The loch shows an infinite variety of faces as the light hits it on different days.
Lucky used to be a stray girl but has now found her new identity as a Donich Lodge boy (the vet discovered he was male when we took “her” to be spayed). He would ask you to respect his new pronouns.
The high mountain pass over the Rest and be Thankful is the main route out of the village. Here it is in winter.
Spring sky over the mountain tops.
Sunset from our front door step.
A misty moon over the mountains as darkness falls.
View over towards the loch from near the summit of Cnoc Coinnich.
A rainbow appears in a clear interval between showers.
Lochgoilhead in the distance on a clear spring morning.
As the year turns, the mountains are white on most days.
Looking across the loch from the village, clouds form a band across the hills.
Tora and Schrodi our snow Bengal brothers used to live here. RIP both of you
A dragonfly pauses for a rest by the side of our pond.
The weather here can be appalling. Here gales and torrential rain have blocked one of the village’s few roads.
The colours on the mountains fade to muted browns as autumn approaches.
The Donich Water in one of its kinder moods as it runs through our garden.
One of a myriad insects pollinating our heather.
A group of wild haggis have made a den down by the river.
Our new Highland Tiger Saphy prowling her territory. She is a demon for the wildlife with her specialized prey item being shrews. She is not adverse to mice, voles or birds however.
This is Amber aka as Bramble. She is big, black, rather podgy and a bit of a scaredy cat. We had her cloned shortly after she arrived.
Although we don’t get much snow at loch level, the higher mountains are covered for five months or so of the year
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Jun 14th, 2025
Read MoreSome photos of the new house
Strictly WIP at the moment… Drawing Room Silver collection Victorian ladies A stair ornament China cabinet Guest bedroom with no bed as yet! Rory’s room with bed under construction My room and inherited real mink coat Dining room chaos The cats of Castlebank – we have named the statues Tora and Schrodi More photos […]
Jun 2nd, 2025
Read MoreIn which we say goodbye to the banks of the Donich
Nearly twelve years ago, R and I arrived in Lochgoilhead determined to build a better life in the country. Well readers, we did. All lives have their ups and downs, but broadly I can say that we have enjoyed living here. Walking, wildlife, peace and quiet and probably more than anything else, the ability to […]
May 31st, 2025
Read MoreNew House
Finally got the keys for our new home “Castlebank House” – built in 1854 for the Procurator Fiscal of Fife and 4000 square feet of Victorian grandeur. As ever with these things, it took forever for the lawyers to do their stuff so we weren’t in until 4pm. With it having been so long since […]
May 29th, 2025
Read MoreSome last views of Lochgoilhead
I went for a final walk around the area – unfortunately not as thoroughly as I would have liked as critically busy trying to get everything finished off. J was with me and had a little sit on Jack’s bench in the community garden.
May 28th, 2025
Read MoreIt is a far, far better thing…
I love all cats. I love our girls Saphy and Amber a great deal. Tora and Schrodi were my very dear boys until their deaths a few years ago, and they are still in my heart. But at the moment, I have to admit that my favourite and most beloved cat is our ex-stray Lucky. […]
May 27th, 2025
Read MoreBusy, busy, busy
Coming down to the wire here on the house move and not getting a lot of time to write, which is sad as I will be saying good bye to this blog when I leave here. I did think about keeping this URL and just carrying on with the same WordPress theme – but nice […]
May 22nd, 2025
Read MoreStrawberries
I was in Glasgow yesterday doing what is hopefully the final stint on clearing out J’s flat. It is hard to believe that a two bedroom flat could contain so much stuff, though I suppose that as one way or another our family have owned it for over thirty years it should be no great […]
May 20th, 2025
Read MoreSaphy the Huntress
The picture is of Saphy lurking in the grass near the bird table ready to pounce. She also had a mouse overnight and left it artistically posed on the kitchen floor. In this respect she is better than Lucky who consumes parts of them and leaves the other parts in strategic parts of the lounge […]
May 17th, 2025
Read MoreIn which the deer return
We’ve not seen much of the deer in the garden over the last few years – I think they must have had a huge cull and reduced numbers so much that the population has taken a while to recover. But they are back to some degree now. First R saw a female out of his […]