrific and there were many brave swimmers in the water and a huge ocean cruise liner drifted by in the distance.

Finding their way around.

 In the early evening we are often visited by a pair of young deer who kindly munch away at the grass on the front bank. They are not easily frightened by our presence...in fact they are quite curious and just stand and stare at us and then carry on munching. The juvenile great spotted woodpeckers are now allowed out on their own but are very easily spooked. A new hatch of siskins and chaffinches has fledged and will hop about innocently on the ground so we have to sometimes carefully walk round them. They seem to enjoy the bird bath and will splash about for ages ... just like any youngster.

Plenty of red squirrels chasing each other around the tree trunks and trying out all the food at the various feeding stations. Had three in the garden this morning and this one was quite surprised by the large blackbird which suddenly landed next to it on the bird table...which is meant for birds !

Saturday sunset

Worked hard at Aspenwood on Saturday with our new pressure washer - cleaning all the flagstones around the cottage and the steps....what a difference! They came up as good as new and we could now see the embossed pattern on the flagstones again. Also sprayed the feeding fence and made it alot cleaner for the birds and squirrels. 
Sat outside in the evening after supper and witnessed a most amazing sunset..our reward.

The Ness Express.

We have noticed that there are not so many pleasure boats out on Loch Ness this year, either hired cruisers or private yachts. The weather cannot be to blame as it has been quite pleasant generally so it must be a sign of the times.

We have also observed that The Ness Express has not been operating as fully as previous years [it is now in its third year]. Several of our guests have taken the exhilarating journey on this RIB from Fort Augustus to Urquhart Castle and back and enjoyed the experience immensely. We often give the driver and passengers a wave as they zoom in front of the house and sometimes we even get a wave back.

Scottish wildcat kittens

We enjoyed a day out last week at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig near Aviemore, about a 50 mile trip from Aspenwood Cottage.

We especially [OK - mainly me] wanted to see the two new Scottish wildcat kittens born in late March. This is the third litter for the proud parents Hamish and Seasaidh.

The parents were naturally very protective and did everything our own tame cats do....fiercely mewing when we got too near their kittens, scratching on the tree trunks with their claws and even chasing birds that happened to come too near their open enclosure.The Scottish wildcat is one of our rarest native mammal species and there are less than 400 Scottish wildcats remaining in the wilds of the Highlands. The breeding of endangered species is a very important part of the ongoing programme for the park which is linked to Edinburgh Zoo especially for conservation purposes. A lot of building work was going on and there were many new large open enclosures, new wooden viewing platforms and wider pathways being built by the army who were in full smart uniformed force. We enjoyed a picnic at one of the many tables available. A good day out and lots of photo opportunities. 

There were many other fascinating animals to see although the new polar bear 'Walker' was in hiding. He was selected to live in the Highland Wildlife Park from the Netherlands as his sister was giving birth again and they had to be separated. The original older resident polar bear at this park 'Mercedes' had to be put down for health reasons due to old age. A new female polar bear from Bulgaria is expected soon and the enclosure is now the biggest in the world..what an achievement.