Wednesday was a completely different sort of day. Firstly, we got up incredibly early to leave for Kessock Bridge where we hoped to see otters. This is what we saw, in my case from the relative comfort of the bus:
Canada geese
No otters. We felt we had earned the breakfast we returned to.
For the rest of the morning we listened to a couple of talks, on the wildcat project, and moths, each fascinating. The braver souls – it was still raining, though not as hard – went out into the grounds to indulge in a bit of pond-dipping. I’m afraid I chickened out, being very ill-equipped for bad weather.
The afternoon was free to spend exploring where we were living for the week rather more than we’d been able to hitherto. (Some joined a small group going a very long way, for a very small chance of seeing a ring ouzel or two. Sadly they had as much luck as we had had in the morning over otters.)
I did indeed spend a lot of time outside exploring Aigas – it had stopped raining by now, and here is a selection of the pictures I took then and at other times during the week, both indoors and outdoors.
My room
That’s the entrance to an old ice house seen though one window
My lodge
Ruth showing us where we’re going that day
First meal
The sitting room
The dining room, shortly to be laid out for a buffet lunch
A hundred-year-old wasp’s nest
Our hostess is a very talented lady
The library and overflow dining room
The gallery above the dining hall
The sitting room
The Magnus House
From the Tower Hide
No chance of seeing the wild cats!
As well as feeding us splendidly, Lady Lister-Kaye is entirely responsible for the garden
It had started raining again before I was safely back in the house.
What an absolutely splendid place to stay though sorry about all the rain!
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Wonderful hosts – nothing is too much trouble.
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The place is beautiful!!! So enjoy the brief tour!!
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I’m sure that the beauty of Aigas itself was one of the reasons I felt I had to make a second visit.
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Great pictures. It was most interesting to see details of the splendid house and grounds. The lodges look very scenic and comfortable. Hope they were warm enough.
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The lodges were certainly warm enough. They put the heating on at key times. I was astonished – June! – and there were log fires in the main house.
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It looks like a really beautiful place to spend some time, wet or dry!
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A really special place. The story of how Sir J L-C restored the house and set up the Centre is remarkable.
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What a fantastic venue.
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Indeed. And you can just go and stay there without booking on to any organised group experiences, or sort of à la carte.
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What a magnificent place to visit! If I ever make it over there, this one is on my list.
It is too bad the wildcats are being persecuted by gamekeepers. Hybridization with closely related species is also a problem with many wild animals over here, including the eastern timber wolf, coyote, bison and bobcat.
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There were two US citizens who had come over specially to have the experience that week. They seemed to be delighted.
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