NEWS FROM KENTALLEN FEBRUARY 2010
Swimming or cycling to Skye
A belated Happy New Year to you from Kentallen. Looking out onto the water across to Ardgour, the snow is still quite low on the hills but the start of February always brings a bit of expectation that winter will soon be at an end.
Hotel news first and we are delighted to say that we have refurbished our swimming pool. The existing liner had shown signs of fading and degradation and after some detailed discussions (and negotiations!) with our pool suppliers it was agreed that the liner was partly defective and they agreed to assist in changing it. This has now been completed and the pool looks brand new. We took the opportunity of painting the very expensive larch wood surrounding the pool and also re-laid some of the tiling as well as a few other areas of the pool. Complete with some new floats and toys the whole Swimming Pool area just looks fantastic. Better than brand new!
In the restaurant we have repainted everywhere so everything looks nice and fresh. We do hope you like the colours! We have also had the red chairs recovered and they look great. We have added a few finishing touches with some pictures and décor and over the winter period have had the real fire on. Tucking into a perfectly cooked fillet steak and enjoying a glass of wine the ambience is unbeatable.
We have repainted all of the original bedrooms including the furniture and also the new ground floor bedrooms and Edward and Robert are busy working their way around the new bedrooms freshening them up.
We have also bought some more bar tables and chairs to cope with the demand for bar meals and have sourced some excellent picture postcards, mostly of the West Highlands of Scotland to sell. We have also ordered some Postcards of the Hotel both as it is today and previously as a station. There is a particularly nice one when the steamer came to Kentallen Pier.
We have also been busy in the waterfront lodges over the last few months. Now every lodge has it’s own washer dryer, which means no more trips needed to the laundry room. We have also changed all the heating so the lodges are even more cosy all year round. We found the heaters with timers just too old fashioned. More car parking area was also high on the list of recommendations from you and we have made some more room for parking cars.
The lodges are filling up quickly for the summer period so please contact us with your booking requirements.
Local news next and the West Highlands had some snow but not as bad as the central belt and East coast. It did shut the local primary school for a couple of days although not the secondary in Kinlochleven, which caused a bit of lively debate in our house between our eldest, who goes there, and the rest who are still at primary! The worries of youth….
The ski resorts at Fort William and Glencoe have had a good start to the year. Both are good visits even if you don’t Ski or Snow Board. They both have lifts that take you to the top of the hill without too much effort and once there you can enjoy some of the most spectacular views of Scotland.
A friend of ours from Lismore is trying to persuade big Paul to cycle from Lismore to his sister’s house on Skye. When he first suggested this it sounded mad but looking on the map we were intrigued and so drove the route. Over the Corran ferry to Ardgour on to Glenfinnan past the wonderful viaduct made famous in the Harry Potter movies and the picturesque Glenfinnan Monument and then on to Mallaig. From Mallaig a half hour Cal Mac ferry takes you to Armadale in Skye. A days hard cycling in April if it comes off but if you fancy a day trip and are well organised it makes a fascinating day out with Islands, landmarks, ferries and of course some of the best scenery in the world.
There is an interesting poem written in stone on the shoreline just along the cycle path at Kentallen. It’s quite well done and a bit different. More info can be seen at this site http://differentiadesign.blogspot.com Its worth going to see when you visit.
We hope to cultivate the Hotel gardens a bit more this year and hopefully start a small herb garden. Edward and Robert have promised Jim our head chef some herbs by June so have a look when you visit. Don’t be afraid to remove a weed or two if you see any!
It was on the news today that Scotland has had its coldest winter since 1914. Time to come out of hibernation and enjoy a well earned break at Kentallen.
Haste ye back!
Yours sincerely,
Paul and Annette McFatridge and Family |
