The season winds down

Well, what a year! The 10 dry, warm weeks from April time turned into a generally dry and warm summer, unlike what other parts of Britain seems to have been experiencing. The shorts have been on more often than ever before and the wellies have been replaced by Crocs. Most of the holidaymakers are off back to work and school, though we're still pretty busy here at Ach na skia Croft and, what's better still, loads of our favourite guests have already booked again for next year.

The house build has been rather on the back burner of late due to still more kayaking exploits - Tuesday evening sessions, more training with Skyak Adventures on Skye, Sunday paddles and an awesome trip to Shetland with Glenmore Lodge. It is such a privilege to be able to explore the caves, arches, geos and subterranean passages of the Shetland coast and islands in a craft that is small enough to get right in there and feel the power and the magic; a very special place.

Wi-fi for Ach na skia Croft

Just a quickie before we head off to the windy Western Isles for a week of sea kayaing (maybe!).... Four of our party set off from Mallaig last Saturday and have spent the past 2 days sitting out the wind and waves at Lorgill on the west coast of Skye. Hopefully today will see them on the water and heading for a rescue point so we can all get across to Lochmaddy at the weekend.

We finally got the Wi-fi connection set up for guests at Ach na skia Croft. Not yet been tested by any guests so there may still be some teething problems and we may have to try to get a booster to extend the signal range. Hope it's worth it; I know we find the option to use the Internet when on holiday useful, though that may be a rather sad confession, so hopefully it will be an asset that helps people plan trips, check email, etc.

The house has been at a total standstill. The wagtail family, nesting in the dining room, have fledged and are feeding on the lawn, but the swallows are still feeding hungry chicks in the nest in the bedroom. The latest addition to the wildlife park that we hope will one day be our house is leaf cutter bees, who are busily making leaf nests in the gaps in the polystyrene walls. Oh dear! We haven't seen the deer again, since it demolished our bird feeder and part of the wall.

The drought is over, by the way!

Must go and pack.......

Drought on Eigg

Almost eight weeks since the last blog and virtually every day of it has been clear blue skies. One day of rain and a couple of days with a few drops then a small patter last night. It's been bliss and perfect for a bit of patio laying, but on the Isle of Eigg, just across the water, they are having to ration the water, which must be an all-time first. And just when they've finally got mains electricity and can have a washing machine, they can't use the water. Poor Maggie! Maggie and I were in full fashion in our Crocs at Ann (of West Word fame) and Richard's wedding dance in the Astley hall last month - a great celebration, but no dancing for me and my poorly foot. Eight weeks on it is still a bit swollen and I am having to practise balancing on it, which is surprisingly difficult. Luckily it didn't prevent me from doing the 4 star Leader (sea kayak) training and assessment on Skye with Gordon Brown and Ken Nicholl at Skyak Adventures, which was brilliant (and successful). Met some great fellow kayakers and had lots of fun playing (and doing some rather tiring towing) in the tide race at Kyle Rhea and developing navigation skills amongst the skerries near Kyeleakin.

Another success last month was the news that Ach na skia Croft has achieved a Silver Green Tourism Award, which validates our Green credentials. Most of the work around the properties is now complete for the time being and we are hoping to be able to get back to some house building. We arrived back from Skye to find that we had swallows nesting in our bedroom and wagtails in the dining room, so it was as well to keep a low profile and let them get their chicks raised and out into the world. The wagtail was not too bothered by our proximity, but the swallows were much more wary.

To add to the wildlife park we have up there at the house site there was a young deer wandering about the other day. You can just see Eigg to the right of the deer, which is standing on the mound of earth beside the house. We thought it was quite cute until next morning when we found the bird feeder in our garden had been wrecked - pulled apart, stamped on and a stone loose from the wall. The deer seems like the most likely culprit. A few deer having been making a nuisance of themselves in the village so I guess this was one that had made its way to Back of Keppoch. Speaking of pests, the entire area is overrun with rabbits. Around us we have a family of black rabbits, descendants of a neighbours pet liberated by a younger brother some years back. Over the river at Bunacaimbe, hwoever, there is a family of mostly white, with a bit of brown, rabbits, descendants of an escaped pet from there. They make a colourful contrast to the gorgeous black foal. The garden is awash with bird parents trying to appease their demanding offspring with tasty morsels. Altogether a great time of year.

Speaking of off-spring, the annual Mallaig and District Canoe Club barbecue paddle, organised by Mike with off-spring in mind, was a great success this year. Sunshine, an 18km. paddle for 17 paddlers (and a shorter one for one and longer one for a few) and a barbie on the beach at Camusdarach, where we were joined by a further 12 parents and children, from 7 weeks to 10 years old.

The parents were keen to get their youngsters initiated into the black art of sea kayaking once the eating was over.

This year's challenge was for the best bbq'd desert and there were some great contenders.

There have been numerous sightings already this season of minke whale and basking shark in the little Minch. Many of our visitors who have taken a day trip to one of the Small Isles on the Sheerwater have been treated to a sighting.

Daughter Laura has had a successful month as well, having sold two of her paintings that are exhibited at the Resipole Studio Gallery's Landscape Exhibition, which finishes this Thursday, 13th. June. A great little gallery if you are in the area. Visitors to Ach na skia Croft will find examples of Laura's work in the properties.

Sea kayaks for sale

The sea kayaking season has started and Simon's Loch Sunart paddle on Sunday had a hardy group of 5 paddling from near Glenborrodale to almost Lochaline. Having torn a ligament in my ankle the weekend before last whilst on a Club coach weekend at that kayakers' centre of excellence Glenmore Lodge (where it was deepest winter with masses of snow and freezing cold - and greta skiing at Cairngorm) I did not make the paddle and sulked at home in frontof the computer. Having been enthused by the weekend and getting to grips with the new BCU paddlesport awards I bought the Mallaig and District Canoe Club a new and more memorable domain name (mallaigcanoeclub.co.uk) and whipped up a couple of pages to add to Tony Laidler's excellent existing site with a silly address. The club has a a couple of sea kayaks they want to sell as we need a bigger boat for the summer evening adult paddles, so if you're after a bargain sea kayak check out the for sale section of the website.

Back at Ach na skia Croft we are getting on with painting the Lodges and getting everything up to scratch for this year's guests. Last weeks guests couldn't believe their luck with the fantastic weather and the Cottage visitors said it was the best place they had ever stayed in, so we were happy with that!

Going Green

Well, we've always been pretty Green really, so we decided to see if we could get the sticker and today the "Inspector" from Green Tourism came and gave us the once over. Wouldn't tell us the answer but he seemed to think we had quite a few Green credentials, so we'll know in a few weeks' time. The Re-cycling "centre" put in place at the start of last year has certainly been a success and is always brimming with bottles, paper and cans, not to mention compost. He liked all the information available on the website and in the cottages about walks, transport and wildlife and was interested to hear about our Local Ranger walks. We have come up with an Environmental Policy for Ach na skia Croft to let people know what we are doing and what they might be able to do to help.

I meant to mention the geese in the last blog. The greylags have now become regular visitors to our "bottom" field, below the Lodges, joining the lapwings, which are whirling and calling and preparing to make their nests among the rushes.

We now officially welcome Walkers and Cyclists.

Of course we always have welcomed walkers and cyclists (not to mention kayakers) and fitted boot driers into all our cottages quite a few years back, which have been a boon to walkers, though of course we mostly hope they won't get wet feet at all, but it does happen from time to time! Speaking of kayaking, we had our first sea outing the weekend before last - a bimble around Loch nan Uamh on a somewhat blustery day, so good for getting the balance and reflexes honed up. The seals weren't expecting us and kept popping up alongside for a nosey. We had a long lunch and a mosey around the old settlement at the head of Loch Beag before heading for the open sea.

It has been a pretty spectacular couple of weeks for weather, with lots of snow on the hills - Ben Nevis and Aonach Mhor pictured here. There have been some good skiing days at Nevis Range this year.

The Easter visitors enjoyed their visit to Ach na skia Croft and the Games Room got lots of use in the evenings while mum cooked dinner.

The road closures are now back to Tuesday and Thursday from 1.30- 2.30p.m. so there's less disruption for anyone needing to go up or down the road to Fort William. There are some new sections now so you need to watch where you're going!

We still have some self catering availability at Ach na skia most weeks up till the end of June, so why not come for a visit - you won't regret it! Arisaig Marine are starting their trips to Eigg, Rum and Muck on 14th. April - always something to look forward to.

SK

Spring in Arisaig - what's new at Ach na skia Croft

There has been a lot going on here at Ach na skia Croft the past few weeks, with a frenzy of activity preceding our annual QA inspection visit by the Tourist Board, or "Visit Scotland" as they are now known. We passed with flying colours once again, with our two 3 star properties only not achieving a 4 star because of restrictions on space in one or other area. So you know you're getting a good deal quality wise! The two 4 star Lodges hold their 4 star grade very comfortably.

Great spells of weather in February and March have meant we've been able to get a lot of outdoor jobs done, so a lot of the house is bright and white again and we have a lovely new wall between the house and the Cottage, which has tidied things up considerably. We are delighted to see so many of our guests returning again this year - we're so glad you keep coming back and telling your friends about us. I'll give you a little sneak preview of some of the changes in store! Cottage guests will find not only the wall, but some bonnie new tiling in the kitchen and the addition of a kitchen trolley to provide a little more work and storage space, as one of our guests thought it could do with a bit more.

We ourselves lived in the Cottage years ago with our 2 teenage children and never had a problem, but we try to listen to your feedback and give you what you want! The additional outside light on the corner of the building has improved the illumination of the path from the gate for winter visitors. A new gate is on its way.

Island View already has its new gate and also has a new tile splashback in the kitchen. New dimmable lights are going in in the kitchen dining area next week and the bathroom now has a privacy lock handle - an improvement on the old bolt.

Creag Mhor's gate is moving to a new, improved we hope, position and is wider than previously, which required an additional stretch of path. We hope to have this work finished for our guests arriving on Saturday for the week. The old gate area has been tidied up, with a stone step and edging to define the flower bed and grass and leading to the back garden.

Both Creag Mhor and Glen Mhor have new Viner's cutlery sets and pans with steamers and egg poachers. Glen Mhor also benefits from an additional outside light, at the end of the building.

In all the properties, we now are delighted to have lots of original watercolours commissioned from Laura Kingswood who studied at Newcastle, did an MA at Goldsmith's in London, worked first for Zakee Shariff, a textile and clothes designer in London, then for Damian Hirst, who needs no introduction, and now works as Artist in Residence with the children of Room 13 at Caol Primary school in Fort William. Recent commissions, apart from us, have been for the new Medical Centre in Fort William.

Everywhere is painted, washed, scrubbed up and sparkling ready for the new season - just a bit of outdoor painting to do in the next few weeks, weather permitting. It's still a bit chilly for that at present.

As you see, we don't sit still at Ach na skia - especially since I retired!!

For those of you who have been monitoring the (snail's pace!) progress of our new house up the hill, we are excited to report that as I write the slates are going on and the main section is almost complete. Hopefully all will be complete in 3 or 4 weeks' time and we can get those funny shaped windows in!

Our visitors this week have enjoyed beautiful sunny days, vivid sunsets and perfect skiing conditions at Nevis Range.

Eagle Watch cruises on Loch Sheil at Glenfinnan have started up for the season this week and the boats are going into the water at Arisaig marina. The Sheerwater trips from Arisaig to the islands of Eigg, Rum and Muck, with time ashore to explore these diverse and interesting islands, will commence on April 28th. 2008 and run until 21st. September. A wide array of sea and bird life can be spotted on and around the islands and it is not unusual for sailings to be slightly late due to a detour to watch Minke Whales, Basking Sharks or Dolphins!

If you're coming over the March Easter break you will be disappointed if you're hoping for one of Jeed's nummy Thai take-aways, as she's off on holiday herself from the 23rd. for a couple of weeks to get some r&r before another busy season. You could wet your taste buds with a look at her menu if you are visiting after 6 April. Meanwhile you could try the Indian restaurant in Mallaig, "Mallaig Spice", which specialises in excellent contemporary Indian Cuisine and you can eat in our get a take-away.I had a delicious meal last week at the Cornerstone restaurant in Mallaig, who also serve fish and chips to take away. If you want to feel like one of the local fishermen you could try the food or just a cuppa at the Fisherman's Mission.

Well, that's all for this update - I know I'll keep thinking of things I've forgotten, but it's time to go and get on with things on the croft. The only reason I had time for this was I was making Hot Cross buns for the roofers (and us) ............... mmm!!

One final thought - maybe this year I will meet the ever-busy-on-his-computer John Winkler of Bayview in Kentallen, another fan of Arisaig, with his own lovely holiday cottage in Glencoe.