Wow! Months since we have blogged, but winter isn't exactly the busiest time for the cottages. Usually we fill up at New Year, but this year we went up north for a break ourselves - and fortunately missed the worst gale of the three that hit Carradale this winter, so came back to no electricity for 3 days. Just as well we had no visitors! There's aye something - last year it was frozen water. Lots of trees down round and about, and the poor old hotel has suffered some roof damage, but could have been worse.

Anyway we're now raring to go for the coming season and already bookings are coming in; mostly , it has to be said, from our old faithfuls who are eager to get their favourite slots, but a few new people as well. Already we have loads of snowdrops out in Colin's garden, and it will be no time before we have the odd daffodil if the mild weather continues, so at last we can think of Spring just around the corner.

If youve been watching Brian Cox and Dara O'Brain stargazing this week you may have realised that Carradale is a superb spot for looking at the night skies. Virtually no light pollution, and here at the Mains you can stare out over a flat horizon and see all sorts of goodies to the south and east. We are beginning to master our telescope at last and hope we get some clear skies for a change in the next month or two.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Well, at last a spell of nice weather and we're having odd people coming at the last minute for a 3 nighter which is lovely.

Here we see Mike doing a bit of tree cutting - all looks a bit precarious but it's all part and parcel of our house extension next door to the cottages - no he's not going to use the wood for the stairs, it's just that the tree blocked the view from the new balcony.

At long last Tom Plumb has found a slot to finish our connection to the mains water, so for those of you familiar with our rather peaty brew , it will soon be glorious Scottish Water . Don't think it will taste better but it will certainly make make the bath water look better - and you can always pop across the road to our trusty burn for the real thing. AND it means no winter cancellations when the water freezes.

I was going to show you a lovely picture of the sunrise over the bay, but unfortunately the sun seems to have stopped rising! 60 days with rain every day now and we're fed up with it - but we must be in for a lovely dry November, just the time to have a sneaky week-end away.

The photo is of Dougie's barley field LAST YEAR when we were worried whether he'd get it in on time. He did. However this year the same field has had to be turned into silage because he didn't manage to get it in on time. The awful problems of being a farmer when the weather turns against you.

Still the village has moved into winter mode - Golf Club Dinner next week, SEVEN people at badminton (that's a lot) and a swinging evening of singing and brass bands at the Women's Guild. Can you resist coming to see us?

A wonderful day out when you are in Carradale is to go over to Bute. Ferry from Tarbert to the amazing marina at Portavadie where you can have excellent coffee and scones, watch the rich arriving to their yachts in helicopters, and shop in the pleasantly inexpensive shop. Then on round to Colintrive with terrific views of the Kyles of Bute, a wee ferry across, and you are in Bute. Rothesay is a wonderful Victorian holiday place - now struggling a bit but still with some beautiful houses , and the Victorian loos are a tourist attraction.

Next stop is the Victorian fernery at Ascog - buried into the bank with a wonderful glass roof, it is full of dripping water and exquisite ferns. And the gardens there are worth a browse.

Then the piece de resistance - Mount Stuart. Home to the Marquess of Bute it was rebuilt after a fire in the late 18 hundreds in the most unusual and eclectic manner. Stella McCartney got married in the white marble chapel. Lovely grounds as well.

So there you are - another holiday treat.

We have always been on our own water supply here and on the whole we like it - tastes like proper water, and it's free. But the disadvantages are that it's a bit erratic, it can freeze in winter, and it gets very brown when it's been raining. As we have holiday cottages it gets regularly checked, and E.U. regulations don't like it being brown! So - time to change. What a hassle. Here you see the pipe being laid up to the workshop door, but lots to do before it can be finally connected . Silly things like raising the level of a tap in case all our sink water goes whoosing into the system and kills everyone in Carradale etc etc. As if......

Well, the good news is that after years of careful negotiation, we are going on to the mains water supply. So those of you who have, over the years, put up with dark brown baths , pleas to save water (yes we did once have a hot summer) and peculiar tea , can breath a sigh of relief. Personally we really like our nice pure hill water, but the E.U. doesn't like the colour.

Mains pipe runs along the bottom of the garden, but nothing is easy these days and we can't just ask Scottish Water to connect us. We have to chose a provider, and he negotiates with Glasgow, who negotiate with Lochgilphead, who put it on the back of their desk and forget about it. Until one day they panicked and calculated that if you all did the washing at the same time the village would run dry! A £1700 pressure test was proposed which we refused to contemplate, so they saw how silly they were and at last sent the co-ordinates of where we were to join the pipe. It turned out to be in the middle of the burn. So Mr Gull and Adam are just digging away where they see fit, and in due course (probably another 6 months) it will all be up and running.

So I can promise you a warm winter as one reason for this was that the water kept freezing up last Christmas .

Well at last the geraniums have come out! what an awful summer - we keep waiting for it to happen and now it's nearly September. I judge a Carradale summer by the number of times I swim - record is 18. this year it's 1 (lowest ever) and I nearly died of hypothermia. The poor old flowering barrels have had an awful time, struggling away, but now at last they are looking very pretty. Met some friends from the south last week and they were appalled that my tomatoes are still green!

Still plenty of people coming to the cottages - September used to be a quiet month but not so now. Perhaps you're all trying to save a wee bit of money, I know we are. But at the moment Colin's is free towards the end of the month. September, if the weather is reasonable, is one of the lovliest months here with the rowans and heather and lovely lights.

Don't forget how flexible we are - any days booking as long as it's not less than 3, and 25% off last minute bookings.