Christmas B&B.

Due to the New Year cancellation we are running an offbeat B&B at Inshriach from the 26th December to the first full booking towards the end of January. It is £70 per night for a double or £40 for a single over a minimum of two nights. For a few days either side of Hogmanay you can expect breakfast to be late / self serviced and there may be a certain amount of compulsory / unavoidable party involvement so don't even ask to stay if that's not your bag. The house is as good as full for those 4 days anyway (unless I know you well in which case I will probably squeeze you in somewhere), even the yurt is already booked out. We are going to the Old Bridge Inn to see Insider favourites the John Langan band stomping their way to the bells.

In January the slopes will be empty of the holiday crowd and it could look like it did yesterday...

I can only take bookings pretty late in case the whole house rents out and I like to talk to people on the phone. Please look at the website - if you expect mini tea and biscuit facilities in your bedroom you are in the wrong place. If you want a quirky, creative, relaxed and atmospheric apres ski, give us a call.

Or if you have finished digesting your Christmas enough to marshall your family and friends you could take the whole house for a long weekend in January for £1500 (plus a chef if you want to keep the festive indulgence rolling).

Another New Year Cancellation.

With only a fortnight to go we have had another New Year Cancellation, concerns about snowy travelling conditions from the far end of the country being cited this time. If we don't get a full week rented out by the end of this week (the 20th) we will have our own private B&B party. The Inshriach New Year parties have become the stuff of legend, we just fancied a year off to go to the Old Bridge Inn...

It looks like snow.

Due to popular demand we have continued renting the yurt into November (and beyond, it's already taken for New Year and the start of January). The snow came in hard yesterday with the best part of a foot falling during the day, then the temperature dropped to minus 8 overnight. Last year this sort of weather didn't arrive until well into December. The yurters who arrived 2 nights ago weren't expecting it, not a thread of goretex did they have and yet they assure me that with the woodburner going and the candles lit it was a cosy mini adventure, insulated by snow and wine.

Meanwhile Davie Cameron at the smithy has run up a new snowplough for our ancient Massey Ferguson. The plough happened to be ready yesterday morning and it already looks like I might spend a lot this winter trundling around the place backwards.

There's been a murrderr...

For the murder mystery fans amongst you we now have this bedroom plan of Inshriach House courtesy of the lovely Henry Ryder. Next up - adapting the ground floor plan (which is pretty much exactly like a Cluedo board anyway) into the game itself. Uncle Arthur, in the library, with the French Maid etc etc...

New Year cancellation.

Its a beautiful frosty morning, the ski area opened at the weekend and we just had a cancellation for New Year which means we are going to offer the week from Monday 27th December to Monday 3rd January for £3500 rather than the usual £4000. The week over Christmas is also available at the same price and if you fancy grabbing a bargain week on the slopes there are still a couple of weeks available either late December or in January at £2000 per week or £1500 for a long weekend.

The Backwoods Bonfire.

Went off with a bang. 120 odd folks came along, Dutch Indie band Moss and The Levee Strollers entertained, we had an enormous bonfire with a spectacularly priapic guy on top and we set off fireworks from the Backwoods bar. Huge thanks to Richard Muirhead and his crew for coming all the way from London with lights, PA and everything to make the party possible.

Thankfully Metcheck got it wrong and it was a crisp and clear night.

Bonfire Night.

This Friday the Insider presents bonfire night at the Backwoods stage. There are buses to and from the Old Bridge Inn and we are being joined by the Dutch band Moss plus Tom Stearn and Louis Linklater from Admiral Fallow and guest DJs. The castle bar will be open for business and we have a spit roast and mulled cider on the go.

Metcheck are predicting prevailaing winds of 287mph gusting to 344mph and it's going to be dark so it wont be at all like this picture taken at the Insider. Wear plastic trousers.