Briar Cottages are 2 x two bedroom holiday cottages sleeping 4 offering luxury and pet friendly self catering vacations in the village of Lochearnhead, Perthshire. Both cottages face south with stunning views over Loch Earn from 3 acre gardens that include our B listed thatched cottage. An ideal location for golf,fishing,walking,cycling,water-sports,history and folklore, clan geneology,wildlife,flowers,birds, mountains,lochs and friendly hospitality. Please also visit www.stayatbriar.co.uk.
Stunning views south over Loch Earn from Briar Steading open lounge
Late availability. Briar Steading is available this Saturday 21st May for 3 nights only. This is the perfect opportunity to try the new build luxury cottage for just £300 instead of the list price of £560. That's only £25 per person per night if 2 couples or a family of 4 share. Both bedrooms offer en suite bathrooms separated by a 26ft open living area. Check in 4pm on the 21st May and check out 11am on the 24th. Sorry no pets. Only 60 miles from Edinburgh and Glasgow. 30 miles on M9 to Junction 10 and then the A84 All the way to Lochearnhead.
Integrated kitchen and dining area
Wall for sitting aound the fire pit looking to patio furniture
Self catering cottage guests can fish from the garden, launch a small boat and pick up a mooring. There are 2 hotels and 2 water sports centres within 200m. See Briar Cottages on Trip Advisor for latest reveiws. Phone Kim: 01567 830 443 now to book or with any other queries.
Playing proud parents of the Earl and Countess of Strathearn
Did you hear about the Royal Wedding Breakfast at Briar Cottages Self Catering in Lochearnhead?
Well it seemed only fitting to celebrate the wedding on the banks of Loch Earn given that William and Kate are the Earl of Strathearn and the Countess of Strathearn. Guests mingled in the garden on Loch Earn and everyone stood to attention when The Queen and Prince arrived. No...not the real ones it was local handy man Andy dressed in Balmoral hunting fishing shooting gear as "Her Madge" and my other half Fraser as Prince Fillup Your Champagne Glass. Have a look at the video by clicking here.
Springwatch has been more like summer watch here with the highest temperatures on record for April. The ospreys are fishing daily; the daffodils are almost gone except for the double headed ones that look like roses. A pair of swallows is flying in and out of our garage to feed young ones and one of the regular mallards has had ducklings. The ducks often bring their babies to us to feed and they grab at any little insects in the grass.
Fishing is inclusive when you book a holiday cottage at Briar Cottages in Lochearnhead. You don't need a permit to fish from our loch garden when you stay here. The season for trout fishing in Scotland starts again on March 15th 2011. The loch will come alive with people, vehicles, wild life, birds and sea planes. First the keen fishing folk will wild camp or stay in a caravan on the south side or book up cottages, lodges and B&B's on the North side. Some will bring their own gear and others will hire tackle from the Lochearnhead Post Office, the Store in St Fillans or from Drummond Estates boat hire and fishery a couple of miles along the road. You can hire gear and a fishing boat there.
Guests can fish from our jetty, slipway and along the 250ft length of our loch garden without a permit. The local shops keep maggots and floats. If you want to fish out on the loch in a boat you will need to buy a permit from the village shop or post office. Guests can bring their own small boat, launch it and use the moorings whether staying in Little Briar Cottage or our new luxury cottage Briar Steading. There is plenty of room here for a small boat trailer and a couple of cars to be parked. Gradually the loch will have a variety of would-be fish catchers including men, women and children as well as otters, herons and returning pairs of Osprey.
According to Drummond Estates you don't need fancy flies to catch trout around here.
Maggots and a float with a rod positioned around the edge of the loch seems to work well. Fishermen are often accused of exaggerating but it is well documented that 5-20lb trout have been caught in Loch Earn and I have seen brown and rainbow trout, salmon, arctic char and an eel being hooked and landed in my garden.
If you are keen on fishing get booked up now and look out for accommodation with fishing facilities. If you have never tried fishing and would like to have a go just ask to borrow Fraser's rod and try it. The season ends October 6th 2011 so there is plenty of time to book up. Happy fishing.
Late Availability offer in Briar Steading, Lochearnhead for a 7 night or short break holiday. Exceptional space in the open plan lounge. Book this luxury 2 bedroom cottage with 2 ensuite bathrooms a woodbunring stove and views to die for. Available this weekend. Ideal for a family of 4 or 2 couples sharing. Relax, read, watch Sky Tv, play board games, go for a walk, use the hot tub in the gardens, sit in the summer house in the loch garden and read a book or the newspapers. Sound like your idea of a getaway break? Available this weekend from Friday 4th February. Book 7 nights at £400 Friday to Friday or Saturday to Saturday, or pick any consecutive 3-4 nights at £280 or 2 nights at £180. This special last minute offer is for dates between 4th February and 12th February 2011.
Use the fully fitted kitchen to dine at your leisure or visit the hotels and restaurants in the area. The Clachan Cottage Hotel is 150m from the garden gates.
£100 off our stunning new build luxury cottage overlooking Loch Earn when you book holiday week 29th-5th January 2011 or 5th-12th February 2011. See our cottage prices 2011. Briar Steading is in the village of Lochearnhead in central Scotland where Perthshire and Stirlingshire meet at the foot of the Highlands. This late availability offer can not be taken in conjunction with any other offers advertised on the website.
Briar Steading is very spacious with 110sq.m of floor space and an open plan lounge measuring 26ft from the patio windows to the kitchen. The cottage offers 2 bedrooms both with en suite bathrooms/showers, a wood burning stove, Ipod docking station, Sky TV in the lounge and TV's in both bedrooms. The bedrooms are separated by the lounge for evening privacy which is ideal for a family of 4 or for 2 couples sharing. Each bedroom has a door on to the patio facing south over Loch Earn. The fully fitted kitchen includes a dishwasher, washer dryer and 70/30 fridge freezer. The cottage is in three acre private grounds including a garden on Loch Earn with a jetty, slipway, summerhouse and picnic tables. Guests may request to use the indoor hot tub on the grounds. We ( Kim and Fraser Proven) live in a b listed thatched cottage in the gardens and will be here to welcome you in person and show you around. Call us now to book 01567 830 443 or 07876 122 505 or email briarinfo@btinternet.com with any other queries. Briar Steading is a pet free cottage however our website also leads to pet friendly cottage Little Briar.
With Valentines Day looming I got to thinking about one of my favourite songs. My Funny Valentine has been performed by many a star; Frank Sinatra, Elvis Costello, Judy Garland, Miles Davis and Chet Baker spring to mind. I have performed it myself on many an occasion in my song performing days with easy listening band Diminished Fifth. Valentines Day is the nations official celebration of romance however I have to share that my funny valentine husband Fraser is romantic most of the year. Its the way he makes me laugh and those little things when you least expect it that do it for me. For example, any time that we are away from each other overnight I find lovely wee messages in my suitcase if I am away and under my pillow if he is away. I am not giving away all of our secrets but it is fair to say that we are romantic 364 days of the year. Yes, we have a day off on Valentines Day. Both cottages in Perthshire are available for anyone who wants to treat a loved one around February 14th. Cuddle up in front of the woodburning stove in our luxury new build cottage Briar Steading, with a bottle of Champagne and chocolates that we will provide for your arrival. There is an Ipod docking station so you can bring your own idea of mood music with you. Or choose Little Briar cottage and accept a complimentary bottle of Prosecco. Both cottages face south over Loch Earn and there is nothing like the view on a moonlit or starry night. Remember we will be on our romantic day off so my funny valentine and yours truly will be more than happy to prepare the hot tub for your romantic break. 01567 830 443 to book or enquire.
Happy New year from Kim and Fraser in bonnie Lochearnhead, Scotland. A big thank you to everyone who stayed in Little Briar cottage in 2010 and to our first guests in our luxury holiday cottage, Briar Steading over the festive period. The Hogmanay village party was a sell out. A good laugh and a few wee drams were had by all. We are delighted that our guests have secured a booking for this years event. Both couples can testify that we really do have a barbecue on 1st January outside in the loch garden. We had fireworks this year too. Anyone who enjoyed BBC Two Stargazing live will appreciate the location we are in. There are no street lights polluting the natural light in our section of the road. It means that you see everything on a clear night and can enjoy the moon rising and setting. You need the cottage torch on dark nights as it is pitch black without the moon, though temporary search lights do come on around the cottages. Fireworks are a spectacular contrast to the night skies over Loch Earn. A friend bought multiple fireworks from Lidl this year. You only light them once and they pop off about 30 fireworks. I have to say that they were first class, excellent value and we would use them again. For those of you who are aware that we have a 17th century thatched cottage on the grounds; I promise we were careful! Briar Steading is booked however Little Briar cottage is there for the booking if you like a weeks holiday for 2-4 with a party atmosphere around New Year. Any dogs would have to stay indoors for the fireworks bit of course.
Winter has been glorious here. Lochearnhead is stunning when the snow falls. Fraser and I could not resist trying out the sledge from the top of the garden. I would encourage any age group to have a go. We have had regular visits from a herd of deer and a stag this winter. They come down in search of food and water when it gets colder. I am a great fan of BBC Springwatch and Autumnwatch however they sometimes go off on a mission hoping for a glimpse of something. Our first guests sat looking out of the full length windows of Briar Steading and the deer came down most nights almost performing in front of them. I wish I had a better camera, photogaphy skills and a webcam here. Summer watch and winter watch are just as entertaining at Briar Cottages. We can get close to the malard ducklings in spring. They literally eat out of your hand as does the robin in winter. The robin gets very close to Fraser, usually because he is digging up insects and worms as he weeds. It did fly into our bedroom in the spring which is maybe a bit too familiar. A brave attempt but it failed to mark its territoy in our boudoir as we politely showed it the door... or was it the window. An otter has been digging a shelter under our jetty stairs and ospreys catch fish in front of us on the loch all summer. Eagles, owls, red kites, cranes, red squirrels and other creatures can be spotted all year round. This is a great venue for wildlife and bird watching throughout the picturesque seasons. Now that Briar Steading is up and running we can concentrate on landscaping around it. We have plans to put in some trees shrubs and flowers however we better double check that they are not in a deers top 10 favourite things to eat or it will be an annual event.
If you are interested in booking either or both cottages please check our website and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions briarinfo@btinternet.com, Tel Kim or Fraser: 44 (0)1567 830 443, Mob: 07876 122 505, http://www.stayatbriar.co.uk/
