Scotland’s five World Heritage Sites - Loch Lomond and Trossachs Cottages

Join in the fun at The Antonine Wall on 18 April to mark
World Heritage Day 2012!

On World
Heritage Day, Historic Scotland’s ‘Shadows of Our Ancestors’ project will be
celebrating Scotland’s five World Heritage Sites – The Antonine Wall, The Old
and New Towns of Edinburgh, The Heart of Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark and St
Kilda.

Redfield Arts
will be bringing together artworks and performances from each of these
locations in a unique celebration of the diversity and cultural significance of
Scotland’s World Heritage Sites.

This free
event will be held at the Croy Miners’ Welfare Charitable Society, at the foot
of Croy Hill, a key site on The Antonine Wall.

The event
will run from 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm, and will include physical theatre
performances, guided walks along The Antonine Wall, and a special exhibition
showcasing artworks from each of Scotland’s World Heritage Sites.

There may
also be one or two surprises on the night, so don’t miss out - come along and
be a part of this special celebration!

For
information

Limited
parking will be available at the Croy Miners’ Welfare. A free Park and Ride
service will also be operating between Croy station and the Miners’ Welfare
every 20 minutes. The first departure is from 7 pm
onwards.

Please note
that if taking part in the guided tours to the Antonine Wall, we recommend that
you come prepared for the Scottish weather.

For more
information about the ‘Shadows of Our Ancestors’ World Heritage Day 2012 Project,
please visit the website www.shadows2012.co.uk

GREAT FAMILY DAYS OUT Around Loch Lomond and Trossachs Cottages

GREAT FAMILY DAYS OUT NOW SPRING IS
HERE


Now that Spring is here, Historic
Scotland’s seasonal heritage sites are opening their doors to welcome visitors.

The 25 seasonal properties across
Scotland which will be opening to the public on 1st April range from
Arnol Blackhouse in the Outer Hebrides to the stunning Edzell Castle and Garden
in Perthshire to the 13th century Inchmaholme Priory set on an
island in the Lake of Menteith and only accessible by boat.

Visitors looking for inspiration can
visit a special web page http://www.blogger.com/www.dosomethinggreat.co.uk
and insert their postcode to find out about exciting properties in their area.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for
Culture and External Affairs said: “Spring is a wonderful time to enjoy
all that Scotland has to offer, from castles to cathedrals, cairns to standing
stones.

“Scotland’s finest heritage
attractions make for a great family day out with an opportunity to explore
Scotland’s history and heritage.

“This is the Year of Creative
Scotland 2012 and I am looking forward to many exciting events to
celebrate our amazing history and heritage.”

If you
need the bracing sea air to get rid of the winter cobwebs, Tantallon Castle in
East Lothian with its dramatic setting above the cliffs on the Firth of
Forth is the perfect location. It also offers a great view of the Bass Rock
with its colony of gannets and fulmars which nest on the cliffs below the
castle.

.Lochleven Castle in Perthshire is
associated with many colourful events and has been visited by countless
personalities during its history. Some of those taking the boat across
Loch Leven came of their own accord, including King Robert the Bruce in 1313
and 1323, but the most famous visitor was Mary Queen of Scots, who was
imprisoned there in 1567 for almost a year. Located within a National
Nature Reserve, the loch supports the largest population of breeding ducks in
Britain.
Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement in Shetland provides a fascinating
insight into the way of life from the Bronze age through to the Middle Ages
with oval-shaped Bronze Age houses, Iron Age broch and wheelhouses and Viking
long-houses as well as a rich collection of artefacts

And if
you need to burn off calories before feasting on Easter Eggs, a climb up
Cairnpapple Hill, a former ceremonial site and also burial site boasts
breathtaking views over Central Scotland and even as far as Goat Fell on Arran


Stephen
Duncan, Historic Scotland’s Director of Commercial and Tourism said:

“Now that
the Easter holidays are almost upon us, it’s the perfect time to get children
away from their x boxes, make them use their imagination and have fun at one of
our fantastic sites as well as learn about Scotland’s fascinating history and
heritage.

“Historic
Scotland membership is a great way for families to enjoy great days for less
than £7:00 a month. Membership also enables free admission to all of Historic
Scotland’s 78 paid-entry visitor attractions throughout the country, as well as
free entry to a host of special events taking place at them throughout the
year, from jousting at Linlithgow Palace to medieval mayhem at Caerlaverock
Castle.”

For more
information, please visit the Historic Scotland website, www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/events

GREAT FAMILY DAYS OUT Around Loch Lomond and Trossachs Cottages

GREAT FAMILY DAYS OUT NOW SPRING IS
HERE


Now that Spring is here, Historic
Scotland’s seasonal heritage sites are opening their doors to welcome visitors.

The 25 seasonal properties across
Scotland which will be opening to the public on 1st April range from
Arnol Blackhouse in the Outer Hebrides to the stunning Edzell Castle and Garden
in Perthshire to the 13th century Inchmaholme Priory set on an
island in the Lake of Menteith and only accessible by boat.

Visitors looking for inspiration can
visit a special web page www.dosomethinggreat.co.uk
and insert their postcode to find out about exciting properties in their area.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for
Culture and External Affairs said: “Spring is a wonderful time to enjoy
all that Scotland has to offer, from castles to cathedrals, cairns to standing
stones.

“Scotland’s finest heritage
attractions make for a great family day out with an opportunity to explore
Scotland’s history and heritage.

“This is the Year of Creative
Scotland 2012 and I am looking forward to many exciting events to
celebrate our amazing history and heritage.”

If you
need the bracing sea air to get rid of the winter cobwebs, Tantallon Castle in
East Lothian with its dramatic setting above the cliffs on the Firth of
Forth is the perfect location. It also offers a great view of the Bass Rock
with its colony of gannets and fulmars which nest on the cliffs below the
castle.

.Lochleven Castle in Perthshire is
associated with many colourful events and has been visited by countless
personalities during its history. Some of those taking the boat across
Loch Leven came of their own accord, including King Robert the Bruce in 1313
and 1323, but the most famous visitor was Mary Queen of Scots, who was
imprisoned there in 1567 for almost a year. Located within a National
Nature Reserve, the loch supports the largest population of breeding ducks in
Britain.
Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement in Shetland provides a fascinating
insight into the way of life from the Bronze age through to the Middle Ages
with oval-shaped Bronze Age houses, Iron Age broch and wheelhouses and Viking
long-houses as well as a rich collection of artefacts

And if
you need to burn off calories before feasting on Easter Eggs, a climb up
Cairnpapple Hill, a former ceremonial site and also burial site boasts
breathtaking views over Central Scotland and even as far as Goat Fell on Arran


Stephen
Duncan, Historic Scotland’s Director of Commercial and Tourism said:

“Now that
the Easter holidays are almost upon us, it’s the perfect time to get children
away from their x boxes, make them use their imagination and have fun at one of
our fantastic sites as well as learn about Scotland’s fascinating history and
heritage.

“Historic
Scotland membership is a great way for families to enjoy great days for less
than £7:00 a month. Membership also enables free admission to all of Historic
Scotland’s 78 paid-entry visitor attractions throughout the country, as well as
free entry to a host of special events taking place at them throughout the
year, from jousting at Linlithgow Palace to medieval mayhem at Caerlaverock
Castle.”

For more
information, please visit the Historic Scotland website, www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/events

Marketing our Self Catering Holiday Cottages in Loch Lomond and Trossachs

Trying to find the best way of promoting our self catering holiday cottages is always an area of concern because although what you have in place may be effective now, there is no guarantee this will still work in the future. The methods of business promotion are constantly changing, for example when we first started the internet was almost non existant as a means of advertising our lochside holiday cottages, we had to advertise in the brochure of the holiday cottage agencies.

Now we have our own websites with online bookings etc http://www.lomondandtrossachs.com/ that work very effectively along side the agencies and their websites and brochures. We are now slowly entering the new era of using Flicker, Twitter, Facebook.

The problem is now deciding if we should continue to stay with the agencies and pay their high commission fees or risk using only our own sites. The benefits are we would save about £10000 some of which could be used to fund our own marketing initiatives. We also already have one cottage Waterside Cottage which is independant from the agencies and is generally fully booked each year. The anxiety is that the level of booking would drop and and cost more than the commission.

Oh the joys of business planning.

Whisky Tasting at Lomond and Trossachs Cottages

Enjoy a Whisky tasting session at the cottage

For an evening of fun, entertainment and a bit of learning you just can't beat a whisky tasting!

Hosted by a local whisky ambassador from Ealain Gallery Whisky Club http://www.ealaingallery.co.uk , enjoy these informal whisky tasting events in the comfort of our luxury cottages.

Enjoy an evening with knowledgeable and friendly whisky tutors...who will guide you through
5/6 malts of your choice, be that a whisky region, distillery or a tour around the country, the
choice is endless. Focusing on providing the juicy details you really want to know, letting you
in on a few distillery secrets and stories.

A tasting lasts around two hours. It could be pre or post dinner, or even as part of the meal with
the whisky selected completing the food.

3/4 nights in Nov / Dec @ £295 - sleeps 6, including Whisky Tasting session



Lochside Apartment Loch Katrine, Lomond and Trossachs Cottages
3 Bedroom Self catering just 10 yards from Loch Katrine in the Loch lomond and Trossachs Park.

http://www.lomondandtrossachs.com/

Lochside Apartment, 3 bedroom sleeps 6