What good doggies! Miss Lulla is staying with us this weekend. Despite looking like a giant sized Eachann she is not a Flat Coated Retriever but a Hovowart, a German breed  normally used as a guard dog. Eachann and Lulla get on really well together and play from morning until bed time without rest!!! Lulla … More Eachann’s girlfriend comes to stay!

Many of our visitors to Ghillie’s Bothy have enjoyed the novelty of sleeping in the enclosed bed. In  Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language Volume 1 by John Jamieson published in 1825 the box bed is described thus: “BOX-BED, s, A bed, in which the want of a roof, curtains &c. is entirely supplied by wood. … More The Traditional Scottish Box Bed

Here are some pictures |I took recently of Shinnel Water as it flows past the bottom of our garden. Looking west Looking east Shinnel Water rises at 460m in the Scaur hills in the parish of Tynron and flows 13 miles to join Scaur Water near Penpont at  70m. It is known for trout fishing. About 300 metres further along from our garden it … More Along the river bank

Since we launched the Ghillie’s Bothy website at the end of May 2015 we have had 1,178 views. Most of the page views are from the UK with US coming second. We have also had views from Italy, France, Australia, Ireland and Japan. The most popular day to visit the site is Friday (21% of … More Some Statistics!

The 7th Bluegrass Festival is on Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September More information can be found on the Festival site: http://www.moniaivebluegrass.co.uk/about-the-festival

 Well, just!  (above the gate) They got the forecast wrong again today! Blue skies and white clouds rather than the dull over cast day predicted. On our walk this morning we spotted a red squirrel which was too quick for me to photograph and three wood mice (I think) all of which had died! It … More You can see my house from up here!

An old bucht (sheepfold) in the Shinnel Glen The Dictionary of Scottish Language describes the Boucht, Bought, Bucht or Bught as “A sheep fold; more strictly a small penn, usually put up in the corner of the fold in which it was customary to drive the ewes when they were to be milked”. (Jamieson 1908)

When Steve dropped Eachann and me at Appin Forest at the end of the Shinnel Glen this morning the weather was looking decidedly dicey! However, despite the darkish clouds it was very warm and still and brightened as we walked home. We stopped to watch the Shinnel rushing over the rocks at the ford… Have … More Morning walk down the Shinnel Glen

…Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum with Philip Baxter and Sarah Richardson. http://www.dumfriesaviationmuseum.com

Eachann and I had a lovely walk this morning in the September sunshine.  View of Tynron Doon from the Clone Road Eachann had a very interesting time… …Counting sheep… …foraging for raspberries… …and rolling in the damp grass…