A diary of goings-ons at Aird Hill.
If ever proof was needed that spring really is here, despite an unusually late start, it's the birth of our newly hatched chicks. Cuteness epitomized! Our girl duck, Pricilla, is now broody too and is sitting on a dozen or so eggs (on the compost heap of all places), so we expect to have lots of little ducklings running around soon too. The pigs have magically turned into bacon and sausages, and spectacularly tasty ones too. It was all a bit sad at the time, but we've got over it and have 2 little Saddleback weaners taking up residence with us today! The kids are pretty excited! The strawberry & raspberry plants at Flowerdale are coming into bloom now, our bees are very busy making honey (and pollinating).
It will soon be time to start getting the boat ready for the water and check over the mooring. Our humble little motor boat gets us out fishing regularly (the home smoked mackerel in summer is fantastic). There's great sailing around the coast here too, but without our own yacht (yet), we manage to get out with friends and visitors as often as possible. Badachro bay is ideal for canoeing with the kids, being a sheltered, contained area, and the seals in the narrows provide regular entertainment for us all. Come the warmer, sunny days, we'll definitely be setting off for picnics at Kerry Bay with our pals; a highlight of the summer each year.
We have managed to get out for a lot of hill and beach walks already this year and it gets easier every time as our youngest (Ashley) gets older and is happier to walk herself.
Coming soon: Self Catering holidays at Aird Hill
The bed & breakfast experience has been fantastic for us and we've made loads of new friends and contacts over the last 2 years, but with only 2 rooms, we get booked up pretty quickly over the main season. So, we've decided to develop a new, self catering opportunity!
Clad in local, natural larch, with a turf roofed sunroom overlooking the bay and mountains, our small but perfectly formed 'lodge', (we haven't come up with a decent name yet) provides 58 square meters (624 square feet) of accommodation space, made up of a warm, underfloor heated shower room, an open plan living-kitchen space (with a sofa bed), the afore-mentioned sunroom and a nest / gallery bedroom upstairs with a double / twin beds (limited headroom, but light and very comfy with it's own flat screen television).
So, it'll be ideal for a couple, but able to accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids comfortably if required. Four adults would work if you're good friends!
We can't show you any photo's yet, as it's under construction, but we can promise that it will be tastefully put together to a similar standard as our B&B (see the reviews). This will be the (winter) view from the sun room!
We hope to have it ready to occupy by winter 2010.