Archive for the ‘Tourism’ Category

New Whisky Experience and Robert Burns

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Alloway is the home of Robert Burns and the new 5 ***** museum

The important Alloway 1759 event is being held this year on Sunday 29th Jan in Alloway main street timing 12.15 -15.00. Ayrshire Food network members will be participating in the farmers’ market,which will include some local crafters and textiles.

The whisky experience is a great new attraction Based in what was the old Kirkoswald Primary School, it is owned by Tim Morrison whose family pedigree in the whisky business is impressive to say the least. This is something I’ve always wanted to do as I was responsible for establishing the Visitor’s Centre for Bowmore on Islay and knew the direction I wanted this to take. I also developed the packaging for Bowmore from 1971 and you can see examples of this – and the whisky, of course – in the shop.

The sampling room is only used by Nick White, managing director of AD Rattray Ltd., whose offices are upstairs in the building.

This is the arm of the business which 90 per cent of the time deals only with the huge export market.

Visitors can see into this room through a viewing window where there is row upon row of carefully labelled whiskies.

These are all samples from the 95 distilleries in Scotland from where individual casks of specialist whiskies have been carefully sourced by the company to let AD Rattray’s customer’s taste before they buy if they wish.

There’s also a fabulous tasting room where groups of up to 12 can sample the kind of whiskies they may be curious to try or may not have even thought of trying.

Strong links have already been forged with Turnberry Hotel to provide guests with an unusual whisky experience as well as golf tour operators.

“We feel there’s also a big market for us in Northern Ireland and we are establishing links with the council and also tourism bodies but anyone can give us a call and we’ll tailor make tastings to what may be required”, said Tim.

In the softly lit, whisky cask room and bottling hall – which has an array of different brands of barrels – visitors can enjoy A D Rattray’s ‘Whisky Experience’.

Two casks actually do have whisky in them, one has an 11 year old Bowmore, and the other a 14 year old Cragganmore from which you can fill your own bottle of whisky, have it sealed in wax, and then your own personalised label put onto it.

At the moment this is £45 per bottle but the price may change, up or down, depending on the current whisky in the cask.

Added to all of this a programme of educational courses about whiskies, their fascinating histories, and subtleties is being put together.

These will be held in the spacious upstairs board room adjacent to the administration offices.

Anyone can come along and enjoy these courses but it’s envisaged that professional Sommeliers who work in hotels, and who may know a lot about wines, but not whiskies, will be amongst those who will most benefit.

Shop manager is Raphael Marinoni who is half German and half Italian and who has led an international career in the hospitality industry.

Raphael, who masterminds the tastings, was formerly bar manager at Turnberry Hotel and has been in Scotland since 2003.

Added Tim: “We have whiskies that are deemed collectables.”

“Some of these collectables are for sale but there are those that are so unique that they are only for viewing and Raphael will be delighted to explain their background.”

“One of the most valuable of the collection, and not for sale, is a Glen Grant which was already a 30 year old whisky when it was finally taken from the cask and bottled in 1960.

“It’s worth around £2,500.”

Cosses Country House is the perfect place to stay to savour all these flavours and we have an impressive malt whisky list for you to try.

 

 

Snowdrop Festival in Southern Scotland

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Snowdrops are the first flowers of the year

February marks the beginning of the SnowdropFestival in Scotland. Did you know the Scientific name for Galanthus means milk flower. These lovely flowers are among the first to raise their heads in the New Year, when it is warm they release a fragrance. Look carefully at the snowdrops to see their green markings on the inside.
Cosses Country House has created a woodland trail with information about all there is to see. The shrubbery, woodland and pond are covered with blankets of white snowdrops.

A favourite eating place for the birds in the Vibernum

Many gardens in the area have wonderful displays of snowdrops including Dunsky, Caprington Castle, Culzean and Logan Come and enjoy the beautiful woodland and loch-side walks and car drives, and see the swathes of snowdrops and early spring flowers. Set amidst the truly stunning gardens of Castle Kennedy there is much to explore and enjoy for all the family.

Reflections

Cosses Country House is offering some wonderful holiday packages with fine dining, log fires and luxury accommodation.

Celebrate Ayrshire at Cosses Country House

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Come and stay at Cosses Country House for the weekend and enjoy all the best in Ayrshire.

Home grown produce

On Sunday from 11.00am until 4.00pm:
An exciting festival of all things Ayrshire – including farming, food, arts, history, and the environment. Entertainment and activities for all the family, including musical entertainment with Maybole Pipe Band and Newmilns & Galston Brass Band.
Celebrate and support your local heritage at this popular annual event.

In keeping with the Burns theme of the Homecoming year, visitors will have the chance to meet Ayrshire poet, Robert Burns in the flesh as he mingles with the crowd and shares some stanzas of his best known works.

More contemporary poetry will be provided by the talented Makar Press Poets, who will offer lively recitals of their latest pieces.

Another theme of the day, again with a Burns connection, is farming. Milking displays featuring an Ayrshire cow, Ayrshire tractors and Ayrshire produce will all feature in this fantastic family day out.

Event organiser, Katie Walker, who is also one of Culzean’s rangers, said: “In this year of Homecoming, many people from across the globe and locally are planning to discover Ayrshire, pay their tributes to Burns and explore the area. As well as its strong traditions in the arts and poetry, Ayrshire has contributed much to Scotland’s way of life. Its agricultural produce is well-known throughout the world for its variety and quality.

“We are very pleased to have so many excellent local organisations, food producers and talented performers involved as we spread the word about Ayrshire and all it has to offer.

“Hopefully Culzean Castle and Country Park will prove to be such an inspiring setting our re-incarnated bard will feel bound to produce an ‘Ode to Ayrshire’ – a fitting tribute in this, the 250th anniversary of his birth.”

Celebrate Ayrshire takes place at Culzean Castle and Country Park on Sunday 14 June, from 11am – 4pm.

Other event highlights include:
Vintage Military vehicles, the land army and Robbie the Clydesdale horse
Robert Watson M.A. B.D. (historian and writer) will be giving a talk on the Scottish Covenanters and playing his short film on the subject.
Local food on sale including delicious Ayrshire Farmhouse Ice-cream
Ayrshire artists demonstrating
Live music from the Maybole Pipe Band and Johnstone Silver Band
Explore inside an open-top Double Decker bus from the Beith Transport Museum
Come and Try Archery with the British Longbow Society

Wind Farms threaten Tourism in South West Scotland www.cossescountryhouse.com/blog

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

How will we attract tourists if every view incorporates wind turbines causing noise pollution, shadow flicker , property devaluation, – all of which effects the rural economy.

A group in Dumfries and Galloway have set up this website for anti windfarm information and we will be able to support each other in our campaign to save south west Scotland.

Windfarms threaten tourism in South West Scotland

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Cosses Country House, a luxury bed and breakfast Wolsey Lodge situated in the beautiful hidden valley on Crailoch Burn, a tributary of the River Stinchar; is having its successful business threatened by the growing number of wind farms on the surrounding hills.
Many of our guests come to walk in the area. The walks from the house are stunningly beautiful, especially to the top of Beneraird an outstanding hill of 1,435 feet, on which stands a considerable Cairn (stone fortification). The path to it is part of the old road from Ballantrae to New Luce, and the view from the summit is remarkable with vistas extending from the Isle of Man to Arran; Ballantrae lies to the Northwest, Lagafater and its gleaming lochs nestle in the depths of the south, and all around is a vast panorama of mountains, valleys and moorland with the Merrick and Mountains of Fleet to the east. This is all to be destroyed if any more wind farms are allowed to be developed in South West Scotland.

Kilgallioch (8)(Arecleoch Phase 2) is just below Beneraird
all objectors to the Kilgallioch should lodge their complaints with Peter Barker, Senior Planner, D&G Council in addition to sending their objections to Debbie Flaherty, Planning Directorate

How will we attract tourists if every view incorporates wind turbines causing noise pollution, shadow flicker , property devaluation, – all of which effects the rural economy.
The legacy of windfarms will be far worse.
In theory every windfarm developer has to undertake to remove the turbines after 25 years but what guarantee is there that this will happen? Companies change hands all the time. This was raised in our local paper last week by someone referring to the situation in Hawaii
and across California where miles of rusting useless turbines are abandoned. That of course is what we see and does not take into account all that concrete underground.
Why when the planners are so stringent on allowing planning permission for building, would they allow our beautiful countryside to be littered with wind turbines?
Look at the way Denmark has been devastated with the installation of 5,100 wind towers – one for every thousand citizens. 300-foot-high steel and concrete towers can be seen from almost every field, farm, hill and seashore and only provide 10% of Denmark’s energy.
Britain’s wind farms have become ‘No Spin Zones’ when cold weather hits. When they were most needed in the recent cold weather from November to January with temperatures of minus 20 celsius, wind power failed miserably. On December 20th Britain’s average temperature fell to minus 5.6 celsius. At 6.30 that evening, the nation’s wind farms, which claim a generating capacity of 5.2GW of electricity, were actually generating a piffling 40MW, the eqivalent of 20 turbines working at full capacity!
Studies show that ‘cycling’ coal plants to accommodate wind generation makes the plants operation inefficient, which drives up emissions. Because the wind is not dependable, electric utilities must keep conventional power plants running so that the lights do not go out when the wind does not blow. Coal and Gas fired generators are designed to run continuously, if they don’t fuel consumption and emissions go up – just like driving a car. An automobile travelling at a constant speed of –say 55mph–will have better efficiency and emit less pollution per mile travelled, than one stuck in stop and go traffic!
There is a huge disparity between installed capacity and actual output into the system – often less than 20%.
Even more obscene are the government subsidies that go into wind power and the greed for these drives the desecration of our beautiful landscape. The reality is that, as Britain flaunts its environmental
credentials by speckling its coastlines and unspoiled moors and mountains with thousands of wind turbines, it is contributing to a vast man-made lake of poison in northern China. This is the deadly and sinister side of the massively profitable rare-earths industry that the
‘green’ companies profiting from the demand for wind turbines would prefer you knew nothing about.

Not a Wind Farm in sight

This is the legacy we should leave our grandchildren- not one littered with wind turbines

The Ayrshire Coastal Path from Cosses Country House

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Saturday was yet another glorious Autumn Day in South West Scotland and as we did not have any guests staying we set off to walk the first section of the Ayrshire Coastal path from Glenapp to Ballantrae
The Autumn colours were beautiful

Looking back to Glenapp

Climbing out of Glenapp


The path rises to give wonderful views of Loch Ryan and out to the Irish Sea, passing through forest, moorland, farmland and coastal bays and cliffs
Secluded harbour

The secluded Bay of Currarie Port


Nestled between the cliffs this was a great smugglers landing place


This is a great place for a picnic and Monty Dog to have a swim and cool off! From here you can watch wild goats and buzzards hunting pray, gliding on the wind around the cliffs. We also watched a fishing boat checking his lobster pots.
Quite a climb follows to the cliff tops, miles from any road

The sea crashes onto the rocks below


Grazing cattle and sheep, sky larks and gulls, hardly a sole to be seen (we met one walker heading south).

Walking along the cliff tops, Ballantrae just comes into view


As we get closer to Ballantrae, Knockdolian, dominates the skyline. This hill is known as the ‘False Craig’ , as from the sea its shape is the same as Ailsa Craig and sailors have been known to use it for navigation by mistake!

Knockdolian dominates the skyline above Ballantrae


As we approach Ballantrae, beautiful views of the River Stinchar and the Estuary appear
Estuary of the River Stinchar

The River Stinchar forms a beautiful Estuary where it flows into the Irish Sea


Lifts to and from locations on the Ayrshire Coastal path can be organised from Cosses Country House

Scottish food and Drink fortnight at Cosses Country House

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

For the Scottish Food and Drink fortnight href=”http://”>Cosses Country Househref=”http:///www.cossescountryhouse.com/dining.htm”> is highlighting its famous kitchen garden and use of local food.
Guests can help to select and pick their own vegetables- lots of varieties of potatoes,carrots and tomatoes, various salad crops, courgettes, french and runner beans, and a huge brassica collection. Today we picked the last of the Broad Beans and Czar plums. Victoria plums and Coxes apples are just coming into season.

Kitchen garden

Breakfast menus using home grown fruit compote and home made yoghurt; Dalduff bacon, haggis, black pudding and sausages; locally smoked kippers and haddock for kedgeree; home made bread and preserves.
Dinner menus using Ballantrae crab, lobsters and prawns, Crailoch Lamb, Dalduff fillet of beef, venison and game. Local Scottish Cheese, home made oatcakes and Rowan Jelly alomg with Joy’s home grown black grapes. All for £90 dinnner B&B in a luxurious suite. Cosses Country House has a superb wine and whisky list to choose from.

Home Grown Produce from the garden at Cosses CountryHouse

Friday, August 20th, 2010

What a wonderful time of year in the vegetable garden. There is so much to choose from and everything is so lush. I visit the garden to decide what to serve my guests for dinner. www.cossescountryhouse.com/ I have just picked raspberries for a Mille Feuille and home made raspberry and Brockman’s gin Ice Cream. Brockman’s Gin
Brockman’s Gin is a great discovery in the kitchen, as it has so many botanicals that it enhances the flavour of many desserts. One of my favourites is Blackcurrant Creme Brulee.

Raspberrie Mille Feuille with homemade ice cream


The Czar Plums are ripening thus it will be a Czar Plum Sauce with the Gressingham Duckling breasts tonight on the menu. Courgettes are in abundance and the following recipe for Courgette cake will be for afternoon tea:
80g raisins, 4tblspn water, 280g flour, 1/2 tspn cinnamon, 1/4 tspn salt, 1/2 tspn baking powder, 1 and 1/2 tspn bicarbonate of sod, 120ml of olive oil, 150 g demarara sugar, 1/2 vanilla pod,
2 lightly beaten free range eggs, 1/2 kilo thinly sliced courgettes,
grated zest of a lemon, finely chopped stem ginger and 2 free range egg whites.

Grease and line 1 large or 2 small cake tins.
Pre heat the oven to 170C
Place the raisins in the water and simmer until the water has been absorbed.
Sift together dry ingredients.
In a bowl beat together the oil sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod. Add the eggs and beat until smooth and thick.
Mix in the courgettes, ginger, lemon rind and raisins, then fold in the dry ingredients. Finely beat the egg whites to a meringue texture and carefully add to the cake batter.
Pour into the tins and bake for 1 and 1/2 hours until firm (and a skewer comes out clean).
Leave to cool in the tins.
Mix together cream cheese, maple syrup and lemon juice.
Cut the cake in half horizontally, then fill and top the cake with the icing. Yum!