Hazelgrove newsletter - August 2010

Hello Everyone

Well, the summer holidays are in full swing and we are certainly into our busiest period. There is a noticeable increase in the number of people visiting the area, even since last month. But if you have still to join us here at Evergreen, don't worry, the south side of Loch Ness is still quiet and unspoilt. And we have seen many more people exploring the south side by bike this year. Some are obviously on a cycling holiday with bikes and panniers fully loaded but others are simply enjoying a day trip along the loch side and enjoying the fabulous views of the loch from the numerous laybys along the roadside.

You may recall a couple of months ago that I flagged up that a group of six ladies from Serpentine Swimming Club in London were training hard in preparation for a sponsored swim of the length of Loch Ness. Well, this intrepid group were on the loch last week and they made really good progress. The conditions were pretty good with very little wind so as a result the Loch was pretty calm. They started at the south end of the Loch at Fort Augustus at 5.00 a.m. and finished at the north end at 6.30 p.m. What a wonderful achievement.

We also mentioned at the beginning of the year that Graeme was really chuffed to learn that Destination Loch Ness had been given final approval by funders to support the creation of a South Loch Ness Trail. Over the last few months discussions have progressed well and all necessary agreements are now in place so that construction will start at Loch Tarff in the middle of this month. On the basis that everything progresses smoothly, it is expected that construction will be finished around the second week in October. Following construction the next phase of work is the signage and interpretation which will take place over the winter months.  And talking about signage, a big thank you to all our guests over the last few months who have contributed to the Loch Ness Voluntary Payback Scheme. This is a scheme where guests and visitors alike make a small voluntary contribution and all monies collected is put towards specific aspects of major projects around the loch. The first tranche of monies collected is going towards the signage on the South Loch Ness Trail.  Already, several hundred pounds have been collected which is a fabulous sum.

Summer is the most wonderful time for soft fruit in Scotland. I love making up fresh fruit salad with a selection of fresh fruit but always with raspberries and strawberries. There are a few soft fruit farms close to Inverness and as it is now getting towards the end of the season, Graeme and I went to the Black Isle Berry farm a couple of weeks ago and picked up some strawberries for jam making. Unfortunately because of the really wet weather throughout a lot of July, the raspberries were not so good this year so I gave them a miss. My strawbery jam turned out reasonably well - not perfect but nonetheless still quite tasty - but our sole blackcurrant bush at Evergreen has again yielded a really good crop and I think my blackcurrant jelly has turned out tops!

And finally, we are really excited to report that we have had a very special return visitor to our B&B, Evergreen.... Mr P is back!! For those of you not acquainted with Mr P, this is the name given by one of our guests to the Pine Marten who was seen on quite a few occassions on the back decking last year. He became quite a regular visitor and carefully (without cracking it) picked up the raw egg we left out for him every night. We think it was a young pine marten we saw just the other night. They are nocturnal animals and it was almost dark when Graeme spotted it on the decking. It had a good look around the bird feeder, then jumped on top of the wall before going up the steps and disappearing in the back garden. We have left an egg out for him, but as yet, he hasn't returned to pick up his evening meal. We will keep you posted!

Till next month

Graeme and Fiona

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