Ardnamurchan Area Blogs
Blogs (web logs) provide an ideal opportunity to explore the traditions, culture and wildlife of Wild Lochaber. We have put together a collection of local blogs and provide the titles and text snippets to give a taste of each entry with direct links to the main blog entry on the host website. We hope you will find time to explore the full articles and further information on the host blog sites.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions for blogs you would like to see here.
Craigard Croft
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On Thursday evenings a small group of elderly men meet in the bar of the, "The Kilchoan Hotel" for gossip, discussion of the latest outrage from Trump ....the undoing of enlightenment values, rejection of truth, rationality and science; beer and sometimes a meal. We also try to...
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Owlet's first night flightLast week as he was driving home past the barn "Raptor" saw a young owl on the road in his car headlights it was the third owlet to be hatched.Barn owls are usually 12 - 13 weeks old when they leave the nest so this one ( the last of the three) must have been hatched...
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Press & Journal 22nd August 2018While I was away in France a photograph taken by a holiday maker appeared in the Press & Journal of a pine marten and a "wildcat" together. The pine marten appears to be retreating and we ( my neighbours and I) are pretty sure that the photograph was...
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I found a dead, male barn owl this morning, under the beam in the barn where they normally perch and roost. It was so light weight almost as it were only feathers. When I weighed it on my kitchen scales it was a mere 216g a healthy adult male should weigh 360g.All white breast without any spots of...
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House sparrows There has been a steady decline in the population of UK house sparrows during the last 100 years, probably since the motorcar replaced horses on our streets. Changes in farming practice have had an effect too, particularly the lack of winter stubble after a swing to autumn sown...
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Fifty years ago I read a short account of a two person expedition into a remote and then inaccessible region of the Pyrenees, " the Enchanted Mountains" by Robin Fedden", then " The Pyrenees" by Hillaire Belloc and " Backpacking and Camping in the Pyrenees" my imagination was captured.When I...
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Owlets 3 - 4 weeks old Adult delivering foodTonight it will be dusk at around 8.30 pm. iy you wait quietly outside my barn you will see two adult owls swooping in with food for their young thta hatched about six weks ago. Threehree owlets hatched a clutch of five eggs.We have had a...
Otter Adventures
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In this second part of the blog about the Cumbrae Sea Kayak Symposium, I’ll look at the event as a whole and why you should attend a symposium. No matter what level you are at as a paddler there should always be something to learn. In part one of this blog I talked mostly about […] The...
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This weekend I headed off to a sea kayak symposium and a chance to try sea kayak sailing. A a sea kayak symposium with a sailing taster session was too good to miss… As well as being a small island west of Glasgow, Cumbrae is also the home to the Sport Scotland National Watersports Centre...
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As the summer season tails off, it is time to rest the arms and exercise the leg. Time to head back into the mountains and explore ready for next year. This is when I hope to be offering more guided family mountain walking adventures. Stunning location for a family mountain walking experience For...
Ardtornish Estate and Gardens, Self catering holidays Scotland
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Scotland has a rich and varied Halloween tradition. Over the years, traditional pagan rituals have largely been forgotten or adapted by the Christian church, into what we are familiar with today. But as this most mysterious of days approaches, there is no better time to have a closer...
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A good old classic loved by everyone. Ingredients 500g Ardtornish beef mince 1 diced Ardtornish onion 2 peeled and chopped carrots 1/2 tablespoon of flour 1 cup of beef stock 4 potatoes 100g milk 50g unsalted butter Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon of...
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What’s the one thing better than relaxing over a dinner of the finest fresh produce Scotland has to offer? It is of course tucking in to your feast knowing that you foraged everything you are eating yourself. Fresh and free, are the bywords of the recent renaissance in foraging and...
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This tried and tested recipe by Tom Kerridge is a tasty and filling family favourite. Perfect served with rustic jacket potatoes or simply buttered crusty bread. Ingredients 1Kg Ardtornish beef sausages 2 onions 2 celery sticks 8 cloves of garlic 1 sprig of...
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At Ardtornish we are lucky enough to have the most biodiverse nature reserve in the Scottish Wildlife Trust portfolio. The management committee of the reserve have established a creative residency to promote the reserve to a wider audience and to raise funds for winter work. This year...
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The highlands has many remote and difficult to access spots, but few capture the imagination quite like the island of St Kilda. A journey to this near-mythical outpost, 40 miles into the Atlantic, is akin to approaching the edge of the world as well as stepping back in time. What is it...
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The Highlands & Islands are blessed with some of the best beaches in the world. Some keep coming back for the amazing views, to play with their children, walk their dogs or to go fishing, but for a small group of enthusiasts it’s the beachcombing that is the major attraction. Part...
The Mingarry Blodge
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Many of our guests at Mingarry Lodges arrive by The Corran Ferry crossing Loch Linnhe to the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Just one of the many wee journeys across the sea awaiting you on your holiday in The West Highlands. The Treshnish Isles, Mull, Skye, Eigg, Rum, Canna and Muck and all within easy...