Hogmanay 2010

From Eric's Wiki

Contents 1 Schedule 2 Attending 3 Criteria 4 Emergency Last-Minute Change of Plans 5 Possible Locations 6 Brora

Schedule

• Sept 10: Have a good grasp of the numbers. i.e. +-2 (Mark moved this up as the good places are filling up)
• Sept 12: Book. (Mark moved this up as the good places are filling up)

• The booking dates differ depending on the venue. But estimate December 28 to January 4.

Attending

• Rita
• Simon
• Stuart
• Eric
• Martin
• Olivia
• Ali
• Caz
• Miller
• Mark
• Gila
• Emma
• Bruce
• Niall (short stay)

Criteria

• Sleeps 13+
• Walks nearby
• Pub withing an hours walking distance
• Pretty
• Somewhat isolated, so that we can have a party with no trouble
• Some consideration as to distance to drive to for our friends coming from England/Wales
• Wifi ?

Emergency Last-Minute Change of Plans

Owing to the burst pipes at the castle, we need an alternative plan.

ID	Location	Sleep #	Bedrooms	Distance to Town/Pub	Transport	Price	Extras	WiFi	Link	Comments	First Choice	Second Choice	Third Choice	Veto
Iona	10	4			£1150			[1]

Possible Locations

• http://www.cottages-and-castles.co.uk
• http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk

For comparison, Rhumhor in Carrick Castle that we booked last year sleeps 10 in 4 bedrooms and is £2100.

All travel distance/times are from Edinburgh. Sleep # indicates advertised max (i.e. possible to fit 1 or 2 more, but probably on sleeping bags). Put your initials by the places you prefer under the First, Second, and Third choice columns.

FINAL OPTIONS

ID	Location	Sleep #	Bedrooms	Distance to Town/Pub	Transport	Price	Extras	WiFi	Link	Comments	First Choice	Second Choice	Third Choice	Veto
11	Portpatrick	16	8	.5 miles	4.5 hr, train (4), drive/bus (.5)	2900, 223pp	waterfront, coastal walks	No	[2]	closer to England		rmft	msh, ert
2	Brora	16	8	6 miles	6 hr, train (5.5), drive (.5)	2450, 216pp	walks, remote	No	[3]	all rooms ensuite	ert	msh	rmft	Too far for Olivia and Ali
big5	East Fife Castle	13	6	2km	Train to Cupar (40 min), 6km car	3300	It's a Castle	No	[4]		msh	ert

Houses ruled out

ID	Location	Sleep #	Bedrooms	Distance to Town/Pub	Transport	Price	Extras	WiFi	Link	Comments	First Choice	Second Choice	Third Choice	Veto
big1	Dunoon	18	8	4 miles	3.5 hr, train(2), ferry(.5), drive (.5)	4200, with 18 it's 235pp	walks,hot tub, sauna, pool table	No	[5]	need 18 to make it affordable		dmc
big2	Findhorn	17	7	.5 mile	5 hr, train (4), bus (1), walk	2000 (est)	on waterfront	No	[6]	No longer available? Seems to be (ert)
big3	TIGHNABRUAICH Argyll	16	7	.5 miles	4 hr, train (2), ferry (.5), bus (1)	2600	walks	No	[7]	starts on sat				ert (Sat is not practical)
big4	Kingussie	16	8	6 miles	3 hr, train (2.5), drive (.5)	3300	walks, remote	No	[8]	need 14 or 15 to make affordable. Only one shower	rmft, clf, dmc	ert
3	Tobermory, Mull	14	5	.5 mile	6.5 hr, train (4), ferry (1), bus (1), walk	1350, 104pp	pool table	No	[9]				clf, ert
4	Inverness area	14	7	Long	5 hr, train (4), drive (1)	???	walks	Yes	[10]	Only one shower
6	Inverness area	14	9	3 miles	4.5 hr, train (3.5), drive (1)	2900, 223pp	walks, shooting	No	[11]
8	Scatwell, Ross-shire	14	7	Long	5 hr, train (4.5), drive (.5)	1500, 115pp	walks	No	[12]	multiple showers
9	Melrose	13	5	.5 miles	2 hr, bus	1700, 131pp	river walk, easy transport	No	[13]	closer to England				ert (not interested in the Borders)

Examples:

• £1750pw Near Dalwinhhie Distillery. 1.5 km to pub. 7 miles to train. Sleeps 10 in 5 bedrooms
• £1800pw Just north of Galloway Forest. Inland. 2.5km to pub. Sleeps 10 in 3 bedrooms
• £1800 Glen Etive. Isolated and Remote. Nearest pub is King's House, 15 km away. Stunning walks to be had. Sleeps 10 to 12 in 6 bedrooms.
• £800. Loch Tuath on west coast of Mull. Sleeps 10 in 3 bedrooms. Remote. 20 minute drive to shops
• £1350. Ardnacross, Mull. Sleeps 12 in 6 bedrooms. Remote. 10km to shops.
• £1400 Tobermory, Mull. Sleeps 12 in 5 bedrooms. Close to shops and pubs.
• £1380 Blackwaterfoot, West side of Arran. Sleeps 12 in 5 bedrooms. Nearby Hotel and pubs.
• (£?) Kilmory, South side of Arran. Sleeps 10 in four bedrooms. 2km to pub/restaurant. 4km to beaches.
• £1510 Brodick, Arran. Near ferry dock. Pretty. Sleeps 10 in 5 bedrooms. Near pubs and restaurants.
• £1150pw Sleeps 10 in 4 bedrooms. On the water 5 km from Eilean Donan Castle. Gorgeous setting. 1 or 2 km to pub
• (£?) Sleeps 14 in 7 bedrooms. 30 km NW of Inverness. Remote.
• £3000 Sleeps 16 in 8 bedrooms. 6 miles from Brora (pubs & shops). Remote. Near water and hills. Modern.
• £2850 Isolated. In Strathglass, near Glen Affric. Walks. Short walk from "Two of Scotland's highest waterfalls". Sleeps 13 in 9 bedrooms
• (£?) Sleeps 18 in 11 bedrooms. Shooting encouraged. 10 to 15km to pub/restaurant. Near trainline. NW of Kyle of Lochalsh. Likely good walks. Remote.
• £2250 Jura, Isolated, Sleeps 15 in 8 bedrooms. Overlooks Sound of Jura.
• £2900 Isolated. Near Whitebridge. 30 minute drive SW of Inverness. Pretty. Sleeps 14 in 9 bedrooms. Forested area.
• (£?) Way far NW. Near Laxford Bridge. Remote. Sleeps 13 in 7 bedrooms. Inland, but a few miles from beaches. Forested. Walks. Remote.
• (£?) Sleeps 14 in 8 bedrooms. Overlooks water. 6km inland from Ullapool. Probably expensive. But idyllic if not.
• 3 km from Avoch, 15 km north of Inverness. Sleeps 10 in 5 bedrooms. Would be easy to get to. But perhaps not the best for walking.
• £3650 Loch Linnhe. Pretty turreted stone house near water. Sleeps 14 in 7 bedrooms

Brora

I may fall in love with this place.

Attractions:

• Clynelish Distillery but it is closed between Christmas and New Years. Perhaps we can book an appointment on the 3rd?
• Curling club (at the Royal Marine Hotel) Ack! Closed for the past few years.
• Fossil beds on the waterfront and some closer by