Took part in the annual South Loch Ness Tourist Group litter pick up at the weekend. For approximately 3 hours a mixture of folk from the local communities and tourist businesses clear along the loch side from Foyers to Dores. Has to be said that year after year we fill a large number of black bags and also retreive the most odd and unexpected things that people have senselessly chucked out of thier cars. In some respects it is a depressing task in the sense that I simply can't understand the mentality of people who cause the problem but on the otherhand we all have a good laugh doing it. The banter and wit of some had me roaring with laughter! So for the time being the shores of south Loch Ness are clear once again. If only it would last...

It was with mixed feelings today that I felled a large tree in our garden. It was only a spruce tree, but we had seen it grow from a mere 6ft high when we arrived here at Evergreen back in 2001 to something approaching 40ft high. But not only this, it was a beautiful sturdy tree which the birds liked to shelter in. However it had simply got too big - it was blotting out what little sunlight penetrates the garden and for this reason it had to go!
And unlike some of my previous efforts I managed to drop it without taking out part of the house/other trees....

Windfarms... is the answer blowing in the wind? After several years of broad acceptance of their virtues as against the potential eyesore they can come to represent on our mountains tops and wild areas, I'm really not so sure now. Just the other day I was sitting in the front room of a friend's house looking out over the stark beauty of the Monaliath Mountains. He pointed to an article in the local newspaper announcing another potential major windfarm development at nearby Moy (this 55 turbine development would make it one of the largest in the Highlands), looked up and said 'this goes ahead and the skyline as we have known it for centuries will dissappear and for what... supplying 0.whatever% of our energy requirements over the next 25 years. It really does make you think!

It must be spring - on Wednesday we went down to our holiday letting cottage at Fairhaven, Colintraive on the Kyles of Bute to put our little boat in the water again for the season. However,by the time we got there it was a bit windy, Thursday was even worse and so it was Friday when with still strong gusts blowing we launched the boat with some trepidation. It was not that the boat was in any danger but rather that Fiona and I ran a high risk of being tossed out of the tender and in to the sea as we moored the boat just off the shore ! Anyway job done and hopefully now some pleasant summer days to be spent enjoying the pleasures of chugging around the Kyles. Here are a couple of photos of said tender and boat taken on a much better day last summer!

At the invitation of VisitScotland, I was down in Oban today doing a presentation on destination management to Argyll & Isles Strategic Tourism Partnership. It was an excellent day and I was delighted that what I said was well received. Equally I was really taken by the obvious commitment of those present to promoting tourism in their own local areas. For the most part they are all volunteers who do it unpaid and it is often a thankless task but without these individuals, and it is the same here on Loch Ness, local tourism would not be nearly so robust and able to weather recession so effectively.

And... it was simply good being back in Oban. I used to go there for holidays as a child and still have fond memories of the town. It is a great bustling small west coast town with great coastal scenery as well as being a gateway to the Isles of Mull and the Inner Hebredies. Could not resist taking a couple of photos of the Cal Mac ferry as it made it's way out to sea!

Spring was in the air yesterday for the Inverness Half Marathon. http://www.invernesshalfmarathon.co.uk/For the first time in a few years, the sun shone, there was no snow showers and all in all conditions were about as good as you could get for this time of year. Last year I recorded a personal best but this year was 1 min 30secs slower coming in in 1hr 46 mins. Still well pleased. It is a great event with almost 1200 runners all intent on having a good run and blowing away the winter blues!

An article in the local paper the other day informs us that the Highlands is to have its own version of the board game Monopoly by Christmas! Obviously Loch Ness will feature on it along with other Highland icons such as Ben Nevis and Cairngorm Mountain. But what if there were to be a version created simply around Loch Ness alone? What fun and havoc could be had deciding which village would be Mayfair and which Old Kent Road! What around Loch Ness would be the equivalent of 'Going to jail'. The stations would obviously be replaced by the villages where there are piers. And as for figuring out Chance cards it could end up being positively libelous which is why I will keep further thoughts to myself!

Never have I seen the water level in Loch Ness so low ! It is well below summer levels and if it drops much lower we'll be able to wade across ( well not quite!) All this has been caused by the lack of precipitation in the form of rain. Because it's all been falling as snow this winter it is still all frozen up in the hills. However, the past couple of days have seen some change with warmer tempratures and melting snow flooding down in to the loch. In the meantime though we are still able to see Inverfarigaig pier like we have never seen it. The old stone laid down in construction of the pier by Thomas Telford over 160 years ago is clearly visible and still secure, unlike the Victorian extension which has all but crumbled away.

Good PR for our South Loch Ness Trail project today in the Press & Journal See http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1637165?UserKey= It was also picked up by local radio.

Down in Edinburgh yesterday at the Scottish Tourism Forum Conference, part of the annual Scottish Tourism Week. Great networking event with some excellent speakers who not only gave insight in to their own organisations but also confirmed the fact that despite the recession, Scottish tourism is holding up well in relation to many other countries in Europe. I was particularly interested in how Carol Jagielko and her family have developed Portavadie Marina on the west coast. (www.portavadiemarina.com) It is close to our other self catering cottage at Fairhaven, Colintraive, and we can remember when Portavadie was the most ugly blot on an otherwise beautiful landscape. Well not now.. if you like sailing this is the place to stop now on this stretch of coastline.