Alcaig Cottages

2011 Highlights

2011-12-31T08:26:00.001-08:00

Life in the Highlands is very far removed from the rest of the UK: the weather can be punishing and self-sufficiency is a must. However, despite the challenges, both the people and landscapes of the Highlands are without parallel.

Here are some photos from 2011 from around here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/117542437109492115611/2011Highlights

Autumn Calling

2011-08-29T04:12:00.000-07:00

Autumn's definitely in the air. It's usually late August that the ospreys leave Scotland for their epic journey south although I saw one over the Firth this morning. The swallows and house martins around the cottages seem to have an extra urgency to their feeding and I imagine they too will start leaving in the coming days.

It's not all about departures though. 9 pheasant chicks have appeared in the garden this week. With a sparrowhawk patrolling the skies above the cottages, I'm not sure there'll be 9 for long though, especially if they spend too much time on the old gun emplacement in the garden as pictured.

So as the summer's drawing to a close, I'd like to thank all the people who've stayed this summer. It's been a busy few months but everyone has loved staying here and many have vowed to return in 2012.

But just because the summer season is ending doesn't mean there's no good reason to visit the Northern Highlands. In fact there's much to commend a visit in the winter half of the year as told here:

Ten Reasons To Visit Out Of Season

2011-07-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how disparaging so many people are about the weather in Scotland. These people tend to be a) English and b) infrequent visitors to Scotland.

Admittedly, parts of the Western Highlands, Lochaber for example, are very wet, but Ullapool to the north is quite significantly drier. Here in Alcaig on the eastern side of the North Highlands, we have less rainfall than Manchester, Bristol, and Cardiff.

Whatever the weather, when you do get a glorious day, you can enjoy it in the most fabulously quiet surroundings. Below is a picture of Achmelvich a few days ago. Most of the UK was having torrential showers. This part of Assynt was just perfect and this bay almost deserted.

2011-05-29T08:26:00.001-07:00

We're seeing ospreys every day at the moment flying above the Firth. It's quite reassuring when one of the cottages is called the Osprey Cottage! The only pictures I've managed to get of them have been spectacularly unimpressive so instead here's a picture of a juvenile Tree Sparrow in the grounds. He or she kept falling asleep while waiting to be fed.

Swallows and snow

2011-05-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

After several dry and warm weeks, the Highlands have been far cooler, windier and unsettled the last few days. Ben Wyvis, which looms over our corner of Scotland, regained a covering of snow today. Of course snow can fall on the higher Scottish hills in any month of the year but here at sea-level it remained resolutely mild.

It was a strange juxtaposition taking this photograph of Ben Wyvis' snow from the garden while the flowering lupins waved in the breeze and the swallows swooped low overhead. Another small example of the constant wonder of living in the Highlands.

Ben Wyvis from Easter Lodge