Loch View Cottage - website live!

I'm getting more used to Dreamweaver now - that's the industry standard software used for website design. So I've created a new website for Loch View Cottage in record time.

Loch View belongs to an elderly lady who now lives in Inverness. She has let the cottage for the holiday market for years, but never really advertised much, so although the place is in a fantastic location, it is nowhere near fully booked yet for the 2010 season. She asked me if I could get her a few more bookings...

OK - the cottage doesn't look too special from the front...

...but just look at the view it faces.....

... and when I mention that Skye's only whisky distillery is just a mile down the road... the phone should start ringing with bookings very soon.

Do take a look at the new website -  it's at www.cottageholidayskye.co.uk - and please tell your friends!

Skye awakes from the winter

The tourist season on Skye starts at Easter, then pauses for a couple of weeks, then gets going for real in May. Businesses which close for winter have dusted off their 'closed' signs, and there are a few camper vans on the campsites. There's also a few cars with overseas number plates driving about. Many visitors come in hire cars, but we get used to recognising them - the cars are usually less than a year old and very clean. Not many cars owned by the residents fit into either of those categories!

Of course, 'natural' Skye is waking up too. The daffodils are especially good this year, and there are primroses in flower in hedgerows everywhere. I've already had the lawn mower at work, but it looks like the bluebells may be a bit late this year.

The weather continues to be kind. There's been no real rain for ages, and not much wind either. We are still getting  frost most nights, but daytimes this week have seen fluffy white clouds and blue sky.

Wonderful!

Loch View Cottage

We have taken on the challenge of improving the marketing of another Skye holiday cottage. Currently, it has only 9 weeks booked for the whole of this summer... get in quick!!

This cottage is a little gem, being perfectly located for walkers and climbers, located roughly half way between Sligachan and Glen Brittle, which are the two most popular start-points for exploring the Cuillin mountains.

The cottage is at the bottom left of this picture (taken yesterday)

The bright modern cottage is graded two-star because of its 'no frills' furnishings, but it is more than adequately comfortable, and has all the features one would expect, such as electric shower, modern cooker, fridge, freezer, microwave, washing machine, etc, etc.

There's a full website to follow, so watch this space...! (Update - website now live at www.cottageholidayskye.co.uk ).

Cancellations!

We have had two cancellations for Aird View and both were two-week bookings, so we now have almost the whole of June newly available. Aird View is on our website here . Anyone interested? Just as a reminder - here's part of the view from the front windows of the bungalow - 

An allotment!

New neighbours moved in to the bungalow up the road a few months ago. Their large garden area includes a 'detached' piece of land that at one time was cultivated as a productive allotment. The previous owners of the bungalow pottered on the land, but did not use it all, and the new people, Mike and Pat, have also said they would not be using all of the land - so it took very little negotiation for them to happily agree that I could make use of part of it. Here it is...

That's Roskhill House on the left, and the building with the satellite TV dish is us. Mike and Pat's bungalow (to which the allotment belongs) is just visible through the trees on the right. Mike has made a start at clearing the bed nearest the shed, and I have dug about a third of the bed nearest the camera (out of shot - my back was up against a windbreak hedge...!!!) We might end up sharing the middle bed, though as I get the feeling that Mike is not too keen to use the land at all, I might end up using all of it. I am sure Pat will be pleased to receive some of the vegetables that I plan to grow!

We've been a bit quiet!

Hello - sorry we haven't been posting on here for a couple of weeks. I recently made a trip south to visit friends and family, then we had a friend staying with us here, so there hasn't been too much time for non-essential computer work. But we are 'back to normal' now.

Easter brings the start of the holiday season on Skye. The roads are a little busier, and the tourist attractions are taking down their 'closed' signs. The weather for our early spring visitors is mixed - there have been some wonderful clear days, but we've had some wind and rain too - but then, this is Skye!

Oh - and our daffodils are all coming out...!