Covid, Seil, Tourism

October and on

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Autumn is most definitely here, the leaves have changed colour (and started to fall) and the storms have arrived. At the moment we’re probably at the peak of colour before we tip into the faded palette of winter.

My walk reminded me of one back in the spring, also a damp day. Then the colours were beginning to develop.

Opposite sides of the seasonal spectrum.

This year more than most spring brought signs of hope; infection rates fell and we were able to meet our friends again.

Summer, well it wasn’t normal but it was freer, and we were able to welcome guests.

Now we have the prospect of winter, and a retreat back to our homes*. We’ve adapted, there’s no guising** for the children this year but windows and gardens have been filled with pumpkins and spooks for a hallowe’en treasure hunt ***.

As the nights and our lives draw in, I’m getting the sparkly lights out early to brighten up the dark evenings.

Christmas won’t be a big family gathering, whatever the governments decide. There won’t be carols at the pub, nor our panto in January. But I’m just hoping that winter won’t be too long and dark, and I’ll be watching the spring flowers in the rain in 2021, planning the season for our guests.

Stay safe. Stay well. Hope to meet you soon.

*As I was writing this Argyll and Bute was put into tier two restrictions, which means we can meet friends outdoors or in cafes, but not at home.

** dressing up and visiting houses

***Parents take their children around the island spotting the pumpkins, the children earn a treat for each they spot

Covid, Seil, Tourism

That’s all folks, ……………. until next year.

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Way back in March, even before we went into lockdown I started to doubt that we’d be welcoming guests this year. And I was worried because we already had a good number of bookings which I thought might have to cancel. When lockdown came I had to decide how far ahead to cancel bookings and luckily, made the right call. Also we have the nicest guests, so everyone was understanding about their bookings being cancelled.

Bramble enjoying the spring daffs

We could have reopened mid July but wanted to spend the time planning our approach. And of course to have family visitors. So we delayed our reopening until 1st August, when we were please to welcome some return guests.

Daffs replaced by daisies

Now the leaves are turning, mornings are much darker and we’ve closed our doors for the season.

Autumn colour

We’re now thinking ahead to 2021….

We are going to retain the two night minimum stay, I haven’t liked refusing bookings but it’s more rewarding when guests stay and explore the area. Even without some of our local attractions we’ve found visitors have found plenty to enjoy on Seil and its surrounding area.

Boats in Balvicar bay

We’re going to concentrate on booking out one room. This year it was Nancy. Next year we’re going to use Flora, though we’ll book both rooms to an extended group.

  • Flora sitting room

That will mean guests will have exclusive use of a bedroom, bathroom, sitting room, and the dining room. Like a small apartment. Except we cook your breakfast.

Other breakfast dishes available

And as it seems unlikely that this virus will disappear any time soon we’ll continue to avoid back to back bookings.

But most of all, whether like this

Or this

Maybe without the shades?

We’ll be welcoming you with a smile

Stay safe and we hope to meet you(again) next year.

Caroline, George, and not forgetting Bramble xxx

Days out from Sheiling BnB, History, Tourism

A day out

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For obvious reasons we haven’t had many days out this year. But last week we managed one. I revisited my old friend WalkHighlands looking for a route we hadn’t explored before. We’ve walked most of the Oban and North Lorn ones, well the ones that match our capabilities (the one, two and three boot ones) so I had a look at the Fort William selection where I found this one

So on a sunny morning we packed ourselves a picnic and headed off. Ballachulish is an hour or so’s drive from Sheiling. Head for Oban and then take the A828 north from Connel (over the bridge) If the tide is right you might get a great view of the Falls of Lora as you cross. The rest of the drive is scenic too, so it could take longer if you wanted to stop and admire the views.

There’s a public car park in the centre of the village next to the Co-op, public toilets, and also the Quarry Centre which sells food and snacks. (We bought ourselves some cake to go with our picnic)

The walk starts in the old slate quarry and takes you high above the village with superb views down Loch Leven

looking down to Loch Leven

The path then climbs up through trees

Bramble enjoyed all the new sniffs, and hunting for stones in the burn.

She didn’t find this one in the burn

We passed an old settlement

I searched in vain for a four leafed specimen in this clover patch.

And then headed downhill towards Brecklet.

It was probably all to the good that we didn’t spot any of these chaps*

*Actually the path turns in the opposite direction but I was feeling a bit nosey.

And then it was down into the village to enjoy our picnic lunch, and explore the old quarry areas.

It was such a lovely day that we took the long route home, passing through Glencoe, and then beautiful Glen Orchy where we had our final stop beside the river.

A perfect spot for coffee and cake