We cannot believe that 2008 has passed so quickly, absolutely amazing; again it has been our pleasure and privilege to be your hosts.  We have had yet another good year, down on last year in the B&B, but only slightly. The self-catering has continued to be very popular and we have once again exceeded last year’s occupation levels.  Thank you to all our guests, both new and ‘old’.

On 13 December, Ed entered hospital and had a full knee replacement operation.  We are pleased to say that the operation appears to have been a great success.  Whilst still in the early days everything seems to be working great.  As a result of the hospital commitment, the ‘Save Egbert Campaign’ continues.  We have deferred his visit to the abattoir, until at least Easter. 

In November, Ed celebrated a 20^th birthday for the third time.  As it was impractical for all his family to come up to Scotland at that time, we postponed the celebrations until Hogmanay for a joint Hogmanay/Birthday bash.

On New Years Eve, we had a great time with over 100 friends, neighbours and family; we tried unsuccessfully to have a big bonfire, which lit up the sky for no more than 10 minutes before it died.  We had a great firework display, which was enjoyed by all.  Needless to say hangovers well into 2009 were rife!!!  Thankfully, such events are few & far between!

November 2008
‘Ramsey’ has been formally introduced to all the girls, it was quite humorous to see the smile on his face when the adjoining gate was opened, surprisingly the girls rushed over to him offering themselves for selection. (Something to be said for being a Ram. Ed’s complaining that he never gets such perks!!!)  We are now excited to see how many lambs we are going to get in April.

We have extended both of the car-parks at Braemore Square, the South car-park is now three times larger and the additional space in the West car-park should give us space for well over 30 cars and make movement of vehicles considerably easier. 

All apartments and guests lounges have been upgraded with both DVD and Video players and we continue to build up a collection of both DVD’s and Video’s for our guests to enjoy.

We have also taken the opportunity to make improvements within the house by redecorating & renovating some of the rooms.

Summer 

The weather from April to October has been fantastic, compared to the rest of the UK we have had a summer to remember, it had rained on no more than ten days. Absolutely superb!!

In August, our barren ewe, ‘Delia’ surprised us with our second lamb of the year.  We came back from a shopping trip to Ullapool to find ‘JC’ bouncing around the field.  We look forward to him joining us for Sunday dinner at some point in 2009.

Our plan for ‘Egbert’ is for him to be taken for the table around the Hogmanay period.  However, a number of guests have started a ‘Save Egbert Campaign’ there are entries now made in all the guests books throughout the property.  We will have to see what happens!

May

The first archaeology dig on our site commenced, we have uploaded some pages that set out the events and findings of the dig on the Archaeological pages of our website.

One big surprise during the month was the arrival of ‘Egbert’ our very first lamb.  Egbert is very much the result of a teenage pregnancy when one of our guests inadvertently left the gate between Ramsey and the Ewes open and he got in.  Fortunately, Ramsey only had time to ‘misbehave’ the once.  Thankfully, we discovered the fact he was in with the ewes straight away, before too much damage was caused.

February

Due to the demand for our free-range eggs, we purchased a further 100 hens.  Sometimes we feel we could triple our egg production and still be unable to meet the demand.  Considering we produce eggs as a sideline, it has become a very demanding process; we now supply a greater number of outlets in the Ullapool area.  The eggs are very, very good.

2007 was another great year for us at Braemore Square Country House, with both B&B guests and Self Catering up on the previous year.  Our grateful thanks to everyone that came, we enjoyed being your hosts and it is gratifying that so many previous guests returned for another ‘dose’ of Braemore Square holidays.

Newsletter 2007

Prior to purchasing Braemore Square Country House, the maintenance of the land and in particular, the fencing, had been severely neglected, so we spent a few months at the start of the year working on the land and fencing.

Our plan to purchase sheep this year was dependent on replacing all the damaged fencing, which we did, creating three pastures and a sheep handling area.  We only just managed to complete the fencing prior to taking delivery of 12 North Country Cheviot first year ewe lambs.

We were also very fortunate to acquire a Ram, who we have named ‘Ramsey’ after Gordon Ramsey the chef.  We also acquired an old ‘tart’ of a ewe to keep him company; we called her ‘Nigella’ after Nigella Lawson, the celebrity chef. Unfortunately, she died of old age within a couple of months; however, we were lucky to replace her with another older ewe, which had been barren for several years. 

She would be ideal company for Ramsey. She has been named ‘Delia’ after the cook Delia Smith.  It is imperative that we keep Ramsey from the lambs until November, next year, when they will be old enough to breed, so we needed to get Ramsey some company to keep him happy.

We also had some very sad news, ‘Clarissa’ our old sow had a bad prolapse and the vet advised she be dispatched.  Reluctantly, Clarissa has left us, however, we acted quickly and replaced her with another breeding sow. We took a trip to Dorset and purchased a piglet to breed from next year, we have named her ‘Maissie’.  She is a very noisy young thing, but very sweet.

The pigs are proving to be very popular with the guests, particularly ‘Dougal’ who is turning out to be a complete character, he only needs to see people arriving and he starts to perform, sitting and opening his mouth for food.  He must be one of the most photographed animals in Scotland!   One guest painted him and has produced small ‘Dougal’ cards, which have also become collector’s items.

On the home front, the new guests lounge, guest’s kitchen facility and dining room have proved to be very popular with the guests, we have received so many compliments for providing these facilities.  We are delighted so many of our guests have taken the opportunity to use them.
 

March 2007
We have updated our website so hope you find it an improvement and easy to use and navigate. If you have any feedback, please let us know.

Another "online change" is we have made Braemore Square a WiFi Zone allowing guests to access the internet when they visit. We know many of you want to get away from everything when you stay with us but some guests have expressed an interest in accessing their emails whilst on holiday so we hope this will prove useful. We have also bought a laptop for B&B guests to use when staying with us.

The archeological dig continues and we will be updating the site with news of this as things progress, and also try to include updates of general news throughout the year so please pop back and check.
 

2006
The year 2005, proved to be our busiest year to date, both in the B&B and also The Self Catering Apartments. We are delighted with the response to the Self Catering Apartments, they have proved to be extremely popular and have seen many repeat customers. Our thanks once again to all our guests for their kind comments, but more so for choosing to stay with us.

The dogs Hamish and Archie have settled down, they still have the odd excitable moment, but are proving to be very good with the guests, they have not eaten one in the whole year!! They are still a little bit boisterous, as you would expect from 2 year old Boxers, but they appear to becoming more disciplined, as the days go by.
The pigs are well settled into life at Braemore, 'Tilly' produced a litter of 4 piglets, but 'Clarissa' failed to deliver any, which is absolutely unbelievable, considering the amount of attention 'Dougal' gave her. We were convinced that she was expecting, as she seemed to grow bigger and bigger as the summer progressed, we were obviously overfeeding her. She has been on a strict diet and has lost a wee bit of weight, but I'm pleased to say that it has not affected 'Dougal's' romantic advances. She must surely have piglets this year!!

We have a new batch of hens, we bought a further 50 in February, they have settled in well and have started to lay already, despite the very inclement weather that we have experienced since their arrival. We have had a lot of snow during March, some days up to 2 feet deep on the land. Hopefully, the new girls will prove to be prolific layers, they will have to, such is the demand for our eggs.

We have continued with the improvements at Braemore Square Country House, we have almost completed the replacement guttering, with only a few areas to finish, most of the windows have been repainted and those that haven't we are hoping to have completed by Easter, I only have 48 out of the 170 windows left to paint. Needless to say, I will be glad when that job is done!!

We intend to open up a second lounge for the guests in the B&B, we are planning a reading room, it is the lounge at the North end of the house, it will be a quiet lounge for guests that prefer to read, rather than watch TV. It also has a multi fuel stove, it will have a Chesterfield Suite, pine bookcase, coffee table and should be another cosy room for the comfort and enjoyment of our guests.

We also intend to make a separate kitchen available to our B&B guests, for those who wish to cater for themselves in the evenings, the kitchen is fully equipped, with cooker, micro-wave, fridge/freezer, crockery and cutlery. The conservatory will also provide a dining area for guest to consume the food that they have prepared. Alternatively, we will make available a small menu of ready cooked meals. A nominal fee of £2.50 will be made for use of this kitchen. Photographs of the new lounge and adjacent facilities will be placed onto the website once all the redecoration has been completed.

Once, work on the House has been completed we shall endeavour to fence off pastures of the land for the sheep and hopefully later in the year two Highland Cows, (calves, so that I can get used to handling them!!)

The Archaeological Site has become very exciting, as more interesting 'finds' keep happening. I am working with the Archaeologists to produce a web page for the website that will provide you all with the information that we have available. You will be amazed!!! I am.
Bookings for 2006 are looking promising, both in B&B and the Self Catering Apartments. We have decided to withdraw from Scottish Country Cottages, we have set our own Self Catering tariff for 2006 and we are now dealing with all our customers on a personal basis, we feel that this is a far more satisfactory method of controlling our booking procedures and hope that the service that we now offer, caters more to our customers needs.

We have also decided to join the Green Tourism Scheme run by VisitScotland, we are acutely aware of the need for us all to take as many steps as we can to preserve our planet, we are encouraging energy conservation and efficiency, use of ecological products, waste minimisation and recycling. We also fully support, encourage and advocate the use of 'Fair Trade' products, wherever possible. We are awaiting our 'green grading' . A Green Tourism Assessor will be visiting us shortly, to advise us on further steps we can take to improve our green status. We are delighted to support this excellent initiative.
Once again, we look forward to welcoming 'old' and new guests, we hope that you enjoy your stay at Braemore Square Country House, our aim is to make you feel special, so that when the time comes for you to leave, you do so, having had a unique and special break, taking with you special memories of the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. As your hosts, we want you to experience the warmth and welcome only Scotland can provide, all year round.
 

January 2005

Another year on!! Where do the days, weeks and months go? The dogs have tried to eat us out of house and home or should I say eat the house and home!! So far they have eaten, skirting boards, walls, mobile telephones, remote controls for the TV and countless wellies, shoes and slippers. Fortunately no major damage, but much inconvenience doing the repairs!!
They have grown into lovely dogs with very different characteristics, Hamish is very intense and Archie is very much the clown.
On 11 January, we survived a hurricane, we only had slight damage to the house, but lost 30 of our large trees, just ripped out of the ground as though they were twigs!! Wind speeds locally were recorded at 148 mph, it was scary to say the least.
During the storm, Dougal decided he was going to be the perfect gentleman, he broke out of his pen and joined the ladies, no doubt with the intention of being chivalrous and making sure they were safe. However, whilst there he decided to take advantage of their 'frailty' . We will no doubt be expecting piglets around the end of May!!!
If 2004 is anything to go by, it will be chaotic, last years piglets kept escaping, by just running through the electric fence at speed, getting a 'zap' but they kept running, we had a pack of six that we kept finding in the most unlikely places, including the landing outside The Ghillies Rooms and The Coach House, much to the amusement of the occupants at that time!!
The winter has been very changeable, but beautiful in it's own way, the mountains as always, have looked magnificent covered in snow, the waterfalls have been spectacular, as has the River.
The hens have been continually active and the demand locally for our eggs has outstripped supply, we are still undecided whether we should expand their numbers again this year.
We look forward to another busy year ahead, we thank all our guests from previous years, for their continued support, we look forward to meeting and welcoming many new friends to Braemore Square Country House.
 

2004 was a very busy year for us, work continued around Braemore Square Country House as The Coach House and The Ghillie's Rooms became operational. They have both proved to be very popular, especially for couples seeking an ideal base for walking, touring, or that very special romantic hideaway.
We have had several honeymoon couples and a number of enquiries to hold weddings here, unfortunately we are unable to do this at the moment.
We have discovered an interesting archaeological site on our land, it is still under assessment, but there appears to be a number of 'round houses' and a structure that may be a burial mound approximately 5000+ years old, we are still evaluating all the data, but the Archaeologist overseeing the study is very excited.
 

22 January 2004

Our search of Scotland, England and Wales has resulted in us acquiring 'Archie and Hamish' Two boxer puppies, aged 8 and 10 weeks respectively, from different breeders, Archie is a red and Hamish a brindle.

    
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They are quite a handful at the present time but are providing us with endless hours of fun. They are absolutely delightful. They have settled in well and both have an excellent temperament. They will no doubt become great favourites with the guests.
We look forward to many years of joy from these wonderful dogs.
 

January 2004

We are currently enjoying some very pleasant weather for this time of year, we hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and Hogmanay. We wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year. Our festive celebrations were somewhat curtailed by the loss of our wonderful Boxer dog. 'Henry' had been very ill for several years and sadly had a number of bad turns a week before Christmas resulting in him having to be laid to rest. Those of you who had the pleasure of meeting him, will know how sorely he is missed.
We are now on the trail of at least one boxer puppy and expect to have one in place at Braemore Square Country House before too long....Watch this space.
 

December 2003

We have sold all the piglets, they have gone to excellent homes, four went to a rare breeds farm in Hampshire and even excelled in a Nativity parade for children!! The other two went to a nearby croft and are enjoying their new surroundings.
 

10 October 2003

Clarissa produced our first litter of Kune Kune Piglets, they are gorgeous, six survived and are delighting all the guests. They all appear to be thriving and are enjoying the fuss being made of them. Clarissa is a fantastic mother and strolls around her pen looking very proud of herself. She will let anyone pick the young ones up and have a cuddle, we are not sure at the moment whether we will keep them or sell them.
 

24 August 03

Update on the performance of 'Madge' We have been less than impressed with the performance of the Midgeater machine. In the first 5 weeks it took no more than a third of a bag. We had the machine upgraded and in the next 3 weeks it performed a little bit better, but still not up to the manufacturers claims.
We understand that a further modification is planned soon. Not much use to us this year, as the midge season is drawing to a close, we are however, intending to persevere with the machine in the hope that the manufacturer gets it right and we can improve the midge situation for the comfort of our guests. This year has been the worst for midges since we have been here!!!!
The weather continues to be very kind to us, the sun is still shining and we have still had very few days when it has actually rained. The vegetable garden is in full fruit and we are enjoying the meals produced by Wendy. (Those of you who have eaten here will know what I mean!!!)
 

25 June 2003

We have just experienced our first setback with the pigs, poor Geraldine developed an umbilical hernia which unfortunately burst and she had to be despatched. Geraldine will be sadly missed by us all at Braemore Square.
The new hens have arrived and are settling in well, feathers are flying whilst the pecking order is sorted.
For the comfort and relief of our guests, we have invested in 'Madge the Midgeater' a new machine that Calor Gas have introduced to capture the midges. She has been in operation for just over a week and is having an impact. Madge has a range of 100 metres radius and has been positioned so as to effectively cover the house, self catering apartments, car park, gardens and seating areas, so hopefully in the not too distant future Braemore Square will be a Midge free Zone!!!!
 

18 June 2003

Update on the development of Dougal, Tilly and Rooney. We have discovered that Dougal is an escapologist!!! He is able to enter and leave the pigs plot by just walking straight through the electric fencing, he appears to be impervious to the voltage!!!! What a shock! (sic) he has appeared all over the estate, he has discovered a love for the hen food in the morning, turning over their feeders and chooses to come and go as he pleases.
Rooney has grown well and despite being both deaf and blind has managed to hold his own against the others, particularly at feeding times. Very much a character, many of the guests have started a 'Save Rooney Campaign'
Tilly is a dream, a sweet little lass who will run to greet you each time she sees you, her tail wags all the time and she will talk the hind leg off a donkey!!!! (Ed's favourite)
 

8 March 2003

Our development of the small holding side of Braemore Square Country House has now increased with the purchase of a breeding Kune Kune boar. 'Dougal' was only 10 weeks old, it was some 10 months before he started to breed with Geraldine and Clarissa. In order that he will not be lonely, whilst maturing, he has two other 10 week old piglets for company, 'Tilly' & 'Rooney' (The runt of the litter for whom Wendy felt sorry for!!! So he elected to join us at Braemore Square)
We are acquiring a further 100 Black Rock hens in June, we currently supply a number of local businesses in Ullapool with fresh eggs. Due to a near neighbour emigrating, we have taken over her customers and are increasing our egg production to meet the demand. Guests at Braemore Square will be guaranteed the freshest eggs they can imagine.
We have plans to dig out a Lochan on the land, large enough to stock with Rainbow trout, you will be able to catch your fresh trout to eat with your fresh eggs and Wendy's beautiful fresh baked bread!! What could be better??