Eriska, Scottish Island

Maw Broons Treacle Scones!

We have for several years now been championing the best freshest local produce and Robert has searched high and low to find local suppliers. This is a two fold action, firstly helping the local economy and supporting other bueisnesses and secondly cutting our reliance on importing goods from outside the area and whilst helping reducing our carbon emmissions also helping control costs as there is less transport costs. My father always used to point out that Scallops delivered directly from the fisherman to the kitchen should be better both flavour and price to those delivered to Oban transported to Glasgow markets and then transported back to Eriska for use! Ahead of his time as ever!

Anyway I thought this morning when I caught Robert reading a gift from one of our guests, the "Maw Broon Cook Book" that his concept of traditional Scottish was maybe one step too far. But he assured me that the Treacle Scone recipe was one of the best and going by the fact that only a couple were left after afternoon tea certainly showed their popularity so maybe tomorrow Robert will be trying "Rumpledethumps"  the Broon Bairns favourites!

weather w/c 11th May

Last week was a great week and one where I had kept a keen eye on the weather as I was committed to a hill walk on Saturday. Fortuneately the forecast was spot on and the week of sunshine had dried out most of the ground and saturday, although overcast, was a perfect day fopr walking with the clouds pating on the summit of Ben Nevis and wonde3rful views in all directions. Anyway it all looks set to continue, I hope.

Sunday: Patchy mist and low cloud will clear later this morning gradually allowing good sunny spells to develop.

Monday: After a showery night the air will be cleared and we are in for a good day

Tuesday:Some long sunny spells developing and the odd heavy shower.

Wednesday: Settled with long sunny or clear spells and the odd shower in the afternoons.

Thursday: Risk of overnight low cloud, mist and fog patches should clear leaving a warm day.

Friday: Although still very warm and mostly sunny there will be a risk of showers affecting some parts during Friday

Saturday; Generally sunny buyt definitely showers which could be heavy and thundery at times.

One Day Four Munro's

For the last few years I have met up with a few friends and we have set ourselves a day aside for walking on a Munro. Due to pressures of work we have had to set dates out far in advance and therefore often the weather and the challenge just happen as no preplanning for the inclement conditions can be taken into account. This weekend was one of those such days and although we had several plans on the burner we had to really make a decision of where we were going to walk and how far early in the week when the longer range forecast was all we had to work on. #

This year it was decided that we should try and achieve as much in one day as the daylight and our physical ability would allow- A good plan and idea but maybe on the day a bit more daunting. Anyway the challenge was set to climb 4 Munro's, mountains over 3000ft, in one day with two difficult ridge walks between the peaks finishing up non the summit of Ben Nevis. Well in short the weather could not have been more perfect, whilst we climbed it was misty and cool, whilst we ridge walked the wind dropped and helped us balance and when we were on the top of all but one peak the clouds parted and the views made the exertions worthwhile. 

The start of May is always a time between the seasons whilst many of the winter walkers with ice axes and crampons have returner for the summer and the summer walkers find the elements of snow and ice too scary- we however walked on oblivious in the belief that we would manage and we did with only one with only one slight moment of worry as we wandered about on the top of an ice capped snowfield at 1100m looking for the summit of Aonach Beag! Walking left and right with a compass in one hand and GPSS in another whilst at all times concentrating on not walking too close to the edge of the cap!

Anyway the walk was helped with a start up in the Gondola to the snow fields of the Nevis range then a climb to the Top of Aonach Mor, across the snow with a  wee dip and climb to the bigger Aonach Beag and then back down to a Col before the climb up to the jagged point of Carn mor Dearg. Then it was across the Aret towards the east face of Ben Nevis and up Ben Nevis. With a 10 start and daylight and weather on our side there was little pressure but when you are tottering along on a narrow ridge the incentive to get back to a larger flat area is certainly pressing.

Then after a brief moment of celebration on the top we split the group with half dashing back for the car and half heading down the traditional west slopes to the base for collection. All in all a good day out although it may take time for the limbs to recover from the stress of altitude! At least we have the memories and photos!

Sounds of Summer

I am sure if I asked many of our visitors what sounds reminded them of the start of summer at Eriska may would pick the combination of the first Cuckoo, the tweeting of the swifts starting to arrive and build their nests in the front porch or even the calm sounds of the wind in the trees.

I do however know for certain chay would pick three others and always in the same order.

First the sound of a grass cutter- a wonderful purr and music to his ears, then the sound of a clunk and a crash as it collides with a rogue stone on the lawn and then finally the sound of silence as the machine gives up the ghost and stops! Today was a perfect example and when I visited the workshops, "Sleepy Hollow" I was faced with a line of dead machines and a set of mechanics working hard to keep the grass cutting team all at work. Maybe now I know why we have so many machines for so few staff!

Anyway tomorrow will be another day and maybe we Will be back to full capacity by then!

Highland Railway Hotel?

My mother has been having a spring clean of her attic and I was summoned to the house to insure that nothing was being thrown out which at some date in the future we would regret, or more simply insuring that the blame for missing information was back squarely on my shoulders. Anyway among the piles of useless information were several documents of interest such as the first projections of my father and his accountant in 1974 and certainly provided interesting reading when we then came across the first few years business done. Anyway as we always say, especially to the bank manager, its easy with hindsight but it was interesting seeing what they had hoped for and what they eventually achieved both expense and income!

Anyway I then came across a file entitles The Callander and Oban Railway, it was a book written by John Thomas and several maps with lines of railway track proposals shown . the most interesting piece was a discussion document listing the potential routes for the railway, first round the loch and across at Cregan and the second across the bridge at Eriska and then across the water at the pier. As it was the final decision was to build around the loch rather than over and even then the lines life was short as it was racing to Fort William and was beaten by the track across Rannoch Moor.

The other interesting point made was the suggestion, which I had not heard before that the first suggestions of a house being  was built at Eriska was because it may have been on the line of the new railway but between the house being started in  1884 and the first sod being cut of the new line in 1898 the line was moved inland to Cregan. It is an interesting take on the reason for building the big house at Eriska in such an odd location but does make some sense. Just think we could have been a real Station Hotel! As it was the only track laid on eriska was that from the boiler house to the Pier to bring coal up from the puffer to keep the greenhouses going!

Anyway an interesting document and one worth keeping I surmised!

Weather w/c 4th May

Last week we decided to rush ahead with our weed killing and work in the garden even though the weather forecast from the BBC p[persistently warned us against it promising daily rain. Had we waited for a good forecast e may still be waiting however as happened the rain never came and the job was completed! Anyway they now worry me as we start work on our final block of Staff Houses by Chays house off the Island and traditionally if we can get out of the ground in the dry weather then we can keep the site clean but if we get caught out at the start we never get the ground dry again. So fingers crossed!

Well generally the week looks good and certainly the additional warmth in the soil will help the garden wake up. The leaves are now back on the trees and I have seen the first signs of Rhododendron buds.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy with rain becoming more persistent, perhaps locally heavy. Becoming drier later with some late sunshine.

Monday :Mainly dry and warm with some bright or sunny spells.

Tuesday : With winds backing southeasterly and light the temperature should start to feel a bit more like summer.

Wednesday: Still dominated by high pressure to the north and therefore fairly settled conditions

Thursday: Best day of the week with warm sunshine and no clouds

Friday: Regrettably a bit of cloud coming in for the weekend

Saturday: The temperatures will start to fall a bit and a risk of rain and  expected temperatures to return towards nearer normal.

Eriska Sea Eagle sighting

Last week a couple asked about visiting Mull to see the Sea Eagle, I commented that they ought to simply wait and see the one circling over Eriska. They laughed as they thought I had commented in jest and the evening proceeded with reservations made.

Then after an early start as they were rushing their breakfast before heading for the ferry a guest and two guests came on to the diningroom talking about the Sea Eagle on the golf course- again the guests believed I had set up this ruse! So when they returned that evening having not seen the birds all day they returned to even more stories of sightings. But this time thanks to out photo expert Mr Hopkins we had real proof.

Today I received an email with the best shots provided by “Sharp Shooter Hopkins”.  Just to prove to the other guests the sighting and to deny the rumor that was being spread about a dummy bird in a tree was not correct, Please note that the head had moved…..! 

The Sea Eagle was spotted in amongst some very nervous Herons but there were also a couple of nests too so we may be lucky. Once again thanks to the Hopkins for taking the time and effort to send in the shots and I am sorry to the others for rubbing salt into the wounds!

May Day resolutions

I was always reminded by my father to rush out on the 1st of May and wash my face in the dew to insure an unblemished complexion for the next year. Regrettably this has never been a foregone conclusion and almost certainly leads to disappointment, so it was with some skepticism that I agreed to attend a  conference in Edinburgh today to sign up to a resolution on environmental change.

The meeting was simply requiring up to five commitments from the simplest to agree to measure our carbon emissions to the most stringent of agreeing to mobilizing our customers to take action. Whilst I clearly could not agree to the most stringent I did believe I could start doing my bit and at least measure and then attempt to control and even reduce our carbon footprint at Eriska. However the only caveat I would ever place on this is that it must not be detrimental to the visitors to Eriska. In the end I had to miss the conference but instead have now committed to our composting initiative - turning kitchen waste into growing material for both the golf course and garden. At least I have also save the carbon emissions of traveling to Edinburgh as it was all enacted over the phone!

Maybe not all resolutions are wasted space!

Fuel panic--- No comment!

When we installed the new laundry at Eriska we spent a great deal of time and effort researching the reliability of the machinery and the lengths and styles of maintenance contracts. We then spent time and money insuring that we had sufficient stock to keep the hotel going even if the machinery broke down allowing us to stockpile the linen until we were up and running again.

However I never anticipated that our first laundry calamity would be self inflicted. Each month we have a delivery of gas and this lasts until we stock check at the end of the month and reorder- Normally- however with the fuel crisis looming we took the precaution of checking all our supplies to insure we would not be caught out in the cold- or so I thought. Well last week we discovered our gas supply was dangerously low so ordered on Thursday an emergency load- obviously our emergency was not as great as others as by Saturday still no delivery. So on Sunday we had started to ration the gas and the kitchen got first use then when we ran out Chay rigged up cylinders but these were not sufficient to keep up with all our demand so he started to panic.

By Monday morning as the laundry pile started to grow he was starting to show signs of worry, by lunch time given no lorry on the horizon his nails were incredibly short and by 5.00 in the evening he was pacing the car park like a caged lion! Imagine not only Chays relief but all of the teams relief when the lorry was heard crossing the bridge. The queue for fuel at the depot had been huge, obviously panic buying had spread to gas as well and therefore the driver had been delayed. He was also able to answer the mystery of the gas consumption as last time he filled us up he had been called away to top up Rowena's house and therefore we had not received our usual full fill!

Anyway all back to normal today, the laundry mountain has gone and the kitchen have packed away the emergency electric rings and Chays Barbeque although I am not certain how that would have worked had we had to resort to it-- I think in all honesty neither did Robert.

weather w/c 27th April

I suppose we should not be surprised when it is raining at this time of year but the saying is "April Showers" however given the great spring last year I guess we had all hoped for more but at least it is definitely spring as the temperature i the sunshine certainly has risen. Anyway another few says and we are in May and yet another bank holiday so what can we expect.

Well after a dry start to the week it will become a little unsettled but maybe by the bank holiday weekend it may have returned to a more settled period of weather?

Sunday: Mainly dry with some good sunny spells, perhaps the odd shower with Light and variable winds.

Monday: It will be bright with sunny spells and scattered showers.

Tuesday: Similar to Monday but maybe more showers

Wednesday: Cloudy with longer spells of rain developing, some heavy.

Thursday: MAY DAY so rush out and wash your face in the morning dew!!

Friday: Showers or longer spells of rain, these turning heavy at times.

Saturday: There is the risk of strong winds around exposed coasts and it will remain cool for the time of year.