Whisky Month at Briar Cottages with a Bottle of The Famous....You Know Who - on World Whisky Day

I have re-launched our luxury and pet friendly cottages website with a new look and photos's. What do you think? www.stayatbriar.co.uk Do let us know.  

May means it is Whisky Month and we are celebrating by offering 2 special bottles of Famous Grouse Whisky. One for anyone booking 7 nights from 16th May 2015  - Also World Whisky Day - and the other during week 30th May 2015. 

See my new Lochearnhead holiday cottage blog here for more details. 

When you book either of these weeks you will be asked for one or two names to appear on the label.  Look at Fraser's bottle on the left.  What will yours say? The Famous Bob, The Famous Granny Jean, The Famous Clan McLaren?  Tel Kim 07917 416 497 or 01567 830 443 www.stayatbriar.co.uk

See The Scots Magazine map of distilleries plus food and drink events.

Glengoyne will be present at the MHOR food and drink festival May 23 and May 24 in Balquidder Glen. There will be so many things to do, eat and drink and this years raft race has a Whisky Galore Theme.  

Enjoy the rest of Whisky Month and slàinte mhath (good health)

16th May 2015

Briar Cottages, Lochearhead, FK19 8PU  www.stayatbriar.co.uk 01567 830 443 

Happy New Year from Briar Cottages Scotland - for stargazers, wildlife watchers, romantics and those who like a wee dram at Hogmanay followed by a BBQ on the 1st January!

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/   

Luxury Self Catering cottage Scotland built in 40 days

Our new build luxury holiday cottage in Lochearnhead (Briar Steading) has taken 40 days to build and furnish from the time that the timber kit arrived until now. Fraser and I are delighted with the quality and it has been a pleasure to watch the joiners, plumbers, electricians, diggers, brick layers, stone mason, tilers, painters, roofers, stove installers, finishers et al perform their individual crafts. Of course anyone who has met my husband Fraser will not be surprised to hear that he put in a full shift alongside them all whether making decisions, helping to clear up or cutting the grass round about...and he built a fence between the new cottage and our neighbours ground which the neighbour and I are more than impressed with. He enjoyed the team work and the banter and I think that they were impressed at his energy and stamina.   All in all it has been a delightful experience and a lot of fun. The holiday cottage is furnished with some finishing touches still to do (putting up blinds and connecting the TV's to a satellite dish). The ground has been levelled and prepared. We just need to add a path to the door and steps from the full length patio lounge and bedroom doors and we will be ready to submit for building control approval. We have been advised to let the main patio area settle before adding the paving stones so that could be a job for Spring.

The back of the cottage is set into the hill with a wall of natural rock. There is a little water fall from one area which we have kept as a feature. Fraser says that he is going to start a Lochearnhead Spring water business from it and I say that I am going into competition with Lourdes, with instant healing for those that touch it.

One of our guests in Little Briar cottage, a builder,  was most impressed with the quality of the new build and the incredible vantage point from the lounge looking through full length windows and doors over Loch Earn. In fact we are very grateful to Little Briar guests who have put up with diggers and trucks on the grounds and for everyone’s vote of confidence and well wishes for the new building.

We have already given first refusal to existing customers who have requested some of the summer weeks next year however I hope to advertise the full details very soon and am working on a test website now. 

                                               

                                                Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest.