Enchanted Forest special offer

This Year the Enchanted Forest is Actually in the Town. Within the Explorers garden beside the theatre. Easy walking from town. Tickets to the forest are available from theatre website.

****(Oct 22nd for 2 nights Dinner bed and Breakfast£65 per person per night 2 nights only)***
other dates the regular Tariff applies

Please feel free to Phone for details

Scottish Orchid Society@dundarach

This weekend sees the beginning of Perthshire Amber with Dougie McLean taking his show on the road round different venues in the county, including the the Cranogg on Loch Tay. Guest appearances from Eddi Reader, Beoga, and Malinky to mention some of them, ticket sales are good.

The Enchnted Forest speeds dizzily along, Haloween theme now, the town street continues to bustle with extraordinary activity. Dundarach was voted the most "scary castle" in town for Haloween this year. The fancy dress was a big event this time round, all entrants received a bag of sweeties. The firewaork on atholl Road, memorable.

Orchid growers decended on Dundarach, en mass for their annual general meeting, complete with their entries to the competition for the most interesting or extravagant blooms. It is a 3 day event, now in its 1th year at Dundarach.

The captain of the last wooden whale boat in Scotland called in to hire a van, enabling the transport of a 7 foot scale model of the whaler itself to Christian Salvesen Ltd.

its the enchanted forest

Well, it's come around once more. The Autumn Festival in Pitlochry. The street is full of people, there are buskers up and down Atholl Road and the transports are busy ferrying the happy people to the woods round Loch Dunmore for this years "Enchanted forest" Big bucks have been spent this year, providing a more complete evening of entertainment. One good thing about it is it gives the visitors a walk in the woods as opposed to a sedentary experience. Interestingly, a Kelpie has moved into the cellar here. We hope he moves on in 2 weeks when its all over. Brrr! Im shivering just thinking about it. Guest appearance from Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster and some beings from Outer Space, complete with Glasgow accents. All in all a great diversion for participants and spectators alike.

Birds of Prey

This week, full 7 days, sees an international conference of people from the RRF or Raptor Research Foundation. The main event is in the Atholl Palace hotel with Dundarach hosting people from Portugal, Spain, USA, (Mississippi, Idaho, Ohio, Passadena, Connecticut,CalifornisSweden, British RSPB, Denmark, Italy, Wales, Norway, Australia, Israel + a few more!.

summer scorcher offer

The summer scorcher offer was fully subscribed and this evening, the "scorcher II's" are finishing their dinners as I write, dark at 8.45 tonight. We have had 3 days of sunshine and it has been lovely. Autumn is not quite here, only a few leaves turning yellow. Tonights dinner menu featured , to quote 3 examples from the 16 choices, a starter, 3 layered vegetable terrine with a balsamic reduction, a main course, Leg of Perthshire lamb, cooked on sprigs of rosemary and served with mint sauce, dessert, gooseberry sponge pudding, flavoured with pudding spices and served with ice cream and cream.

The squirrels are busy cuting hazel nuts and ferrying them across the lawn, to bury them beneath the copper beech tree. The hotel cat spends much time stalking and chasing but she is no match for a couple wiley red squirrels.

While up Craigower Hill this week we were able to see the common lizards there

basking in the hot sunshine obviously, they are prospering, thanks to the hibernation mound provided for them to help their overwintering.

end of august

Pitlochry Station from the footbridge

The Dundarach has been its usual bustling self. There are more and more Japanese visiting, as the film has been re released of the Soseki Natsume visit to Dundarach 100 years ago. The one where Mr Derek Smail plays the part of Mr Dixon, the kilted proprietor of Dundarach in the 1900's. Mr Soseki arrives by train and comes along to Dundarach. We re-enact the visit and the famous poem called "old days". An observation that captures the spirit of the times. All in Japanese, of course.

The gardens here look good, the hebaceous plants are likeing the moisture and the rowan trees are now covered in red berries, the blackbirds are enjoying the feast.

The Lower Gate Lodge, the one we built a couple of years ago is now weathered down to a mellow look, all the customers say they like it.

Nights are drawing in, dark at 9.30 pm now.

gto's and tractors

tractor rally in the field here, this afternoon, sunday 17th July 2009

a nice sunny day.

Nobody came to dinner until the open championship golf finished, stewart Cink is the champion.

Top picture, mitsubishi sports cars on a day in Pitlochry.