Bluebell Croft is a wildlife enthusiasts paradise situated in a Narional Nature Reserve the Ariundle Oakwoods a short walk from the door and the Garbh Eilean Hide just 6 miles. Ordnance Survey maps are available for you to use and on display in the houses. So far we have had House Martins, Wrens, Robins, Swallows, Great, Coal and Blue Tits, Sparrows, Starlings, Wagtail and a Yellow Hammer, to our knowlede, nesting on the croft. Blackcock regularly flying over and in the Autumn we regularly disturb them from the common grazing when looking for the cows on the common grazing above the croft, a wonderful place to walk the dog. November '06's saw a Waxwing, we had a male Blackcap in mid December '06 feeding on fat at the bird table and a woodpecker on the nuts. Both cottages have well stocked bird tables outside the patio doors for you to enjoy the visitors. Today 17th March '09 I disturbed a grouse on the common grazing. One of our visitors in December 2006 who liked it so much he stayed for 3 months - a blackcap.
Daisy arrived on November 4th 2007 at just 24 hours old, daughter of Dede. Daisy herself is about to calve, due on 21st February 2010 to a Limousin bull. Much has changed on the croft since our arrival in June 2004 and since we moved into our new house just in time for Christmas. The vegetable patch (20 x 30 metres) has developed with a 50 ft poly tunnel, small greenhouse and lots of raised beds. Each successive year sees the production of good crops of vegetables and plenty of soft fruit in the summer/autumn. We are now tucked into our stores of onions and potatoes with parsnips, leeks, broccoli and greens seeing us through the winter and early spring. The tunnel and garden are overflowing with young plants and produce for our guests. On the livestock front, our steady succession of weaners provide all our hams, bacon and sausages and are now available for guests to enjoy (see the Good Food pages) with the pig meat being quite dark and very tasty. Bacon and ham are now being cured and smoked but we warn you - taste our pig meat and you will never be able to buy 'ordinary' pork or bacon again. October 2008 we have our first beef, a Shorthorn X reared by our first Jersey Shammy and hung for three weeks and described over and over as the best beef guests have ever tasted.
On the left the Reserve Champion 2007 of our local show and proud but very surprised Mum of 7. Dede and Molly who is the young heifer, plus Dede's new adopted Aberdeen Angus calf Billy. We are now up to 6 - some will have to go! In fact in October 2008 Molly is off to her new home also on the Black Isle with Shammy for company. So now we are three - until Dotty arrived on February 4th, another heifer!! Photo soon.
Our Christmas goose was so good we hope to increase production for 2009 with 4 youngsters arriving on the train with Sukie from Sussex in April '08. Chickens, ducks and geese provide all our eggs and we now also rear a special breed of fat chicken that weighs up to 8lb when killed (you are welcome to order one). We now regularly use an incubator with chicks hatching all the time. What fun it will be for children. We are really pleased with our new house and much of its style and features were incorporated into the self catering houses. The house itself has a kitchen designed with cookery and smoking courses in mind and a large Aga. So watch this space for more updates and photographs will be added as the garden progresses. Shammy our first cow and Sunshine her heifer calf, she then adopted and reared Bertie after Sunshine. Sunshine went off to friends in the Black Isle and has just produced her second calf a Highland cross called Sirloin. The first one was called Showers who is now pregnant to a Highland due in early July '09.
Thevegetable garden.
Autumn Harvest
.......and the blueberries are coming on nicely.
Help in the garden from Harry weeding the strawberries.
Lucy our six year old black lab. and with one of her accidental puppies - note the white toe!
Some of the local wildlife - we pick a lot of wild fungi during the season.
If you are interested in wild flowers we suggest you visit in June as there were over a thousand (yes!) orchids on the top half of the croft mostly of the variety on the left ranging in colour from very pale pink through to very dark purple. Perhaps we should have called it Orchid Croft.
Toby and one of the first pigs.
The next generation - February '06.
and in June 2008 two very happy pigs! Below are Joshua and George children of guests who after staying with us went home and took self sufficiency one step further by getting three of their own hens and collecting their first ever eggs!
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Bluebell Croft, 15 Anaheilt, Strontian, Ardnamurchan, Scotland UK PH36 4JA Tel 01967 402226 |
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