Seafield Farmhouse - Available for Holidays

A year ago while on holiday in our campervan on a storm bound Hebridean island we thought about how little space we needed and decided to spend the winter preparing to move out of our house so that we could let it during the summer months. With all the children having flown the nest, it is a large space for two of us and we are rarely indoors during the summer. We arrived home to the discovery that we had a double booking and so some very understanding visitors were the first to sample staying in Seafield Farmhouse after our rather hasty preparations.




A year on and the house is almost prepared for public consumption. We were nearly ready when our visitors in Byre Cottage needed to extend their stay for a fortnight and it is amazing what you can achieve with two day's notice. Needless to say, the winter had been spent on the sofa, close to the woodburner rather than performing admirable feats of de-cluttering. Letting Seafield Farmhouse is not a new concept. Granny and Grandpa Livingston sent the children to relatives in the summer so that the house could be let to families who came up for six weeks at a time. We have a copy of a delightful diary kept by the daughter of one such family who stayed here in 1928 for whom Granny cooked 'monstrously good suppers'. In the 21st century, the accommodation will be strictly self catering!



We are not sure of the exact age of the house. It has been described as 150 years old for at least the last 40 years. It was built as part of the Poltalloch Estate and sold to the Forestry Commission in the 1930's. Grandpa Neil Livingston arrived from the Isle of Luing at the beginning of the last century when Seafield was a sheep farm. The Forestry Commission planted the hill with sitka spruce and Seafield became a sixty acre smallholding comprising mainly of rock and bog. His son Jimmy Livingston took over the farm and also worked full time for the Forestry, operating a winch. In time, his son, my husband, James Livingston came home to look after the place and was also employed by the Forestry Commission. As a tenant, James was able to buy Seafield in the late 1980's and could then diversify into holiday lets, sawmilling and firewood processing. He has recently taken early retirement and so we hope to be able to continue to improve the facilties we provide so that many more people can share the stunning place we are fortunate to be able to live in. That's when James isn't fishing of course.



On the ground floor, the house has a large, 30 ft long conservatory which we added in 1997. This is the main living and dining area and has a woodburning stove. Off the conservatory is a large kitchen with units made by a local craftsman with reclaimed timbers from redundant Crinan Canal lock gates. It has a dishwasher and dual fuel cooker with gas hob and electric oven. There is a combination microwave and large fridge plus the usual small appliances.



Off the kitchen is a utility room with washer and freezer which is accessible from the kitchen but also has a separate exterior door. We need access to this space from time to time as it houses our freezer and a large oven which I need to use occasionally - but we will be as unobtrusive as possible.



The hallway which has a small cloakroom, leads to a family suite of double bedroom with adjacent twin bedroom and ensuite facilities.




Upstairs, there is a large double bedroom with king sized bed and a bathroom with bath and shower. The second bedroom is not available for letting as it is in need of complete refurbishment and will be used for storage of all the things we don't know what to do with.




Central Heating and hot water are from the log fired boiler and there is a woodburner in the conservatory. During warmer weather, the boiler is off and heating and hot water are provided by electricity - mostly generated by the photo voltaic panels.




Seafield Farmhouse is available for holidays during June, July and August. We may extend into September if all goes well. Sorry, no pets and no smoking. Children are welcome. With Byre and Stable Cottages just next door, there is plenty of scope for larger family groups who want to spend time together while enjoying their own space.

To check availability, please go to www.seafieldfarmcottages.co.uk and check the search availability button, email info@seafieldfarmcottages.co.uk or phone 01546 850274

Ne'er cast a clout til May is Out

Whether the saying refers to the hawthorn blossom or the month, I don’t think I will be casting any clouts for a while yet. May so far has been beautifully clear and sunny but the cold air which gives us the clarity means warm woolly jumpers and sunburned noses.

The ground has been remarkably dry, making gardening a pleasure but with sub zero nightime temperatures and hot sunny afternoons, the new growth is being frosted and burnt at the same time. The tomatoes have long outgrown their pots but will have to wait on the windowsill a little longer before transfer to the polytunnel. The wild spring flowers are a delight, with violets, primroses, bluebells and blackthorn blossom all making wonderful displays - unlike their tender cultivated counterparts, the varying temperatures seem to have little effect on them.

A blackbird built a nest in the rock face behind my workshop so I was distracted from basketmaking by the much more absorbing task of trying to capture a photo of the adult feeding the chicks. We also have swallows and wagtails nesting in the eaves. Our resident pair of mute swans managed to raise a cygnet last year after a few years of choosing remarkably poor nesting sites which were always washed away by a high tide. After success last year, they have returned to the better site and are sitting on eggs.

A fishing trip to Loch Linne gave James his first catch of the year - one pan sized brown trout. Many more were caught but were far too small to keep. The loch is quite low because there has been so little rain over the last months. It is a beautiful spot, no distance from the road but surrounded by forest and utterly peaceful.

On a clear day, the views from above Crinan are wonderful and we could see porpoises breaking the surface far below us. You can look out to the islands of Islay, Jura, Scarba, Luing and Mull. Cruachan still had patches of snow showing up in the sunshine. The west coast of Scotland has some of the best sailing you can find and there were a few boats out in the Sound of Jura.

Along the forest road towards Carsaig we came across an art installation which was part of the NVA Environmental Art Project which took place in the area in 2007. We had visited some of the installations but hadn’t been to this one so it came as a surprise to find a timber walkway in an avenue of standing spruce columns leading to a woven archway which frames a rock outcrop with ancient rock carvings.

We incubated four chicks from some Maran eggs given to me by a friend. We don’t know yet which are cockerels and which will be hens but they are currently looking fairly macho and slightly scruffy with new feathers coming in to replace the down. I fear they may all end up in the pot rather than joining our team of egg layers.

No Seafield blog post is complete without mention of the beavers and a slightly blurry photo of the new arrivals. Two more beavers were released this month bringing the total population up to 8, three breeding pairs and two juveniles. They can be seen quite easily as the Lily Loch is small and having been in the Highland Wildlife Park for a year, they will be used to a degree of human contact. According to an article in the Herald Magazine, the budget is now £2.5 million which seems an astonishing amount of money for a project to give Argyll more wetland. It may have been dry this year but one thing Argyll is not short of is wetland. £2.5 million would build a fantastic visitor centre to celebrate and interpret Argyll’s amazing native wildlife and beautiful historic landscape and be far more beneficial for visitors to the area than a few large rodents which have flooded a popular forest walk.

April At Last

April is my favourite month at Seafield. The days are stretching, there is warmth in the sun and not a midge to be seen. The garden is full of possibility and devoid of weeds and I am full of energy and optimism that this will be the year that I manage to keep the wilderness at bay. The daffodils and tulips are out at last, the pond is full of frog and toad spawn and new lambs have appeared in the fields. The farmers are glad to see the grass beginning to grow while I am wondering how long I can get away with not cutting the lawn.

This year I have joined ArtMap Argyll which runs an open studio event in August. The group organised some weekend workshops run by members of the group and, inspired by the recent Mastercrafts series on tv, I thought I’d try stonecarving. Two days of chipping away at a block of stone has made me think that basketmaking is a relatively easy craft It gave me new respect for those who created the carved stones now displayed in Kilmory Chapel, at the end of the Achnamara peninsula. This is where the famous MacMillan Cross has been placed to save it from erosion by the elements.

The fishing season is well under way with good catches being reported on Barnluasgan Loch despite the cold start to the season. There is a new boat on Seafield Loch which can be hired from Lochgilphead Angling Club, as can the boats on Loch Linnhe, Loch Coille Bharr and Barnluasgan. Even if you don’t catch anything, it is a pleasant way to spend a few hours and you can do some wildlife spotting or simply enjoy the peace and quiet.

The opreys have returned to their nest. Most years, they manage to raise two chicks and can often be seen fishing over Loch Sween. Watching an osprey catch a fish in its talons is an impressive sight.

A pine marten appeared on the conservatory windowsill again tonight. If it was not for their voracious appetite for poultry, we would be happy to encourage it.

Spring is also bringing the addition of another pair of beavers to the Knapdale Beaver Project. The two beavers, remnants of the ill fated importation of beavers from Norway in November 2008, will be released onto the un-named loch known locally as the Lily Loch, close to Lochan Buic, better known as Seafield Loch. An artificial lodge has been created to provide initial shelter for the animals before they burrow or build their own lodge - when they decide where they want to be. Fences have been put up to stop them travelling south which would bring them onto Seafield Farm, but there are no obstacles to prevent them moving west and north. This brings the total number of beavers to eight; three pairs and two young. This is too small a group for a viable trial but enough to cause considerable damage to the local native woodland which has been restored and protected at considerable expense over recent years.

Winter Wonderland at Seafield

Visitors often ask if there will be lots of snow at Christmas and usually my answer is ‘probably not’. Typical Argyll festive seasons have been wet, windy, mild and green but this year has proved the exception and we have a covering of snow and thick frost. It is stunningly beautiful and the monochrome snowy scenes of the day have given way to stunningly colourful sunsets. The one year that we could have provided the perfect Scottish white Christmas for our visitors, we decided to have a break and leave the cottages empty until New Year.

The weather is not without it’s challenges, with frozen water supplies and icy roads to contend with. Bundles of willow which should have been baskets by now are frozen in the soaking tank and will take days to thaw when the temperatures rise. Fortunately we have plenty of firewood to keep us warm and cosy in the house.

We continue to keep an eye on the beavers. Both families have built lodges and stored winter supplies of food underwater. Coming from Norway, the cold weather will not cause a problem for them. The tree felling activity has increased in recent months and hundreds of trees have now been felled and many will die through being flooded. While this may create habitats for some flora and fauna, it will undoubtedly displace others. If the damage to the woodland had been caused by humans, it would be called vandalism; because it is done by a wild creature, it is considered beneficial. With a landscape covered in Sitka Spruce, it is nonsense to laud the environmental benefits of opening up the canopy in tiny areas of scrubby woodland.

We wish all our visitors a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Basketmaking at Seafield Farm

In addition to running holiday cottages, I make baskets when I have the time and the inclination. I grow various varieties of basketmaking willow and make many different styles of baskets, most of them traditional and functional but some more decorative and creative. There is a selection for sale or you can just have a look. Sometimes I run basketmaking courses for beginners and host gatherings of fellow Argyll basketmakers which usually involves a lot of chatting and a great deal of cake eating.

The willow provides a fantastic habitat for insects and birds and creates a shelter belt for the vegetable patch. It grows at a fantastic rate with the larger varieties growing up to 14 feet tall during one growing season. Willow comes in many different colours - red, green, brown, purple, yellow and orange with all shades in between.