Minard Castle
Loch Fyne, Argyll, Scotland
News from Minard
Castle
This page is intended to keep our friends and visitors
up to date about events here. It is not meant to be a daily updated
blog but we will add to it when we think we have something interesting
to say.
22nd January 2008
Gale Damage - our biggest Silver
Fir has fallen!
We had a bad gale on the night of Tuesday 8th January,
and a scene of devastation greeted us on the Wednesday morning.
Not only have we lost our tallest Silver Fir (Abies
alba) but also a large limb from another one and several
other trees, including a copper beech felled by the big tree.
The Silver Fir was about 130 feet (40m) tall and had a girth of
about 17 feet (5m). When it fell it blocked the front drive and
it was a couple of hours before we could visit the outside world
again. The usual entrance over the cattle grid was closed for
several days by the large limb from the other tree which fortunately
missed The Lodge, because it fell along the line of the road.
Clearing up all this timber will keep us busy for a long time
yet. Most will become firewood but we hope to slab some of the
larger parts to make usable building material.
Fortunately there was no damage to the house itself,
and we were only without electricty for a few minutes. This contrasts
with the local televison and radio transmissions which were off
for days afterwards due to a power failure and the lack of a standby
generator!
24th December 2007
Season's
Greetings
To
all our Friends
Rebecca and Benny in their winter
quarters
This has been another busy year for us and we are very
glad that the season is over and we can now catch up on sleep!
In fact we did take a break in September when we went
to California for two weeks of nice weather and no work.
In the spring we acquired two donkeys, Benny, on the
right in the picture, and his mother Rebecca. They have spent
most of the year in the large field in front of the house but
are now indoors in the interest of keeping their hooves dry and
healthy in the wet weather.
The cat population continues to thrive. In January two of Gracie's
kittens were re-homed, together, and are doing well. The two
we kept, Leo and Spot, are now much larger than their mother.
All three cats supplement their perfectly adequate diet with
mice and other small rodents from the garden - as well as, regrettably,
the occasional bird.
Wishing you a Good New Year!
All the best for 2008 from Reinold
and Anne Gayre
15th August 2007
Cats
Leo and Spot
Photo Beverly Schroeder
These two and mother Gracie are spending most of their
time outdoors, sleeping in between mouse duty. They are thriving,
obviously. We try to keep them in at night but occasionally they
manage to evade us. The "kittens" are now fully grown
and very agile. Tree climbing is a speciality, mainly to show
off to an audience!
16th May 2007
Scotland's Gardens Scheme 2007
Our garden was open on 13th May
2007
For the first time, we opened our garden and grounds
under Scotland's Gardens Scheme on the afternoon of Sunday 13th
May 2007.
It can probably be counted a success as we took about
£350 in total including the money for the teas. The proceeds
go to charity, 40% to the Scottish Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals and the rest to the charities supported
by Scotland's Gardens Scheme.
We were very lucky with the weather as the forecast
had not been good, but in fact it was sunny and there was enough
breeze to keep the midges away. We had many favourable comments,
and at least some of the visitors walked all around the Woodland
Garden. Many had not been here before, and two couples had stories
to tell about parents or grandparents who had worked here many
years ago!
The garden and grounds were looking quite good, as
we had all made a big effort in the months leading up to the event.
Anne painted garden gates and did some weeding, and the real gardeners
had put in many extra hours. Matt Heasman, our rhododendron expert,
had given even more care and attention to the rare plants in the
Woodland Garden he has created beyond the pond. Many thanks to
Harry Kent, Jenny, Mark and everyone else who helped on the day.
The garden will be open again on the afternoon of Sunday
11th May 2008.
4th March 2007
Restoration Work
We have been continuing, all too slowly, with the
restoration of the windows and other features of the building.
By now, most of the windows in the front of the house have been
re-built to the original pattern, using recycled timber as it
is better quality and more stable than new wood from a builders'
merchant. We have been able to make the window sills out of oak
from our own trees. We did not fell any but used trees which
had fallen in gales.
Three of the windows are in the "conservatory",
the room over the front door. It was a building site throughout
2006 but we hope to have if finished for this year. The work
also involved making new shutters, panelling and small turned
wooden features. When complete, most of the many houseplants
will be returned to the room, and it should be a pleasant place
to sit on warm days.
Another project has been the conversion of the tower
at the end of the east wing into some accommodation. We have
formed a small house on three floors with a kitchen-livingroom,
two bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of them en suite. This has
involved building a completely new staircase, as well as the
inevitable window reconstruction. This conversion has been a
painfully slow undertaking. It took us thirteen months just to
obtain planning permission! The work is at last nearing completion
and we have just recently taken delivery of the stone with which
we have already formed one of two new small windows at the back.
Animals
Many of you will already know that our dear old retriever
Rory died in September 2006, after a very short illness, at the
good age of thirteen and three quarter years.
Not long before that, we were adopted by a cat who
moved out of the trees and into Rory's quarters in a matter of
days. She is bright, a busy mouser, and has the unusual characteristic
of accompanying us for walks! In the early days she came with
us and Rory, and has continued since. Anne has named her Gracie,
short for Amazing Grace.
Gracie
Following earlier rumours of a roaming black tom cat
in the vicinity, in October four kittens were born! We have since
found a home for two of them, together, and have kept two - Leo,
a ginger male, and Spot, a tortoiseshell like her mother.
The four kittens
Now, Anne has acquired two donkeys, Rebecca and her
son Benny, which she insists on calling "burros" -
the American for donkeys! She missed the donkeys she had years
ago in California, and seized the chance of re-homing these two
who were surplus to requirements on a local hillside. We are
still trying to persuade Benny not to chase Gracie, who of course
accompanies us into their field. We have recycled an old garden
shed as a shelter for them in wet weather, though they seem mainly
to prefer to stand in the rain!
Rebecca and Benny
For further information please contact
Reinold and Anne Gayre
Minard Castle
Minard
Argyll PA32 8YB
Scotland
Telephone/fax: 44 (0)1546 886272
E-mail: reinoldgayre@minardcastle.com
Web: www.minardcastle.com
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© Reinold Gayre 2001-2008