Spring Spectacular at Tullochwood Lodges

I can’t believe we’re at the end of November already and watching the woodland turn wintry with beautiful frosty mornings – and no doubt snow soon!

It’s been a busy year in Forres and Morayshire – from the Barclays Scottish Open Golf Championship at Castle Stuart in July (returning again in 2012) to the Porridge championships at Cawdor in October. There have been Highland Games throughout the summer months and local musicians and bands playing in the many venues in the area.

We are delighted to hear from our guests about their stays with us at Tullochwood – and have added some of their comments to our website Guest Book. Our website also now features our online video so you can capture a bit of the ‘feel’ before you even get there!

So, before the winter sets in, why not take advantage of our special offers and find out what our guests are raving about.

• Spring Spectacular – 15% off all breaks taken before the end of May 2012

Check out our special offers for full details or call on 01309 673311 for availability.

Thank you to all our guests for staying at Tullochwood – we hope to see you again soon

Best wishes

Mary x

Well, my ‘baby’ is growing up and had her first day at school last month – and yes Mummy did shed a tear or two at the school gates! And in a way that marked the end of a busy summer – Tullochwood Lodges have been buzzing with lots of guests – and of course we have enjoyed some fantastic events this year including the Scottish Open.

We’re offering 20% discount on all breaks in October and November (as well as a few in September), so guests, old and new, can enjoy a late season holiday and take in some of the delights of the Morayshire area. Check out our special offers for full details or call on 01309 673311 for availability.

And to whet your appetite, here are some of the events and visitor attractions you could enjoy from Tullochwood Lodges.
• Huntly Farmers Market takes place on the first Saturday of each month where you can not only get local produce but crafts and plants as well.
• The Red Deer Rut Landrover Safari gives a unique opportunity to chance upon rutting stags in the glen – as well as see red and black grouse – a nature lovers dream.
• The Speyside Whisky Festival takes place from 30th September to 3rd October – but if you miss that there’s always the Whisky & Shortbread tasting at Balvenie Castle

All this and an array of local craft fayres, Hallowe’en activities for children and an abundance of concerts and gigs to suit all musical tastes.

Who knows? With a bit more time while school is in – I may even get to some of these myself – or enjoy some relaxation time at www.tullochwoodlodges.com!

Best wishes
Mary x

Spring arrives at Tullochwood!

Well Spring has arrived at Tullochwood – piles of lambs are everywhere enjoying the sun on their backs!  It lifts the spirit to see them on my way driving to and from Forres most days…

Work has started on the flower beds and floral display area at Grant Park in Forres which is a sure sign that the frost is almost gone…I wonder if they will win any awards this year!?  Let’s hope so as it’s an amazing display of colour. 

Brodie and Cawdor Castle are opening their doors this weekend for Easter egg hunts and the start of hopefully a busy season.  And it won’t be long until the Highland Games dates are posted so look out for these on the Tullochwood website soon.

The moorhens are back on the lochan and a few ducks – we’re not sure yet if they are nesting but usually they surprise us – so will keep you posted with developments!   The hard winters over the past couple of years seem to be affecting their numbers so it’s about time we had a nice mild winter!!

Happy Easter from all of us at Tullochwood.   

Mary & Kenny

Deer spotted at Tullochwood

I’m delighted to say I seem to be losing my blogging job – as longtime friends of Tullochwood, Robert and Linda Lees, kindly agreed to submit an update for this month.

Many thanks to both of you – looking forward to seeing you again at the end of the month.

Mary xx

Hello everyone

Our week’s break at Tullochwood was spent mostly relaxing. We caught up with friends met at Tullochwood and relatives who live in the area.

I managed to catch sight and photograph one of the red deer in the woodland walk, near the play area end. The trees were turning colour and dropping their leaves resulting in a golden carpet on the grassy areas – so lots of wonderful colours for photographing.

We cycled in the Culbin forest a regular haunt for us, we headed down to the seal viewing hide, which thankfully has been repaired (the windows had been broken the last time we visited). There we watched the antics of the seals and boisterous behaviour of the Oystercatchers as they tried to pinch each other’s food – mussels, of which there seems no shortage!

A new discovery for us was spotting a small bird called a Turnstone. We saw this when we caught the sunset at Findhorn – which can be spectacular over the shoreline. Another must for us is dinner at Simply Red in Forres – we always try to get there at least once. The food, wine and the ambiance would not be out of place in up the market restaurant areas of our larger cities.

We had a few rainy days, even so I managed to get some nice shots around Tullochwood, and after the rain everything seems much fresher. Looking forward to our next trip which I don’t think will be long.

Robert and Linda Lees

When it’s wet… there’s whisky!

Our friends and regular visitors at Tullochwood, Neil and Alison Cameron, offered to write the blog this month. They stayed during the week – and found lots to do even in the rain! So it’s over to them. Mary x

Hi all you Tullochwood fans!

Well, we’ve visited in all weathers – but perhaps not experienced quite so many sudden downpours – but with so much to do and see in Moray the weather simply can’t dampen your spirits.

Talking of spirits, and being on the Malt Whisky Trail, we thought we should visit some of the local distilleries. First we visited the closest and smallest working distillery – Benromach at Forres. This has to be one of the best tours around – the guides really know their stuff – and they have old equipment to show as well as the newer working stills.

To counter this, we also visited the recently enlarged Glenlivet distillery. With another 4 stills it’s trebled its output to 60,000 litres per day. And as if that wasn’t enough – we finished off by popping in to the Gordon and MacPhail whisky shop in Elgin – with 800 different malts to select from.

We also took advantage of our midweek stay to go to the Kimberley Inn in Findhorn for dinner one evening. This place is really popular – we didn’t get in over New Year even at lunch times – and has a good range of dishes to choose from – but the fish and chips are what they’re known for – but be hungry to eat it all!.

The weather did actually clear later in the week, so it wasn’t all whisky and food indoors. We also went over to Fort George. Billed as the mightiest artillery fortification in Britain – it is an impressive place and lives up to its reputation. Sadly the Regimental Museum was closed due to flooding – but as a working army barracks and its fantastic location – it was a great place to see.

As always we had a walk at Culbin Forest – although we didn’t venture up the tower this time – that can wait till the spring!

Thanks again Mary – see you all again soon
Alison & Neil

August Sunshine @ Tullochwood Lodges

The Scottish schools may be going back this week – but at Tullochwood we’re looking forward to welcoming guests from England and Europe for the rest of the month. And it looks as though the sun will be shining for their holidays!

There’s no place better to be in the sunshine than the Moray coast. The beaches are long and golden. The coastal forests are restful and full of wildlife. And of course our famous Moray seals and dolphins are all out to play on the Moray Firth. So, lots to explore for everyone – by foot, boat, bike or car. One of our regular guests – Robert Lees – has taken more fantastic photographs around the area – and we’re delighted that he lets us use them on the website and updates. Thanks Robert.

Don’t you just love the sound of the pipes? They’ll be starting at 9.30am on Saturday 21st August at the Nairn Highland Games, followed by Highland dancing in the afternoon. And then we have the Grantown-on-Spey Highland Games on Sunday 22nd – more pipes, dancing, tug-of-war and the 56lb Weight for Distance Championship.

Not long to wait now for the Westlife Concert – I’m so excited! Cawdor Castle is also hosting the X-Factor concert. There’s music for all tastes with these great shows and all our local traditional and popular musicians playing at venues throughout Moray.

Anyway, despite feeling like I have been running around all day every day since the spring – I certainly don’t think I’m ready to take part in the Moray Marathon on 5th September. Tires me out just thinking about it – although I can’t think of a better route than the picturesque Moray landscape to keep me going. Maybe next year!

Oh, and for anyone who may have wondered if the fantastic Edinburgh Festival is the end of the season – it’s not. So if you’re looking for another festival – there’s one in Moray next month. Dufftown 2000 Ltd and Spirit of Speyside are holding the Autumn Speyside Whisky Festival from 24-28th September. Tickets are on sale now – get them quick before Kenny does!

Mary x

Sunshine & dolphins spotted by Tullochwood guests

Well we’re into July now and luckily have been experiencing some hot sunny days at Tullochwood!  Not today, it’s tipping down but that’s been unusual so hopefully it won’t last long!   The guests seem to be enjoying relaxing on their balconies or having barbecues beside the lochan.  Also the grass is being mowed regularly by the many toddlers using the toy mower from ‘Little Tulloch’.  Alfie, a recent 2 year old visitor left it outside Brodie Lodge front door each evening in case anyone else took it!!   Great to see so many people out and about, mind you some did dissapper inside during the World Cup and Wimbledon.  Spain v Holland in the final of the football on Saturday but no Dutch or Spanish guests for us to cheer on! 

Forres Highland Games tomorrow (Saturday 10th) and lots on offer there for adults and children.  Highland dancing, piping competition, bouncy castle, face painting and lots more.  Dallas gala day not far from the lodges on Sunday so we’re hoping to head up there ourselves for some family time.   Let’s hope the rain stays off.  Tomintoul Highland Games on 17th July and Dufftown on 31st July, so plenty to choose from if Forres is too soon!

The warm weather has made it perfect for exploring the beaches and coastline and we’ve followed the forest trail at Culbin to the new lookout tower which gives fantastic views of the Moray Firth.  The dolphins have been seen by many guests – this is a good time to see them at various spots along the Coast.  The boat trips are going out all week from Nairn, Lossiemouth, Buckie and Inverness.  Also great places to spot the dolphins from the shore are Channonry Point on the Black Isle or Spey Bay just beyond Fochabers. 

So much to do, so little time….oh and did I mention Westlife are playing at Cawdor Castle in August.  Most of Moray have bought tickets!  Ok time to take Lexi round the woodland walk so speak again soon.   Maryx

Welcome to the Tullochwood Blog!

Well hello there!  Spring has finally arrived at Tullochwood.  The daffodils and rest of the bulbs managed to survive 3 months of snow and frost!  The cherry trees are in blossom and it’s great to see some colour around after all the that snow!   Some ducks are back on the lochan (mallards) at the moment, we think the females are nesting as the boys are just paddling around looking lost!  The moorhens have started building a nest on the island again (oh no!) more stress for us as the chicks try to survive each day with the crows circling.  And BIG NEWS – a 1st for us – we saw what we think was a Mandarin duck on the lochan this morning.  Beautiful colours, very unusual – checked the bird book and it seems the only kind it could be.  Only found in small areas of Scotland, mainly England.  We’ll let you know if it stays around or is just dropping by.   The roe deer are moving around us, saw two heading past the house this morning at 6.20am – only people with babies and toddlers up at that time ….I know very sad and very tiring!!!   Got to get the hanging baskets planted up for the lodges soon and Jane the gardener is back working her magic amongst the plants.  Trying to keep the ground elder back is her biggest challenge….Well better head off, lots of admin to do and guests coming into Huntly Lodge so it’s all go……catch up soon…hello to all our guests….come back and see us soon…..Mary