Invergarry Lodge

Archive for the ‘Guest Blog’ Category

A last Munro (Sgurr a’ Mhaoraich) blog **Guest Blog**

We had the Stocket Hillwalking Club in recently to celebrate one of their members’ last Munro. They had great weather as they headed down Loch Quoich to bag Sgurr a’ Mhaoraich, in fact, the weather was so good some of the club headed back down to the same area the next day to bag the hills next door, Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach.

Looks like they all had a great time, Check out that second picture – hill bagging champagne celebrations in fine style!

Check out these excellent photos taken by Stocket member and Invergarry Lodge twitter friend Nick Bramhall…

Hope you all had a good time and big thanks to Nick for the photos, Nick can be found on twitter here and his website here.

–Matt

Hebridean Harris Holiday

We know the blog has been quiet recently, we had a rush on DIY jobs so we could get a few things out of the way before it was finally our turn to go on holiday…we managed to escape for a week to Harris in the outer Hebrides.

Harris is a lovely relaxing place – almost as good as Invergarry! Our holiday mainly consisted of  relaxing on beaches and eating cake (chocolate and ginger cheesecake, rocky road, Annas special chocolate cake, white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, battenburg, tea loaf, bakewell slice, lemon tart, toffee cheesecake and a paradise slice – in that order I think). It wasn’t all eating though…we also managed to squeeze in some cycling, swimming and fishing, oh, and Aunty Dave managed to teach Alby a very cute but slightly annoying lip wibbling noise.

Anyway, we won’t bore you with our holiday, but hopefully you’ll enjoy these holiday snaps (mostly taken by Rick)…

–Matt

Austria gets voted 2nd top holiday destination! (after Invergarry Lodge!)

Recently we were lucky enough to escape to Austria for a holiday, leaving the hostel in the very capable hands of Matt’s mum Sue.  Despite having to cope with a 3,000 mile round trip along with a heatwave to boot, Alby thoroughly enjoyed discovering Europe and at the tender age of 7 months he has already ticked off France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria itself.  Meanwhile Matt, Ben and I had a very enjoyable time discovering the delights of schnitzel, schnapps and schausages in the german / austrian stylee.  We had some beautiful alpine walks, with more than a few renditions of ‘Doe, a Deer…’ along the way, and also managed a fantastic gorge walk which finished with a cafe in a church teetering on a cliff serving some rather wonderful black forest gateau.

We had such a lovely time that we are voting Austria the 2nd top holiday destination, after Invergarry Lodge of course!  Alby liked it so much he even sprouted his first two teeth while we were away, so he has returned home a very grown up boy indeed.

Now that we’re back we’re gearing up for what may be our busiest season yet if the last few weeks are anything to go by, so if you’re thinking of paying us a visit make sure you get your booking in soon as the next few months are looking busy busy busy!

Thanks again Sue, judging by the visitors book you’ve done a great job yet again. Can we book you in for next year please?!

Jen x

A Highland Hostel Holiday ***Guest Blog***

What a wonderful week spent in the highlands at the lovely Invergarry Lodge. Matt and Jen took great care of us as we sampled the highland way of life.

We paddled our way around Loch Oich in their newly acquired kayaks and an attempt was made to coax the native trout to join us for tea, unfortunately without success. The sun shone as we helped Jen with the “landscaping” and helped plant the official Invergarry Lodge mini orchard, we even mounted the tandem bike for a ride through the forest. Unexpectedly we received a lesson from baby Alby in basic giggling techniques and also a comprehensive demonstration on “How to chew the arms/ears/legs off children’s toys” from Dylan the dog.

We can’t wait until our next visit in July and will be practising our balancing skills so we can make it all the way across the slack line without looking like utter fools!

Thanks for having us,
Al and Sarah

Hostel Sitter Extraordinaire! **Guest Blog**

I don’t know, matt and jenny are off having a baby, and I’m left here in charge of the wildest dog in the west… Yes I’m the hostel sitter, dog, cat and chicken sitter for however long it may be. As I write this I’m just shy of 24 hours in charge. It’s all going well tho, my hostel guests are all lovely and looking after themselves. The hostel is nice and roomy and I’ve seen all the rooms bar one, explored all the nooks and crannies myself, and as an occasional hosteller I think it must rank as one of the best in Scotland. Its got lots of space to relax and a lovely friendly atmosphere. My guests at the moment are all here for some hills, I’m looking forward to asking them where they’ve been today!

Dylan the monster dog is who I’m really here to look after, and he has been very well behaved all things considered. My list of things he’s chewed so far is much smaller than I expected it would be…. He’s been tormenting me by going for the hall rug whenever he’s bored. Unfortunately he seems to devour doggie chews in a matter of seconds, so I am saving the last one for an emergency…. Worst offence so far is that somehow he chewed through his lead. I’m not sure how I’m going to explain their dog on a string to matt and jenny when they get back….but really he’s been very good, and at the moment would you believe is sound asleep… I daren’t move….

This morning all the hostellers have been asking about the baby- not yet I’ve said… When walking the dog a fellow Invergarry bowler saw me and asked too. Nope, not yet…. Hopefully, we all -and more importantly Matt and jenny!-, won’t have too much longer to wait!

Helen
(The best caketopper in the land)

Le tour de hebrides

We headed over to the Outer Hebrides for a spot of cycling this week, think we’ve (I’ve) been watching too much of the Tour De France. The sun came out and shined on us and we had a great time.

We really enjoyed cycling round Barra in perfect sunshine and lunch overlooking Kisimul Castle (we can recommend the burger at the Craigard hotel).

I think I won the yellow jersey – Jen is pregnant after all – she did however get the prize for most aggressive rider, do they do a prize for fastest lunch eater? They should, it was hotly contested.

We also spent a bit of time relaxing and taking in the sights, although we had to make an quick escape from the Isle of Berneray after skinny dipping on what we mistakenly thought was a deserted beach!

–Matt

Wild west coast camping

Whilst the “hostel sitter extraordinaire” was looking after Invergarry Lodge, we headed off “oop north” for a spot of wild camping with our friends Rick and Anna, you may remember them from such blogs as Jen Conquers Ben Tee and Agag’s Groove on the Buckle.

Holiday highlights include some award winning fish and chips in Ullapool, some award winning pies in Lochinver and what should have been an award winning curry in Beauly, the lows involve being refused a cup of tea in a unmentionable hotel because it had gone 5pm!

In between the eating and drinking we managed a bit of scrambling on Stac Pollaidh

and a spot of wild camping

The sun didn’t shine on us for much of the holiday, but it was good kite flying weather so we made the most of it!

–Matt

A working holiday

We’ve had the inlaws (Jenny’s side) up here this week and what a busy week it’s been.

Days out to Inverness, taking in the local castles (Eilean Donan and Urquhart), visiting Glenfinnan to watch the Harry Potter train steam over head, mountain biking at Laggan Wolftrax, walks in Glen Nevis, boat cruises on Loch Ness, day trips to Skye and long walks in the Grey Corries and along the Shiel Ridge. Unfortunately, none of that was us….we were busy doing jobs around the hostel (mainly gardening) while the guests were out having all the fun.

Maybe one day they’ll come up and it won’t turn into a working holiday. Saying that, hostel sitter extraordinaire (my mum) is coming up next week and there are already comments in the guest book about her and she hasn’t even arrived yet!

–Matt

Vicky’s Munro Adventure (**Guest Blog**)

Another guest blogger, enjoying Jenny and Matt’s wonderful hospitality and beautiful Invergarry Lodge!

We ummed and aahed over when to head to the hills, and fixed on yesterday as the weather did not look so promising for the rest of the week.

I’ve been exploring Barren Down (Isle of Purbeck, Dorset) recently, but walking the ridge between the two Munros, Spidean Mialach and Gleouraich, is in another league.

Once I had rescued my gloves from Dylan, the ascent began – short and very steep to the top of Spidean Mialach. But the views were fantastic, over South Shiel to the north and Loch Quoich to the south, and the few spots of rain completely disappeared, never to return. There is still some snow along the top, which has drifted quite deep in places, but invigorated by my surroundings and pushed on by the wind, I scrambled on to the second peak, Gleouraich.

The descent is spectacular – you can take giant steps down the path with the beautiful Loch Quoich spread out in front of you. Nature seemed to soften on the way down – the wind less howling, the cold less biting and the gradient less steep.

So, a fantastic walk and I didn’t get lost! (which is something – once went up Cader Idris and came down in the wrong valley…). Home to Jenny’s veggie meatballs and Helen’s chocolate truffles – nice )

Vicky x

The honeymoon period is over…

Congratulations to the Happy Couple.

There has been a week of celebrations, nuptials and partying here at Invergarry Lodge recently, I am sure all the guests would join me in thanking Matt and Jenny for allowing us to share their special day and for their generous hospitality

The newly weds are honeymooning and have left me in charge…… again. I am taking this as a complement that I did a good job last time and they promised me it would be quiet.

As well as congratulating them on their wedding, I would like to offer congratulations for their first anniversary, as it is a year since they moved to Invergarry and took over Invergarry Lodge. They have achieved a great deal in the year and I know they have many more plans for the future.

It would appear that March is a good month for Mr and Mrs Jenneson and leads me to wonder if there may be another celebration next March !!

I know that everyone who shared their wedding celebrations and all who know Matt and Jenny wish them every happiness for their future together.

Sue (Matts Mum and now Jens Mother in Law) x