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| www.ardtornish.co.uk | June
2008 |
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| May this year... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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...was
one of the driest on record with only 35mms of rain (60mms in 2001
was the next driest month this decade). May is historically our
driest month and usually not bad for midges. April can also be a
good weather month (and definitely no midges). A spring visit in
2009 could be just the way to shake off the winter and get going
for the rest of the year. |
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| Birdlife at Ardtornish... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ...has
been particularly good this spring. Among woodland birds, great
spotted woodpeckers are commoner than ever (including one nesting
in the Achranich garden, pictured), a nuthatch was seen for the
first time here in living memory, and siskins seem abundant - though
warbler numbers are disappointing. On the loch we regularly have
five species of duck - eider and mallard, small numbers of teal,
and the sawbills - merganser and goosander - gobbling smolts from
the river. Goldeneye come now and then. Waders - both at sea and
on the tops - include sandpiper, curlew, oyster-catcher, redshank,
greenshank and golden plover, though ringed plover haven't been
seen this year. Both species of eagles have nested, and divers are
heard honking overhead on their way to the daily feed on the Sound
of Mull. The raven population explosion prompted stories of them
eating sheep alive on Mull – fortunately not experienced here. |
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| We
are going to put a wildlife page on the Ardtornish website, to update
local sightings regularly. Do please let us know of any interesting
sightings during your stay with us. |
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| Bluebells have been the most beautiful sight in Ardtornish Garden... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
...in
May & June. Many people believe they have never looked so good
both inside and outside the garden. Down at Old Ardtornish there
was a spectacular show on the slope facing the bay, where the long-term
bracken cover has recently been removed. |
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The
weather has been kind to visitors wanting to enjoy the garden. With
less than one and a half inches of rain in May it has been one of
the driest Mays on record, but the heavy rainfall earlier in the
year has meant that there is enough moisture in the soil to support
spring growth. There has also been little frost this spring, a few
frosty nights in April and none in May. In other years the flowers
of rhododendrons have often been shrivelled even in the last week
of May. Rhododendron x inopinum, augustinii and
yunnanense held their blossom well. R. insigne
burst into deep pink flower in early June to carry on the succession
as the many plantings of azalea began to fade. |
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The
flowering of narcissus succeeded the snowdrops because the season
has been extended by planting early and late varieties. Yellow Narcissus
'February Gold' is up the Front Drive and white flowered 'Thalia'
and poeticus cover the bank below R.'Ascot Brilliant',
the white making a dramatic contrast to the flowers of the rhododendron,
which cover the grass of the Keeper's Path with a scarlet carpet
as they fall. Sheets of bulbs were planted by Caroline Harbison
during the autumns of 2005 and 2006. |
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The
Mediterranean Cliff Garden beside the steps below the main lawn
has been surprisingly colourful, considering that this bank was
only cleared in 2005 and planted in 2006. Lithodora diffusum
'Heavenly Blue' spreads over the concrete beside allium and
dicentra, with a bank of Cistus x hybridus and Cistus
x aguilarii 'Maculatus' trying to give the atmosphere of a
south-western European hillside. |
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Details
and photographs of what is flowering in the Ardtornish Garden can
be seen at This
Month
on the website’s Garden pages. |
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| Continued improvements to our holiday properties... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
...are
planned for this year and into next. Other than the continual improvements
to the fabric of the properties, we intend installing ‘FreeSat’
televisions to all of the houses for 2009. If you don’t want
television, just let us know before your arrival and we will take
it out. All holiday properties should also have washing machines/dryers
for the start of next year. If there is anything that you would
particularly like included in our inventory, please let us know
and we will give it consideration. Email your suggestions to stay@ardtornish.co.uk
and while you are at it, why not send us a friends e.mail address
who may appreciate this and future Ardtornish Newsletters. |
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| A wonderful new woodland in memory of Andrew Raven... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ...has
been created over the past winter on the hill between Miodar Bay
and Old Ardtornish. 50,000 native broadleaf trees with a small number
of Larch, Caledonian Pine and Douglas Fir have been planted over
an area of 30 ha. The new woodland is a particularly important part
of our plan to improve biodiversity on the estate. It provides a
woodland and wildlife corridor link between the ashwood on the eastern
slopes of Loch Aline and the Inninmore and Eignaig coastal woodlands,
all of which are designated as part of the larger Morvern Woodlands
Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The idea of this woodland was
a particular favourite of the late Andrew Raven, but funding restrictions
delayed the project until after his untimely death in 2005. |
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Creation
of this new woodland allowed us the opportunity to develop a new
walk which links to the existing network of walks in the area (marked
on the plan). The walk starts at Miodar Bay and follows the line
of an ancient track up the hill. This first part of the track is
not yet complete and may be a little tricky for a while. The walk
continues up the southern edge of No.5 field (Achadh na Cradibh-sgitheich
or the field of the hawthorn thicket). At the top corner of this
field the walk joins the track from Achranich, south to Old Ardtornish.
By turning left onto this track you can walk over the hill back
to Achranich, via Tennyson’s waterfall. More normally you
would turn right and head south for Old Ardtornish. |
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Shortly
after turning right, Jennie Robertson, who was carrying out an Archeological
Survey of the area, found what is believed to be a previously unrecorded
Bronze Age burial cairn with a cist. Walkers might like to try to
locate this cairn about 20 m. below the track. The views over the
Sound of Mull from this site are spectacular and it is clear that
our forebears had a strong sense of landscape when it came to selecting
their burial site. The track leads on to Old Ardtornish, and from
there you can join existing and familiar walks to Old Ardtornish
Castle or Inninmore Cottage (through the woods or over the hill)
or return to Miodar Bay and Achranich by the main coastal road (past
Ferry House and Cottage). |
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| Fishing on the named pools... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
...on
the Aline is much improved this season. Simon has been busy cutting
back the banks which has really opened up the best lies and made
casting a lot easier. Next year he will be able to ‘fine tune’
this work and do much more in the way of repairs to bridges, walkways,
etc. For the boating enthusiasts, Chris is in the process of making
seats for the boats on Arienas. This should make life a lot easier
for sufferers of ‘twisted back’ syndrome! |
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Conditions
were ideal for last year’s first stocking. This year around
70,000 fry were put out, double last year’s stock. Once again
the fish were concentrated above the main stem between Acharn and
Be-ach. On the spawning front, we’ve at long last managed
to move the big rock in the Allt Beithe at Arienas. This has effectively
added 25% capacity to the spawning ground available to the loch’s
inhabitants. |
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| And finally for those who fancy a last minute trip to Ardtornish... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ...for
access to the Prices and Availability Page please email
us for details and we will send you a link to up to date availability
for the rest of the year. Then just email
or phone me to confirm your booking – easy as that. |
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An
interesting article on a fabulous cycle by one of our regular visitors
can be found by clicking
here
I think that’s one for a bit later in the year, when the roads
really are quiet. |
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Thank
you to everyone who has visited Ardtornish
so far this year and I look forward to welcoming all of you yet
to arrive. |
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| The Ardtornish Team |
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