Guests recently enjoyed a wonderful sunny Autumn day out at RSPB Loch Ruthven, a short pleasant drive from Camerons Cottage. They kindly sent in their photos to encourage other guests to visit. This loch is the most important Spring breeding site in the UK for the rare Slavonian Grebe. Walk by the side of the loch and sit in the bird hide for closer observation and photos.In Spring and Summer keep an eye out for other bird species and the amazing diving ospreys.
Guests staying at Camerons Cottage recently enjoyed a walk through Farigaig Forest to the 'wee pond' and kindly sent in their photos. This is one of the many walks you can enjoy from the cottage. From Camerons Cottage turn right along the farm track and then left along the marked path up into Farigaig Forest. Pass Easter Boleskine wetlands pond and admire the panoramic view overlooking Loch Ness. Walk through the forest to the small peaceful tree circled loch 'Lochan Torr an Tuill',also known as the 'wee pond' by locals,and rest on the picnic bench to soak up the view. On a clear day the reflections are wonderful. Lately the forestry have been clearing trees, making the area seem brighter and the water lilies are now reappearing.
Continue walking up to the high view point overlooking the white cottages of Inverfarigaig village.Then stroll down along the forest track and turn right down to Farigaig Pier jutting out on to Loch Ness. Carry on the forest track to access Loch Ness beach and rest on the chairs provided. Keep going along the forest track to Foyers and home to Camerons. The end of their day was completed with a stunning sunset disappearing on the hazy fields.
The Loch Ness RNLI operates a very important rescue boat on the unpredictable deep waters of Loch Ness which rarely gets above 5C at any time during the year. We get emails of their rescues as in the following report received today. 'Injured dog and owner rescued after holiday plunge. Dog falls 30 feet onto rocky beach which prompts Loch Ness Lifeboat rescue.
Badly injured dog rescued after rock plunge on Loch Ness. English Bull Terrier “Stan” fell 30ft down onto a rocky shoreline whilst out on a walk with his owner, Ricky Simpson. Ricky was able to clamber down to be with Stan as Ricky’s partner called the Coastguard. Volunteers Howie Whyte, Joy Cameron and Garry MacLeod from the Drumnadrochit based RNLI took the Atlantic 75 class lifeboat, Colin James Daniel to the scene and were able to extract both dog and owner and take them to Foyers pier. The holiday makers were then cared for by Dave (aka Swampy), skipper of the Ros Crana Barge. Stan was then taken to vets in Inverness who were planning to operate on the dog who had a broken rear leg and suspected internal injuries. The three RNLI volunteers who were operational on this “Shout” have all been trained in Flood Rescue techniques, some of which were utilised during this rescue. A video of the "shout" can be viewed below. The incident happened on at approximately 10am on Wednesday 15th October.
We have been in touch with the dog's owner and it appears, after some detailed surgery and the fitting of a plate to Stan's leg, that the situation is looking more positive for the much loved family pet.'
This sparrowhawk flew on a neighbour's garden fence and looked around for a long time before he spotted something and flew down......did he catch lunch ?
Had a very enjoyable walk from Camerons Cottage to the road and then turned right up the hill for a very short while. Take the first left at Intake House. Carry on along the track and stop at the wee bridge to look over the parapet at the amazing waterfall. Carry on along the path for an easy stroll. The path does eventually go all the way to Whitebridge for serious walkers. Look out for the buzzards and the wild goats.
There is an abundance of wildlife to be seen during the day time in the area around Loch Ness. However, there are more elusive creatures who venture out in the dusk and dark. A large Badger sett is in Farigaig Forest at Inverfarigaig and the youngsters often appear near to cottages in the area scooping up any left over bird food on the ground. Although they look quite fearsome creatures their favourite meal is earthworms which they dig up with their long, sharp claws. More interesting facts about badgers.
The Pine Marten can also be seen in gardens at night and they often set the outside security lights off in this cottage in the next village. This youngster had the cheek to climb up the steps to the front door of the cottage, have a good look in the glass panel of the door but then frightened itself and ran off to join an adult nearby in the forest. Pine Martens can be quite vicious if cornered and are one of the few mammals who are able to chase and catch red squirrels in the tree canopy of the forest.
Amazing how the spotlights are reflected in their eyes. For more facts about Pine Martens.See more action in our video gallery clips.
