A Favourite Walk

Typical Autumnal day today, very cold and crisp after the horrendous rain at the weekend. Took some pictures of a walk 5 minutes away where I regularly go. Very often there are deer to be seen and if you are lucky red squirrels.

I closed today until the 29th December to do some redecorating. I will be glad to get rid of the yellow and blue wallpaper in Room 2, it was nice at the time I put it up, but I really do not like it now and it was a very bad idea to put a light blue carpet into a room!!

A Trip to Farnell

About 50 minutes away deep in the Angus countryside, east of Forfar and south of Brechin, is a magical shop called Paula's of Farnell. It is owned by a Danish lady and every year she has a Christmas fair from September until December. The place is crammed high with beautiful decorations and ideas for your home and you can enjoy a Danish pastry in their small cafe. My photos really do not do the place justice, as they can't convey the atmosphere you experience when you visit.

Yummy Ice-Cream

As it was a rather miserable day, not too cold though, I took the little darlings along to a place called Stewart Tower Dairy which is about 15 minutes away on a back road between Stanley and Bankfoot. They have the most delicious ice-cream in all different varieties which you can eat in their cafe or buy some to take home. It is a lovely place to stop off for a spot of lunch, coffee or indulge in an ice-cream.

Flying High

Last Christmas I was given a 1 hour air experience voucher with Tayside Aviation, so I finally got around to using it today, couldn't have picked a better day to go flying. So off we went to Dundee airport where I met my instructor who was taking me up and discussed what route we could fly. It was a very interesting and enjoyable experience, slightly nervous especially with the slight turbulence, but I felt very safe and I got to have a go at flying!!

Our route took us from Dundee over towards Meigle and onto Blairgowrie then we went over Dunkeld down to Perth and we followed the Firth of Tay back to Dundee. As I said the weather was fantastic, you could see for miles and miles, and the scenery was spectacular. I tend to forget sometimes what a beautiful country I live in and flying above it all was a very memorable experience. I did attempt to take a video of my flight, but unfortunately the end result was a bit shaky! mind you the approach into Dundee with the Bridges over the Tay isn't too bad, I shall maybe try and upload it at some point.

Continental Market

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday there was a Continental Market held in the Wellmeadow, fortunately they had reasonably good weather for it. I had some traders staying with me, I don't envy them their job, very early starts and long days. The french ladies I had staying were telling me they go all over Britain as well as other European countries and are on the road for about 10 months of the year.

Fun Afternoon Out

Today was glorious after the continuous rain yesterday. We had an outing to Active Kid Adventure Park for a birthday party. It is located in the village of Stanley less than 15 minutes away and is a great day out. We were all exhausted, but happy at the end of the day. So if you are visiting the area with children/grandchildren I would highly recommend or even just go along and have a coffee in their cafe and look around the shop for some great present ideas.

Happy Walkers

My guests from Germany who stayed on Tuesday night returned from walking the Cateran Trail. I was talking to them before they headed out for a well deserved beer and they were saying how fantastic the walk was and would thoroughly recommend it. They were particularly struck by the contrast in landscape from soft rolling lush countryside to the mountains of Glenshee with the snow already on the peaks and of course they had pretty good weather conditions apart from yesterday.

I have had quite a number of guests this year who have stayed on the first and final night of walking the trail, we are a 10 minute walk from the start/finish at the riverside and I am happy if you want to leave your car or luggage with me. If you come by public transport there are plenty of taxis to bring you up from the bus stop or there is a bus that goes around the town. I also have a couple of numbers for people who transfer luggage between accommodation.

100K Welcomes

Lovely day again today, but boy is it cold, I had another good blackberry foray. A gentleman staying earlier in the week certainly enjoyed them for his breakfast.



We are planning on doing a bit of redecorating next month, so the other half was on at me today to get things organised as time is moving on, trouble is I keep changing my mind on what to do as there are so many fabulous wallpapers, paints etc nowadays. I want to be up to date but not ruin the traditional look and character of an old Victorian house, which I love and know my guests love too. However, this year I introduced a feedback form in the bedrooms which included a part on suggestions on how to improve the rooms and some of the comments are great, so thank you if you put down an idea I can incorporate into my refurbishment.



Yesterday I attended a one day course 100k Welcomes Delivering Service Excellence, organised by our local tourist organisation Bepta. There was a good group of people on the course and it was very enjoyable and interesting. It goes to prove you never stop learning and I picked up some great ideas which I can hopefully incorporate into the B&B and into myself!

More Cyclists and Walkers

The start of October already and a lovely day with a real nip in the air. Had a couple head off on the Cateran Trail this morning and another two guests doing the Land's End/John O'Groats route, they are raising money for a hospice in London. I had a lovely e-mail from cyclists I had staying in August telling me that they had completed the route and the money they had raised will go towards medical equipment in Zambia.

Friday sees the start of the 5th Blairgowrie & East Perthshire Walking Festival, which has a range of guided walks to suit all abilities, if you enjoy walking take a look at their website and I'll maybe see you next year!!