Seafield Farm Cottages

Walking in Knapdale Forest

2012-01-29T20:36:00.000Z

Many of our visitors enjoy walking and here in Knapdale there are several routes on forest roads where you can walk for miles without seeing another person. Some routes are waymarked but many of the forest roads are part of the forest harvesting operation and care should be taken if machines are working. Some forest roads are quite featureless and it can be easy to get lost - I have taken a wrong turning more than once - usually when walking with a friend and being more intent on conversation than the route. Keep an eye out for deer, badgers, foxes, osprey (summer only), buzzards, jays and all manner of small finches and tits - and of course the newly resident beavers which are mainly spotted in the early morning and late evening.

This walk starts at Seafield Forest gate, approximately 150 metres north of Seafield Farm, Achnamara. There is room to park at the entrance but obviously if you are staying with us, you won't need to drive. If you choose to do the walk anti-clockwise, you should park at Achnamara Village Hall, half a mile south of Seafield Farm and reverse the instructions.

Follow the forest road straight up the hill. There is a burn (stream) on your left hand side. Pass a side road on your left and keep on up the hill. Soon you will come to a right turn. If you wish to take a little diversion, it is only a short distance to the Lily Loch where there is walkway and a bench. This is an idyllic spot to sit and enjoy the sounds of birds and small brown trout breaking the surface of the loch. There is a good display of waterlilies in the summer and it's a good place to see dragonflies and damselflies.

Retrace your steps to the junction and turn left. You will be able to see Seafield Loch on your left hand side. A few yards along, there is a small jetty for Lochgilphead Angling Club. Directly opposite the jetty is a lodge built by a pair of beavers introduced to the area by the Scottish Beaver Trial. Being built of sticks and mud and being quite a flat construction, it would be easy to miss it.

As you continue along the side of the loch, you may notice some beaver gnawed trees although most of the activity is on the far side of the loch. At the end of the loch, there is another walkway on the left hand side leading to another bench at the north end of the loch with more lovely views to sit and enjoy.

Continuing along the forest road, you will pass a turning to the left. This side road is permanently blocked by flooding. Keep on up the hill until you reach a junction. Take the right turn and continue through the Sitka Spruce plantation. About an hour into the walk, you come to an open area which is fenced off on the left hand side - this was once a granite quarry for construction of the forest roads.
Keep on following the road past a marshy area to the left which is a favourite spot for deer to wallow in the mud. Keep following the main forest road around the bends, through an area of cleared forest and downhill until you reach a crossroads.

Take the right turn and keep going ignoring the next turn to the left. The track takes you downhill, passing a waterfall on the left. Continue through the plantation of old trees on the right, across a concrete bridge to a forest gate. Turn right at the gate which takes you to the Village Hall where you turn right. As you cross the stone bridge in the village look up to the right where you will see Achnamara House. For many years this was an outdoor centre, visited by hundreds of children and adults from other parts of Scotland. Sadly, the once fine Dower House and Shooting Lodge of Poltalloch Estate, is currently in a poor state of repair after many years of neglect since being sold by Glasgow City Council.

It is about half a mile from here, through Achnamara back along the single track road with Loch Sween on your left hand side, back to Seafield gate where you started.

This walk is approximately five miles long and takes about one and a half to two hours depending on how fast you walk.

Rhubarb & Cinnamon Cake

2011-10-10T12:42:00.001+01:00

Gone are the days when I spent hours during the summer months slaving over a hot oven to fulfill cake and pudding orders for my visitors. However, there is still always cake of some sort to welcome you on arrival. This one has proved popular and I have had several requests for the recipe. The version pictured is apple and rhubarb because, thanks to John and Zoe, I have lots of apples to use.

This can be made with any fruit you like - it is especially good with plums. The rhubarb version is the one I make most because rhubarb grows well in my garden and people who claim they are not too keen on rhubarb, think that this is pretty good. You could try cherries, peaches, gooseberries or pears too.

Base

2.5 ounces of Soft Margarine or butter

4 ounces of white or wholemeal self raising flour

1 ounce of white or brown sugar

0.5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 large egg

Topping

Enough fruit to cover the base generously

Crumble

3 ounces of sugar

1 ounce of flour

0.5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 ounce soft margarine or butter

Method

Put all the base ingredients in a food processor and whizz to make a soft dough. If you don't have a food processor you'll have to do it the hard way.

Grease and Line 7" square tin or dish (I don't bother to line a ceramic dish).

Put the base dough in the tin and top with fruit, peeled, chopped, sliced or stoned depending on what you are using.

Put the crumble ingredients in the food processor (don't bother to wash the blade or bowl after making the base - the ingredients are more or less the same) and pulse until it looks like crumble. Sprinkle over fruit.

Bake in oven Gas 4, 180C (conventional oven - adjust for fan oven) for about 50 minutes.

Double up the ingredients. Use a 9" baking dish or tin and cook for an hour. It freezes well.

Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Eat and enjoy

Seafield Goes Greener

2011-10-05T09:22:00.003+01:00

I've always loved the cost and quality advantage ofhome made over shop bought – or maybe that is another way ofadmitting to a more than healthy dose of thriftiness. If I hadthought of it, reduce, re-use and recycle would have been my mantralong ago. We baby boomers have enjoyed a life of ever increasingaffluence, benefiting from what we didn't realise were fantasticallycheap house prices and power and a time when astonishingtechnological advances made an ever increasing choice of consumerdurables for the home available to everyone. And yet deep, or in mycase, not so deep in our psyches is the World War 2 mentality of makedo and mend, dig for victory and don't throw anything away unless itis completely past it – and frequently, not even then. I have tinsof string, jars of rubber bands, boxes of buttons, collections ofcarefully folded wrapping paper and despite a recent cull, a plasticbox mountain of european proportions.

Woodburning Stove at Kirkland Lodge

The Green movement suited me down tothe ground. A way of spending less and being lauded for myenvironmental concerns rather than castigated for my meanness. Thelight bulbs were changed for low energy, never mind that in our lessthan tropically heated house they take some time to give more than adim glow and fail to fulfill their promise of long life. The loft isheavy with insulation, the windows are double glazed and woollyjumpers are de rigeur when the temperatures drop.

Log Boiler and Insulated Hot Water Storage Tanks

In 2007, being ever more concerned bythe rapidly rising cost of LPG to run our central heating and aboiler which was starting to make strange noises, we decided toinstall a log fired boiler to provide heating for the house, cottagesand workshop. Surrounded by trees on our own land and Knapdale Forest, free logs rather than costly chips or pelletsseemed the way forward. Offcuts from the sawmill add to the stocksso rather than hand over vast amounts of money, we have taken on vastamounts of work to supply the fire monster in the boiler house. Ourdismay when, in a bid to deal with overheating, visitors ignore the thermostats in preference for openwindows and jumper removal, is nowmotivated by the work rather than the cost of providing the heat. Wemay not do it all with a hand axe and bow saw but it still requireseffort which we would rather use in the pursuit of keeping cottagescosy, than in the impossible task of warming the whole of Argyll.

Firewood Pallets - each one provides about 10 days of heating

Now we have joined the ranks of theKilowatt Bores. The hot topic at dinner parties (if we ever getinvited to any) will not be the state of the economy or house pricesbut how many kilowatts we have generated from our photo voltaic solarpanels. Our lovely slate roof has been partially covered withfifteen shiny panels which, in theory, with unbroken sunshine shiningat exactly the right angle, could generate 3.75 kilowatts ofelectricity per hour. We could have had the full 4 kw with sixteenpanels but that would have left one panel on its own and aestheticswon over maximum generating potential. My new hobby will beattempting to use as much of the power generated to maximise thesavings on the electricity bill as well as gaining from the feed intariff. Sadly this will mean slaving over a hot oven, hoovering ordoing the ironing whenever the sun is shining – or maybe not.

Solar Panels on Stable Cottage Roof

Earth Fuel Scotland installed thepanels and did a great job. It would be nice to be able to say thatthe sun came out as soon as we were plugged into the grid butinstead, the panels got well soaked by a rain shower. But evenduring the late afternoon, post rain gloom, the meter stopped turningand for a short while before darkness set in, at least some of thepower going into the fridge and freezer was home grown.

And the forecast for this week? Showers and rain giving way to torrential downpours. It might be awhile before our investment pays for itself. In the meantime, I'llkeep saving string.

Isle of Gigha

2011-06-10T12:40:00.000+01:00

We have had our campervan for six years and slept in it for agrand total of 10 nights. It was a long held but hugelyimpractical dream of mine to have a 'proper' old style VW camper. When this Transporter van appeared in the local paper during a spellof fantastic summer weather, with friends waxing lyrical about theircampervan experiences, we got carried away and bought it on thespot. With a son aged fourteen at the time whose dreams did not includebeing jammed in a small campervan with his parents; holiday cottages,chickens and a large garden to attend to during the summer months,I'm not sure when we thought we would use it. It has beenuseful for moving furniture, taking baskets to craft fairs, being anemergency vehicle when others were in the garage, taking thelawnmower down to Kirkland and moving aforementioned son in and outof various student accommodations but as far as holidays on the openroad go, it's been a bit of a dead loss. Several luxuryholidays in far flung sunny places could have been paid for with whatit has cost to keep the old van on the road.

Following John and Zoe's wedding, we thought we would treatourselves to a holiday in the campervan at the end of May. Theoriginal plan was to head north to the Uists for three weeks. House sitters were arranged and the North West of Scotland would beour oyster. Various things happened and the holiday was reducedto two weeks, eventually becoming an eight day break on the island ofGigha. The change of plan was not without advantage - only anhour's journey to get to the ferry at Tayinloan and economical ondiesel. Gigha is a beautiful and manageable island being onlysix miles long and travelling over water always adds to the holidayatmosphere.

May and June are generally our best summer months in Argyll. The days are long and often gloriously sunny. Not this year. The wind which had threatened to blow John and Zoe's wedding marqueeaway in April, continued to be a feature. Our holiday visionwas of sitting outside in the sunshine, barbecuing fresh fish fordinner and just relaxing, away from the never ending list of jobs athome. We were certainly able to relax; spending many hourssitting inside the van, reading, sleeping and eating, wondering whenthe howling gales might allow us to get outside. At night itwas like sleeping on a boat, the campervan rocking alarmingly in thewind.

We enjoyed meals at The Boathouse and the Gigha Hotel. TheGallery has lots of lovely crafts and art and regular exhibitions. Sitting watching the wind turbines spin gave us hours ofentertainment and a walk up to the trig point was the only time Ihave ever been blown up a hill.

Having discovered that there isno trout fishing on Gigha, James ventured to the mainland for afishing trip. We had a day trip to Campbeltown by bus. Luckily our visit coincided with Springbank Distillery's Open Daywith free tours and tastings. Our 'free' day became expensive,when, relaxed and cheered by our complimentary drams, we came awaywith four bottles of cask strength single malt whisky. Somehowwe kept forgetting which one we liked the best and additionaltastings only served to confuse us further so we had to buy themall.

Achamore Gardens were a delight and wonderfully shelteredfrom the wind. We wandered about all by ourselves, not anotherperson to be seen, just this friendly pig. It was like stepping into 'The Secret Garden'.

The highlight of the week was an Auction and lunch at theVillage Hall on a particularly foul day. The food was amazing.There were delicious soups - I had seafood chowder, with rolls filledto bursting with fantastic local produce. Endless cups of teaand coffee with wonderful home baking and puddings. The Auctionwas fun and raised a good sum for the Gardens.

In the evening we were entertained in the pub by Henri from theGallery on Mandola, Graham on Chromatic accordion and Micky, headgardener at Achamore Gardens on Mandolin.

The sun did shine some of the time and the weather wasentertainingly dramatic rather than grey and dreary. Theislanders were friendly, helpful and welcoming. We were given liftsby locals when caught out by the ferocious showers on our walks toand from the ferry. On what we thought would be our day ofdeparture, the ferry was stormbound so we had an extra day on theisland looking out at the dramatic seas battering on the shore. It'sa fabulous place to visit and if you have bicycles you can take themon the ferry for free.

John and Zoe Get Married at Seafield

2011-06-08T21:08:00.018+01:00

The last wedding at Seafield was in 2008 when James and I finally got around to getting married on rocks overlooking Loch Sween with a guest list of twelve and a reception in the boat shed. The ceremony was conducted by our friend and Humanist Celebrant, Annie.

When my eldest son John and his girlfriend Zoe became engaged, they decided they would like something similar, here at Seafield but with around 50 or 60 guests, a marquee on the lawn and the ceremony in the field. Not quite the simple event I had in mind.

It is quite terrifying but also an enormous privilege to be entrusted with hosting the wedding of your son and future daughter in law. It might have been completely daunting had I not known how much work Zoe and her Mum were putting into the arrangements from their homes in Cheshire.

The wedding was nearly completely home made - with an enormous amount of help from friends and family on both sides. Flowers, cake, marquee dressing, food, music - everything was done 'in house' and the result was stunning. Weddings can be a source of enormous stress and conflict but John and Zoe's was conducted in a fantastic spirit of co-operation, laughter and joy. Once again Annie conducted the ceremony beautifully. The sun shone all day, wellies were not required and the dancing went on until four in the morning. A fantastic day to remember and treasure - I almost wish we could do it all again - almost.

Winter Arrives Early

2011-02-14T20:27:00.017Z

For years our winters have mostly been green, damp and dreary. After the freezing conditions of early 2010, we were not expecting a repeat performance at the end of the same year. Once again, water supplies froze up and we were glad of our firewood stocks to keep ourselves and our visitors warm.

The cold clear air gave us stunning views of the area and beautiful sunsets. We are lucky to have fantastic walks around Achnamara and rarely feel the need to go further afield. Loch Sween froze over completely at Achnamara; a sight not seen for many years.
The freshwater lochs were covered with a thick layer of ice for several weeks.

The winter solstice coincided with a lunar eclipse and Kilmartin House Museum organised a guided walk around some of the Cairns and Stone Circles of Kilmartin Glen. The cold was toe numbing but the atmosphere and the sunrise were worth the discomfort. Cups of coffee and sausage sandwiches in the museum cafe helped revive the intrepid souls who braved the elements at 8.00 am.

The thaw started on Christmas morning so after weeks of very festive, Christmas Card weather, green grass began to show through the snow. January was unseasonably mild but after the extra work and stress of freezing conditions I have vowed never to complain about rain and mud ever again.

Now we are well into February and the days are beginning to lengthen and signs of spring are appearing. The hens are starting to lay again and we hope to raise some new chicks in a few weeks. The cockerel has proved to be extremely bad tempered so as soon as we have a batch of his progeny, he will make a very delicious casserole. Newts have appeared in the ditch next to the road up to Seafield Loch. Blue tits are emptying the peanut feeder as quickly as we can fill it and there are delightful drifts of snowdrops in woodland and churchyards.

We have not had any sightings of beavers for some time due to the long hours of darkness and for a few weeks they will have been laying low in their lodges. Now the ice has melted and temperatures risen, their activities are easy to spot. According to the minutes of a meeting of the Species re-introduction Forum in August, the juvenile male on Loch Linne has dispersed from its family group but we have had no information on this from the Beaver Trial Team. Hopefully, we will learn more at the next stakeholder meeting in March. The lodge on Loch Linne is covered with de-barked sticks to the beavers must be using it as a feeding station as well as living quarters.

Autumn in Argyll

2010-10-12T22:52:00.022+01:00

We have enjoyed a very fine Autumn here on the West Coast. Temperatures have been higher than usual, apart from two nights of frost at the end of September and the occasional rainy mornings gave way to glorious afternoons and evenings. Swimming on Loch Sween has extended into October. The wet suit has been hung up for the last time on several occasions, only to be taken out again for 'one last swim until next year'.

After a spring and summer of hobbling around with an injured knee, James finally managed to get up to his favourite fishing spot. The Wolf Loch above Achnamara sounds impressive and dramatic but the one time I made it up to the top of the Cruach which involves sprachling over rough terrain and climbing over a deer fence, I was surprised to see this much lauded loch was a small and weedy body of water. However, it's modest size and difficulty of access is compensated for by the fantastic trout that it holds.

The four chicks raised earlier in the year all turned out to be cockerels, or dinner as I like to call them. The new hen house was finally finished and all the hens, with their new cockerel are now installed in a very substantial and hopefully, predator proof, house. It has an automatically opening and closing pophole so next summer, we hope to be able to enjoy nights away while the chickens put themselves to bed.

The Moine Mhor north of the Crinan Canal, is the remnant of an ancient raised bog which is managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. It is a fantastic place for wildlife and you can spot hen harriers and short eared owls. Earlier in the year we had a close encounter with five short eared owl chicks which chose to sit in the middle of the road. Take a turn to Crinan Ferry which has a good beach and on the way enjoy views to Duntrune Castle, home to the Malcolms of Poltalloch.

The garden has been very productive this summer with great crops from most plantings. The only disappointments have been the onions and the celeriac – unless they are supposed to be golf ball size?

We haven't managed to get away for a holiday this autumn but the great weather has made up for it. A favourite outing is to take the camper van down to the point of Knap, have a walk and then enjoy a cup of tea and some cake while enjoying the views across to Jura. Simple pleasures! The landscape opens up as you drive down the peninsula, the hills are kept bare by sheep and deer so it is a totally different experience from being here at the head of the loch, surrounded by trees. A notable landmark is Castle Sween which is one of the oldest Castles in Scotland.

The Autumn Stag Rut has been in full swing with deer bellowing all around Achnamara. I don't remember them being so noisy in the past and it has been unusual for them to be in the fields around the house and village rather than further up in the hills.

Yet more beavers have been added to the Beaver Trial. At the last count there were twelve beavers in the trial area which is one more than the trial started with eighteen months ago. The Dubh Loch family produced one kit this year, as did the family on Loch Linne. A new pair were imported from Norway and released onto Creag Mhor Loch but then moved to an adjacent, less accessible unnamed loch. Another male beaver was released to join the lone female on Seafield Loch in an attempt to make a fourth potential breeding pair. We don't know yet if this has been successful. The Dubh Loch beavers have been extending their dam and increasing the area of flooding. Unfortunately this has now extended beyond the entrance to the new path installed to bypass the flooded 'Beaver Detective Trail'. A very impressive looking pontoon on Coille Bharr will take walkers onto the loch, just below the beaver dam. It is not yet accessible but will hopefully be completed before too long.

July and August

2010-08-23T16:20:00.011+01:00

July was a fairly dreary month but things improved in August with sunnier if shorter days. We escaped in July for a week's holiday in Norfolk which unlike Argyll was parched and golden. When the temperature threatened to rise to 29C, we headed west to visit son John and his girlfriend Zoe in their lovely new home.

On our first day home, we were booked on an evening boat trip to Eilean Mor organised by the Dalriada Project and led by Dr Sharon Webb of Kilmartin House Museum. We travelled from Tayvallich, down Loch Sween, past Castle Sween with Venture West (venture-west.co.uk) on an astonishingly beautiful evening. The island has a ruined chapel and a tiny visitor centre with information about the island. The Dalriada Project is now coming to an end and there were events to celebrate the achievements of the project.

August is the time of abundance in the garden and the wild. The garden has produced far more than we need but we have been helped by slugs eating the cauliflowers caterpillars munching the cabbage and mice harvesting the peas. Such are the joys of organic-ish gardening. We have been gathering wild chanterelles and ceps and our shiitake logs have produced well. The tomatoes have been fantastic and look like cropping for some time to come. Four very nice trout were caught on the Leipeg Loch but the mackerel fishing on Loch Sween has been a little disappointing - probably because we haven't taken the boat out and only fished from the shore.

An interesting looking moth caterpillar, a Vapourer, appeared on a dogwood leaf and the butterflies have been amazing. There were about 30 peacock butterflies on one buddleia bush and they were also sunning themselves on the summerhouse verandah. A silver washed fritillary was seen one morning and there were many speckled woods, red admiral, small coppers, scotch argus, orange tips and tortoishells.

Artmap Argyll, (artmapargyll.com) the open studios event happened in August and my workshop was open to the public for four days. Many of the artists can be visited by appointment outside the open studio event so it is worth picking up a brochure or visiting the website and exploring the wealth of creative activity in the area. An associated exhibition at Kilmartin House Museum, 'Mixing up the Media' continues until the end of September.

The beavers continue to munch their way through Knapdale. The two families on Dubh Loch and Loch Linne have each produced one kit so the current count stands at 11 - the same number as were released in May 2009 and four less than the total beavers released. The two beavers released on Creag Mhor Loch at the end of June have relocated to an unnamed lochan between Creag Mhor and Loch Linne. Creag Mhor Loch was the release site of one of the original families which dispersed in the first weeks of the trial. Perhaps we can now assume that there is something about the loch which is inherently unsuitable for beavers rather than any suggestion that they were shot at? The single female which relocated to Seafield Loch after its partner died is still there. The project now has permission to replace dead or dispersed adult beavers up until May 2011 and having dispensed with the need for quarantine can continue to bolster the project rather than letting it run its course.

Summer Holidays Begin, Drought Ends

2010-07-07T09:45:00.011+01:00

Good news for private water supplies, gardeners and hydro generators but not so good for visitors coming to Argyll to enjoy the great outdoors. For six months we had very little rain but as soon as the school term ended and the summer holidays began, the skies darkened and the heavens opened. Hopefully there will be a return to more summery weather in the coming weeks.

The Artmap Open Studios Event will be taking place across Argyll from 13 - 16 August. The brochure has been launched and the website (www.artmapargyll.com) updated. Many of the artists welcome visits outwith the event dates. Some of the Art Map Artists are also exhibiting in ‘Mixing Up the Media’ at Kilmartin House Museum from July 15 until October. There is a also brand new exhibition space, Studio Barn at Leac na Bhan Farm on the road to Tayvallich.

The Gannets and the Osprey are having more success fishing for mackerel than we are but we did manage to catch two last week while fishing from the shore. Mackerel fresh from the sea are a very different fish from those in fishmongers and supermarkets which have been around for a few days. The flavour is light and delicious compared with the oily, heavy taste of an older fish.

There have been scores of sand martins feeding on insects in the shelter of the trees at the edge of the glen. They take a rest from time to time, up to 50 at a time lining up on the hen run fence. There are four swallow’s nests on the house which have been very noisy in the early mornings.

The lovely yellow flag iris have given way to foxgloves which are one of the first plants to colonise harvested sites in the forest. The field beyond the hen run is dotted with orchids ranging in colour from almost white to purple.

The garden is at last producing vegetables and fruit. As usual we go from dearth to abundance overnight and harvesting becomes another job to add to the list. Cabbage white caterpillars attempted to munch their way through calabrese, cauliflower and cabbage but were easily picked off and disposed of. I tried feeding them to the chickens but they were not impressed. They must have a bitter taste but I am not going to try one to find out. We haven’t seen our strawberry eating badger for a while so hope to gather enough for puddings and jam.

Following the death of the adult male beaver introduced to the Lily Loch in May, the female moved to Seafield Loch where it has been observed during June. The post mortem report was inconclusive and suggests that the beaver starved to death after failing to adapt to the Knapdale diet. A further two beavers have been released on Creag Mhor Loch which was vacated by the beavers originally released there in May 2009. One of the original beavers died in captivity in Edinburgh Zoo on 26 May and the other two are missing, presumed dead.

Current resident beavers are:- 3 on the Dubh Loch (originally released onto Loch Coille Bharr), 3 beavers on Loch Linne, 2 beavers on Creag Mhor Loch and 1 beaver last seen on Seafield Loch. The project has been given permission to release further beavers to replace adult beavers which die or disperse from the trial site. The minimum requirements for a viable trial are four breeding pairs of beavers and 13 months into the trial, there are still only three pairs in Knapdale, two of which may produce kits this year.

The Dubh Loch beavers continue to maintain and enlarge their dam and signs of their activity in the area are very apparent. The path remains flooded and visitors have formed a well trodden path to the dam. So far, no start has been made on the alternative boardwalk which will allow walkers to safely circumnavigate Loch Coille Bharr. On Loch Linne, the beaver dam was repeatedly removed by the project and the beavers appear to have given up trying to rebuild it. There are signs of tree felling all around the loch and there is a lodge on the east side of the loch. On recent visits, we have only spotted one beaver out and about on the loch. The adult female may be in the lodge with kits and will not emerge until they are ready to be weaned.

Flaming June

2010-06-14T11:54:00.001+01:00

Flaming June

After a cold, dry, sunny May, we are having a warmer, dry, sunny June. There has been no significant rainfall since last Autumn and watering the garden has been added to the list of chores. There haven’t been many years in the twenty that I have lived here, that a tractor has been able to go onto the fields without the wheels sinking into the bog.

Because of the dryness and the cold air, we had a temporary reprieve from the midges but they are now making their presence felt on still evenings. There has been plenty of less annoying wildlife to enjoy, some of it close at hand in the conservatory. A swallow hitched a ride on the model osprey, hanging from the ceiling and a willow warbler investigated the windowsill. A roe deer enjoyed the fresh grass at the back of the workshop and a dragonfly was seen having just emerged from it’s nymph state. The cast nymphal skin is left hanging on the tree. The air has been full of mating damsel flies. While out fishing, they were landing on us and all over the boat. On the domestic front, the chicks hatched in April are getting bigger every day but the jury is still out on the gender.

The wild flowers are fabulous at this time of year. My favourite is the yellow flag iris which flowers profusely in June. Water liliies are flowering on the lochs and the bright blue swathes of bluebells along the woodland margins are being replaced with fields showing bright yellow with buttercups.

A particular feature this year has been the volcanic ash which has shown up in thick yellow bands where the water levels of the lochs have dropped. The bands look as if they have been painted onto the rocks and posts. The lack of rain allowed it to settle rather than washing it away.

The garden has been demanding a lot of time this month and things are starting to grow well but so far we only have rhubarb, salad leaves and turnips to eat. The garlic is almost ready to harvest and there are tiny embryonic courgettes appearing which will magically transform overnight into monster marrows. All too soon there will be the two months of abundance and all the work of dealing with the surplus.

We managed to get away for a short break this month, taking the campervan up to Applecross. It was an exciting journey over the Bealach na Ba, probably the steepest road in Britain, complete with hair pin bends and vertigo inducing drops. I was glad to be the one driving with the steering wheel to hang on to rather than sitting in the passenger seat next to the edge of the mountain. I was so concerned that the elderly VW wouldn’t make it, that I didn’t have too much time to worry. The scenery was stunning with high, vegetation free mountains, quite a contrast to the tree clad, gentle hills of Knapdale. Two fine trout provided a good dinner one evening, camped high above the Sound of Raasay.

It is now a year since Norwegian beavers were introduced to Knapdale and we have six beavers remaining in the trial area. An additional pair were put onto the Lily Loch, close to Seafield at the beginning of May. Early reports suggested the beavers were ‘settling in brilliantly’. Two weeks later, project workers failed to observe the male beaver but were still getting a signal from the radio tag. It was another 9 or 10 days before the adult male was discovered dead in the artificial lodge on 27 May. Coincidentally, this was the time when the media were very interested in doing anniversary broadcasts and articles but no word of the death was released by the Project and the anniversary press release was upbeat and very positive about the whole enterprise. News of the death was not released for a further two weeks. Another beaver, removed from the trial last December has also died in Edinburgh Zoo. That brings the confirmed death toll to 12 and there are another 3 missing, presumed dead. That makes 15 beavers dead or missing out of a total importation of 25. And the effects so far? A small addition to the body of water in an area renowned for it’s wetland habitat, the felling and flooding of many hundreds of trees with the consequent loss of habitat and the removal of a popular walk due to beaver flooding. Is that really worth £2.5 million (so far) and all the stress to animals and humans alike?

Ne'er cast a clout til May is Out

2010-05-11T20:21:00.014+01:00

Whether the saying refers to the hawthorn blossom or the month, I don’t think I will be casting any clouts for a while yet. May so far has been beautifully clear and sunny but the cold air which gives us the clarity means warm woolly jumpers and sunburned noses.

The ground has been remarkably dry, making gardening a pleasure but with sub zero nightime temperatures and hot sunny afternoons, the new growth is being frosted and burnt at the same time. The tomatoes have long outgrown their pots but will have to wait on the windowsill a little longer before transfer to the polytunnel. The wild spring flowers are a delight, with violets, primroses, bluebells and blackthorn blossom all making wonderful displays - unlike their tender cultivated counterparts, the varying temperatures seem to have little effect on them.

A blackbird built a nest in the rock face behind my workshop so I was distracted from basketmaking by the much more absorbing task of trying to capture a photo of the adult feeding the chicks. We also have swallows and wagtails nesting in the eaves. Our resident pair of mute swans managed to raise a cygnet last year after a few years of choosing remarkably poor nesting sites which were always washed away by a high tide. After success last year, they have returned to the better site and are sitting on eggs.

A fishing trip to Loch Linne gave James his first catch of the year - one pan sized brown trout. Many more were caught but were far too small to keep. The loch is quite low because there has been so little rain over the last months. It is a beautiful spot, no distance from the road but surrounded by forest and utterly peaceful.

On a clear day, the views from above Crinan are wonderful and we could see porpoises breaking the surface far below us. You can look out to the islands of Islay, Jura, Scarba, Luing and Mull. Cruachan still had patches of snow showing up in the sunshine. The west coast of Scotland has some of the best sailing you can find and there were a few boats out in the Sound of Jura.

Along the forest road towards Carsaig we came across an art installation which was part of the NVA Environmental Art Project which took place in the area in 2007. We had visited some of the installations but hadn’t been to this one so it came as a surprise to find a timber walkway in an avenue of standing spruce columns leading to a woven archway which frames a rock outcrop with ancient rock carvings.

We incubated four chicks from some Maran eggs given to me by a friend. We don’t know yet which are cockerels and which will be hens but they are currently looking fairly macho and slightly scruffy with new feathers coming in to replace the down. I fear they may all end up in the pot rather than joining our team of egg layers.

No Seafield blog post is complete without mention of the beavers and a slightly blurry photo of the new arrivals. Two more beavers were released this month bringing the total population up to 8, three breeding pairs and two juveniles. They can be seen quite easily as the Lily Loch is small and having been in the Highland Wildlife Park for a year, they will be used to a degree of human contact. According to an article in the Herald Magazine, the budget is now £2.5 million which seems an astonishing amount of money for a project to give Argyll more wetland. It may have been dry this year but one thing Argyll is not short of is wetland. £2.5 million would build a fantastic visitor centre to celebrate and interpret Argyll’s amazing native wildlife and beautiful historic landscape and be far more beneficial for visitors to the area than a few large rodents which have flooded a popular forest walk.

April At Last

2010-04-19T23:00:00.013+01:00

April is my favourite month at Seafield. The days are stretching, there is warmth in the sun and not a midge to be seen. The garden is full of possibility and devoid of weeds and I am full of energy and optimism that this will be the year that I manage to keep the wilderness at bay. The daffodils and tulips are out at last, the pond is full of frog and toad spawn and new lambs have appeared in the fields. The farmers are glad to see the grass beginning to grow while I am wondering how long I can get away with not cutting the lawn.

This year I have joined ArtMap Argyll which runs an open studio event in August. The group organised some weekend workshops run by members of the group and, inspired by the recent Mastercrafts series on tv, I thought I’d try stonecarving. Two days of chipping away at a block of stone has made me think that basketmaking is a relatively easy craft It gave me new respect for those who created the carved stones now displayed in Kilmory Chapel, at the end of the Achnamara peninsula. This is where the famous MacMillan Cross has been placed to save it from erosion by the elements.

The fishing season is well under way with good catches being reported on Barnluasgan Loch despite the cold start to the season. There is a new boat on Seafield Loch which can be hired from Lochgilphead Angling Club, as can the boats on Loch Linnhe, Loch Coille Bharr and Barnluasgan. Even if you don’t catch anything, it is a pleasant way to spend a few hours and you can do some wildlife spotting or simply enjoy the peace and quiet.

The opreys have returned to their nest. Most years, they manage to raise two chicks and can often be seen fishing over Loch Sween. Watching an osprey catch a fish in its talons is an impressive sight.

A pine marten appeared on the conservatory windowsill again tonight. If it was not for their voracious appetite for poultry, we would be happy to encourage it.

Spring is also bringing the addition of another pair of beavers to the Knapdale Beaver Project. The two beavers, remnants of the ill fated importation of beavers from Norway in November 2008, will be released onto the un-named loch known locally as the Lily Loch, close to Lochan Buic, better known as Seafield Loch. An artificial lodge has been created to provide initial shelter for the animals before they burrow or build their own lodge - when they decide where they want to be. Fences have been put up to stop them travelling south which would bring them onto Seafield Farm, but there are no obstacles to prevent them moving west and north. This brings the total number of beavers to eight; three pairs and two young. This is too small a group for a viable trial but enough to cause considerable damage to the local native woodland which has been restored and protected at considerable expense over recent years.

Nearly Spring at Seafield

2010-03-16T22:26:00.016Z

The ice has mostly gone except on higher ground and much to my amazement, the first intrepid fly fishermen of the season bagged eight trout on Loch Barnluasgan. The daffodils are still not out so maybe we will have a good show for Easter. This time last year, they were nearly over.

When you live in a beautiful place, it is all too easy to forget that there are stunning landscapes, significantly different to the wooded surrounds of Seafield, within 25 minutes drive of the house. We had a mini holiday on Saturday with a drive over to Tayvallich, a bowl of soup at the Inn, a cake from the coffee shop and a visit to Danna, an island south of Tayvallich, connected to the mainland by a causeway. The ground was unusually dry for this time of year after weeks of cold, dry winter. Hundreds of Barnacle Geese had gathered on a field but on spotting us, they took to the sky before settling again. The views were stunning and two hardy kayakers paddled along the east side of the island, heading north. Gulls were swooping and feeding over the shallow water as the tide went out. They seemed to be picking up worms from the sand. A couple of shell ducks were swimming among the gulls. We hoped to see otters but it was too cold in the breeze to spend much time sitting and watching and all we saw were otter foot prints across the muddy shore. We filled a pink bucket found on the shore with mussels for dinner.

Scottish Wildlife Trust had a beaver site visit to Loch Coille Bharr with NFU members, many of whom are concerned about the long term effects of beavers in the area. I feel rather less concerned than I was as the trial so far has not been very successful with numbers diminishing by almost 50% over the last year. The six remaining beavers are to be bolstered by the introduction of an adult male and sub adult female which are remnants of the November 2008 importation of which suffered heavy losses in quarantine and after their subsequent release. The single male adult which was taken back to the Zoo in December after being found to be in poor condition has been diagnosed with a heart condition and will not be rejoining the trial. The trial partners have applied to the Scottish Government for a further licence to import another pair of beavers from Norway. The two beavers which are arriving this month, will be on a loch close to Seafield and to prevent them getting onto our land, two fences have been constructed across the burns. So far, beavers have headed north rather than south so it is probably a complete waste of time and money. Fencing beavers in will not give a true picture of their movements in the landscape. If they stay on the Lily Loch, there should be plenty of opportunities for visitors to see them - until they flood the board walk and seat of course. Like most wildlife, humans want to look at them but they have no interest whatsoever in looking at humans.

2010-02-25T20:19:00.001Z

January and February can be rather damp and dreary in Argyll but this year we have had exceptionally calm, cold, clear and sunny days. The days are getting noticeably longer and it feels as though we are through the worst of the winter. Perhaps that is wishful thinking. Keeping up with firewood consumption has been a challenge but it is worth it to keep ourselves and our visitors warm and cosy.

The willow soaking tank was frozen solid for weeks but eventually it thawed sufficiently to release the willow that had been put in to soak before Christmas. It was none the worse for it’s freezing and extra long soaking and could be fashioned into useful baskets.

There is a plan to put two beavers into the Lily Loch during March. This delightful lochan is fifteen minutes walk from the house and is a lovely place to sit and watch trout rising during warmer weather. The fringe of broadleaf woodland will not last long if they settle on the loch and start tree felling activities. Dam building will soon flood the walkway and seat.

The clear sunny days have made the views breathtaking. The snow capped mountains to the north appearing to tower over Kilmartin Glen. There have been spectacular sunsets over Loch Sween towards Jura.

The camera lens wasn’t good enough to get a good photo of the otter swimming past the heron and emerging on to the rocks. If you look carefully, you will see a brown, otter shape to the right of the heron. The otter swam, dived and emerged onto the shore of a tiny island just south of Achnamara. It was more impressive in real life than on the photo.

Seven or eight deer appeared along the edge of the wood one morning as we ate breakfast. They were well camouflaged and only the movement alerted me to their presence. Deer are fairly commonplace around Seafield but it is still good to see a group of them so close to the house.

The snowdrops and winter crocus were held back by the cold weather but they are now in full bloom and a welcome splash of brightness on winter days.

The hens started laying in earnest in January despite freezing temperatures. The new Speckled Sussex cockerel is a fine looking bird and very attentive to his flock but we are not convinced he knows what he is doing. We will soon find out when we incubate some eggs in the spring.

The willow harvest is nearly finished and as usual there are far too many large rods. The finer varieties have produced a reasonable crop and I look forward to using them when they have dried a little. It is time to consider removing some of the more vigorous plants which shade the polytunnel and have limited use. Some will be kept for plant supports and handle bows but the rest can go and be replaced with smaller varieties.

Happy New Year

2010-01-11T21:23:00.012Z

This year's festivities were enhanced by a backdrop of fabulous cold, clear and sunny days with the little bit of snow that we had, staying on the ground for the whole holiday. Surfaces were slippery and the piles of grit and salt at the side of the road were frozen solid. It was a good excuse to stay close to the fire and keep warm fuelled by chocolates and wine in the traditional Christmas manner.

Keeping the house and cottages warm was quite a challenge with firewood production dominating much of our time. Eventually Kirkland succumbed to the frost and had no water for 3 days. Fortunately none of the pipes burst and as the temperatures rose above freezing, water flowed once again. Even with no water, our visitors couldn't be persuaded to leave the stunning views and sunsets at Kirkland for a cottage where everything was working.

Many of the local lochs were frozen over and we enjoyed a walk right around the edge of Loch na Laraiche wondering if it would be a once in a lifetime experience or a taste of things to come. The Dubh loch was completely frozen and even Coille Bharr had a skin of ice in places.

Hogmanay was seen in quietly with food, drink, good company and sending lanterns into the sky.

Winter Wonderland at Seafield

2009-12-24T09:01:00.011Z

Visitors often ask if there will be lots of snow at Christmas and usually my answer is ‘probably not’. Typical Argyll festive seasons have been wet, windy, mild and green but this year has proved the exception and we have a covering of snow and thick frost. It is stunningly beautiful and the monochrome snowy scenes of the day have given way to stunningly colourful sunsets. The one year that we could have provided the perfect Scottish white Christmas for our visitors, we decided to have a break and leave the cottages empty until New Year.

The weather is not without it’s challenges, with frozen water supplies and icy roads to contend with. Bundles of willow which should have been baskets by now are frozen in the soaking tank and will take days to thaw when the temperatures rise. Fortunately we have plenty of firewood to keep us warm and cosy in the house.

We continue to keep an eye on the beavers. Both families have built lodges and stored winter supplies of food underwater. Coming from Norway, the cold weather will not cause a problem for them. The tree felling activity has increased in recent months and hundreds of trees have now been felled and many will die through being flooded. While this may create habitats for some flora and fauna, it will undoubtedly displace others. If the damage to the woodland had been caused by humans, it would be called vandalism; because it is done by a wild creature, it is considered beneficial. With a landscape covered in Sitka Spruce, it is nonsense to laud the environmental benefits of opening up the canopy in tiny areas of scrubby woodland.

We wish all our visitors a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Knapdale Beavers in Observer Magazine

2009-12-07T10:25:00.001Z

The beaver debate got an airing in the Observer Magazine on Sunday 6 December. To read the article, copy the link into your web browser

www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/06/beavers-scotland
-controversy-tim-adams

Winter Arrives at Seafield

2009-11-29T21:25:00.000Z

Normally I wouldn't welcome winter but crisp, dry, sunny weather is a joy after what has felt like weeks of rain.

Life at Seafield has been busier than usual in October and November with lots of visitors in the cottages and the house. We managed to get away for a week of sunshine in Greece and enjoyed a relaxing time, swimming, walking and eating out every night. There were instructions on cooker cleaning in the villa but all our cooker needed was a light dusting after a week of inactivity. We stayed at Daphnes Villas at Vasilikos on Zakynthos which is a lovely place and very peaceful apart from the Skops owl which hooted incessantly.

The beavers continue to chop down trees, build dams and lodges and flood a favourite walk around Loch Coille Bharr. Having seen what two families of three can do, the prospect of a larger population being let loose in Scotland is worrying. One or both of the missing Creag Mhor beavers have been found on private land North of the release site but have managed to evade capture so far.

Achnamara had a bonfire and fireworks party. The weather was calm and clear and the fireworks display was excellent, reflected in the calm waters of the loch.

Tayvallich held a Christmas Craft Fair so I had a stall with my baskets and caught up with friends from across the other side of Loch Sween. The sunny day provided a good opportunity for a walk around Taynish Nature Reserve. At this time of year with the leaves off the trees you can see so much more and the blanket of green is replaced with fantastic autumn colours.

Basketmaking has taken a back seat over the last year but I have been busy this month teaching two courses, one at Kilmartin House Museum and the other at Logie Steadings near Forres. I have been making much more use of my own home grown willow which now provides a good crop of fine weaving rods in a variety of colours.

We had a walk to Seals Bay, half a mile down the track at the back of Seafield, just as the sun was setting. A seal obligingly put in an appearance but I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch the gull silhouetted against the sky or the heron waiting patiently at the edge of the water. The clear sky is great for star gazing but we have not seen the Northern Lights this year which are sometimes a feature in November

Photos 1. Taynish Nature Reserve, 2. Daphnes Villa, Vasillikos. 3. Picnic at Stronefield Beach near Achnamara. 4. Beaver Lodge on Dubh Loch. 5. Achnamara Bonfire. 6. A hard working student. 7. Seal at Seals Bay. 8. Sunset on Loch Sween. 9. Autumn Colours on Loch Coille Bharr.

Autumn Arrives Early in Argyll

2009-09-08T09:56:00.000+01:00

The summer of 2009 has definitely been a summer of two halves. The gloriously sunny half and the disappointingly wet and dreary half. The summer house had its own lake to look out onto when the burn came over the top of the bridge and flooded the garden for the first time in living memory. Brambles hang unpicked in the hedgerows and in the vegetable garden, the harvest is battered and waterlogged instead of golden and ripening. Visitors have been stoical in their determination to get out and about but I am sure their well deserved holidays have not lived up to expectations.

The shed roof which has dominated our summer is finished at last. It was a mammoth task in which James had help from several extremely capable and hard working Wwoofers (willing workers on organic farms). Now we have a dry space to store timber, firewood and machinery for as long as we need it. The next refurbishment in about 30 years is unlikely to be our problem.

The beavers continue to have an impact on the area. The very popular waymarked walk around Loch Coille Bharr is closed because the damming activities of the beavers which, in conjunction with a lot of rain have flooded the path. The closure signs give no indication that it is beaver activity which has caused the problem as there seems to be a policy of only putting out 'good' beaver news. The fact that only one family out of four or five families, survived the capture, transportation and quarantine regime was kept very quiet as was the information that two of the released families had been imported by the Royal Zoological Society in Scotland, a partner in the trial, three or four months before the licence for the Knapdale trial was granted. These beavers were kept in Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park before being released in May 2009 as part of the trial. Of the original November 2008 importation of beavers destined for Knapdale, only one beaver remains in the trial area after he was re-captured from Loch Craignish following nine weeks on the run. The adult female and female kit remain lost and unaccounted for. The beavers have been sold to the public as cute, cuddly individual animals with names and personalities but the number of beaver deaths caused by the trial has not been advertised. The current situation as far as I know, is that we have two families of three, one each on Coille Bharr and Loch Linne, one single female which may or may not be on Caol Scotnish and one single adult male on Loch Creag Mhor - unless he has gone walkabout again.

Summer at Seafield Farm Cottages

2009-08-17T21:30:00.000+01:00

As usual, the summer is going too fast with far too many things to do and keeping up with the blog seems low on the list of priorities. The glorious early summer has given way to a rather more drizzly, dull August which must be very disappointing for our visitors.

Replacing the roof on the Big Shed has been occupying much of James' time but with help from Thomas and a succession of very hard working Wwoofers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), the job is now 80% complete and we will have a great dry space for timber drying and firewood storage.

Beaver monitoring has taken up quite a bit of time too. Only six of the original eleven beavers currently remain on the release lochs but they have managed to fell significant numbers of trees and have flooded the Coille Bharr walk by building dams. The adult male which had travelled 7 miles north from the release site has been trapped after 10 weeks out of Knapdale. We are told it will be returned to Creag Mhor Loch where it will be home alone - until it heads off again towards the Crinan Canal in the vain hope of finding a mate. For more beaver related information look at www.scottishbeaver.blogspot.com/

We have had our first honey harvest from the bees which have been working hard all summer. The chickens hatched at the end of May have grown quickly and unfortunately rather a lot of them look like cockerels. The garden produce is getting a little overwhelming with courgettes turning into marrows overnight and an abundance of french and runner beans. The strawberry crop was wiped out by a badger which clearly preferred them to slugs. Our Wwoofers have been a great help in keeping the weeds at bay.

The flowers are looking lovely and the buddleia has been covered in butterflies. Painted Ladies, Small tortoiseshell, Red Admirals have all visited but today there were only Peacock Butterflies in evidence. A large dragonfly alighted on a hoe in the garden conveniently posing for my camera. Buzzards wheel overhead and jays screech in the trees. The ospreys will be getting ready for the long flight from Loch Sween to Africa.

Loch Linnhe & The Alternative Beaver Blog

2009-06-24T23:02:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 23 June, a stunningly beautiful evening so off to Loch Linnhe for a spot of fishing. Lochgilphead Angling Club has rowing boats for hire for fly fishing on Loch Coille Bharr, Loch Linnhe and Loch Barnluasgan - available from Seafield Farm. Loch Linnhe is about 3 miles from Seafield but you could be a million miles from anywhere. It is a beautiful loch surrounded by woodland and forest; a heavenly spot. At the moment the water lilies are just coming into bloom and on the eastern arm of the loch there are smaller yellow water lilies. The surface of the loch was occasionally disturbed by skating sedge flies, a favourite food for trout but on this evening they floated undisturbed. Loch Linnhe is another one of the lochs chosen for the beaver introduction and two of them were swimming about. They seemed fairly oblivious to the boat as we rowed past. One of them swam to the bank and proceeded to gnaw very noisily on an ash branch. There was no sign of the other two but we hear that of the eleven beavers released, one has died, one has disappeared, one was in the canal and one is in the Fairy Isles. The official beaver blog is remarkably lacking in information and the information board in Barnluasgan asserts that they are all still where they were put.

About twenty swallows flew overhead and Daubenton bats swooped over the water picking off insects.

Stable Cottage is still available for one week from 3 - 10 July and Kirkland Lodge from 12 - 18 July. Visit our lovely area and discover that we have a lot more to offer than imported Norwegian beavers. They are supposed to be good for biodiversity but it would be hard to create more biodiversity than already exists here in Knapdale forest.

Wildlife Watching on Loch Coille Bharr

2009-06-15T15:31:00.000+01:00

We have had some beautiful evenings here recently and as long as you keep moving, it is possible to avoid the midges. On Friday 12 June we took a stroll around the loch to see if we could spot the beavers. Eleven were released, three on Loch Coille Bharr, and four each on Loch Linnhe and Creag Mhor Loch with one young beaver dying shortly after release.

The silence was broken only by the sound of trout sucking in insects from the surface of the loch and the call of the woodcock as it flew overhead. Starting from the Forest Track behind Knap Studio on the Achnamara Road, we walked anti clockwise around the loch. The main beaver signs were of the man made variety - signposts with more than a touch of anthropomorphism; a manifestation of the Disneyfication of Knapdale. Stopping at the landing stage we spotted a beaver which rapidly disappeared around the corner heading south. Later, stopping at the bench at the southern end of the loch, we watched a beaver swim across the loch from east to west. Whether we saw one beaver twice or two beavers is uncertain.

Apart from the beaver itself, we saw few signs from the path. The water lilies are just starting to flower, a known favourite of beavers. The next night we took to the water for a spot of fly fishing in addition to beaver spotting. The loch was perfectly still, the reflections so perfect it was hard to see what was reflection and what was real. Once again, the lone beaver was at the north end swimming from east to west and seemingly unconcerned by our presence. It came close enough for me to get a reasonable photograph. Beavers really aren't particularly attractive, they really do look like oversized hairy rats in the water. However, they are not as hideous as the carved beaver model which is in the log cabin at Barnluasgan. Our native otters are far more entertaining to watch. Later, paddling south along the eastern side, there were plenty of beaver signs. The cut ends of branches clearly visible in the fading light. Birch, oak and rowan seem to be the favourites with alder left untouched. A birch branch was stripped of its bark with the teeth marks clearly visible.

At this time of year, it is hardly dark at all so it was after 11 pm when we left the loch. No trout were harmed during our trip. Many broke the surface but were not tempted by the fake fly, having an abundance of the real thing floating on the surface. A mist was rising over the whole surface and there was quite a chill in the air after the heat of the day. On the way home, we stopped to see if the glow worms were in their usual spot and counted five along the road verge - tiny green lights shining intensely among the grass.

If you are passing the Crinan Canal, keep a look out as a beaver has managed to make it overland into the Canal but I haven't heard if it has been retrieved. I hear the radio tags have caused problems too. How exactly do you glue a radio tag to a Beaver?

Badger in the Compost Bin

2009-06-10T22:21:00.000+01:00

Byre Cottage has now got a new 37 inch HD ready tv but haven't quite got around to getting the Blu Ray Player or HD Sky just yet. If you have a PS3 or Blu Ray you can bring it with you.

Stable Cottage only has a boring old widescreen tv who needs television? As I was writing this, a badger wandered across the grass but disappeared before I could get the camera. However, I sneaked out of the front door and caught it raiding the compost bin - low light levels didn't provide the best snap but here it is anyway.

We have a summer house in the garden so I will put out some peanuts tomorrow night and wait with my camera in the hope of getting a better photo. The badger visits quite regularly and as long as it stays away from the chickens, we are happy to see it.

Beavers Arrive in Knapdale

2009-05-28T22:31:00.000+01:00

On 28 May three families of European Beavers were released on three lochs in Knapdale near Achnamara and on 29 May another family will be released on Loch Coille Bhar. According to Radio 4, 11 beavers are being released, 2 have died in quarantine and 4 are not ready to be released. According to the beaver team, 25 animals were imported from Norway with 5 dying in quarantine so we seem to have lost 3 beavers somewhere - and that is while they were in captivity.

The beavers are not contained in any way but they are radio tagged and we are assured that if they stray, they will be returned to their designated lochs. This hardly constitutes a trial of how beavers will behave in Scotland when left to their own devices. This is a fantastic area with a wonderful habitat for many wild creatures but it is far from being a wilderness area suitable for free ranging beavers with an insatiable appetite for broadleaf woodlands. It is ironic that the beavers are being encouraged to munch on our hardwoods while deer are shot for doing the same thing.

Our holiday cottages are two miles from the release sites so if you fancy a beaver safari, you know where to come.

Beekeeping at Seafield

2009-05-23T20:33:00.000+01:00

This week, Andy from the village brought a couple of his hives to Seafield. After years of thinking about keeping bees and failing to do anything about it, I now have the opportunity to try it out or at least watch while someone who knows what they are doing, gets on with it. The bee suit, gloves and hive tool are ordered. Now all we need is some fine weather, lots of flowers and hopefully the bees will thrive and produce lots of honey. We are hoping for a swarm or two which will obligingly hang about until we can catch them and of course they will be very docile, and I will not get stung - ever.

Basketmaking at Seafield Farm

2009-05-07T21:00:00.000+01:00

In addition to running holiday cottages, I make baskets when I have the time and the inclination. I grow various varieties of basketmaking willow and make many different styles of baskets, most of them traditional and functional but some more decorative and creative. There is a selection for sale or you can just have a look. Sometimes I run basketmaking courses for beginners and host gatherings of fellow Argyll basketmakers which usually involves a lot of chatting and a great deal of cake eating.

The willow provides a fantastic habitat for insects and birds and creates a shelter belt for the vegetable patch. It grows at a fantastic rate with the larger varieties growing up to 14 feet tall during one growing season. Willow comes in many different colours - red, green, brown, purple, yellow and orange with all shades in between.

Holiday Cottages, Achnamara, Argyll

2009-04-23T09:01:00.000+01:00

Here at Seafield Farm, we have three holiday cottages. Byre Cottage, Stable Cottage and Kirkland Lodge. It's a fantastic place - off the beaten track but only fifteen minutes from the nearest town. For anyone who wants to walk on empty forest roads, breathe fresh air and hear nothing but birdsong, then this is where you should be.

Our cottages are warm, welcoming and environmentally friendly with heating and hot water from our log fired boiler. The wood comes from the forests around us, a local sustainable source.

If you want to learn more about our cottages and check out the availability, have a look at www.seafieldfarmcottages.co.uk