On the fringe of the Galloway Forest Park, this is a great base.

Work is under way on a Dark Sky Observatory close to loch Doon in south west Scotland.

Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing took part in the groundbreaking ceremony at Dalmellington in Ayrshire.

The new facility, which has received £94,000 in funding from the Scottish government, will be used by schools, colleges and universities.

Ministers said they also hoped to capitalise on the recent popularity of the BBC’s Stargazing Live programme.

The Galloway Forest Park straddles the regions of Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

It received Dark Sky Park recognition in 2009, and is the only such site in Britain.

The new observatory, costing almost £700,000 in total, aims to build on the park’s status and will offer visitors a chance to observe the Northern Lights, the Milky Way, planets, comets and shooting stars.

Mr Ewing said: “Scotland has made an immense contribution to shaping the modern world through science and research excellence, and this new observatory builds on our reputation as a hotbed of innovation and ideas.

“The creation of a state-of-the-art, first of its kind in Britain, observatory will attract stargazers and astronomers from near and far.

“The Galloway Forest Park area enjoys some of the darkest skies in the world and this new facility will showcase the area’s stunning natural scenery and resources to attract new visitors and investment to Ayrshire.”

Observatory manager Cath Seeds said it had taken two years to “generate the enthusiasm and raise funds for this project”.

She paid tribute to the wide range of organisations funding the scheme.

“Often, the science can feel overwhelming, so we want the observatory to break down these barriers by bringing together astronomy, nocturnal natural history and arts and crafts inspired by the night sky,” she said.

“We also want to play a key role in the future development of this area.

“Great things are occurring and great talent is abundant.

“Our role is to improve science in our community, whether by inspiring the next generation of scientists or providing the spark needed by an inventor to produce something truly remarkable.”

Depute leader of East Ayrshire Council, Iain Linton, said it would be a “huge asset” to the area.

“It will hopefully attract not only local visitors, but many tourists and keen stargazers from around the world who I’m sure will be extremely impressed with the new facility,” he said.

“This in turn will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the area and will really put East Ayrshire on the map.”

Golf’s iconic names will take on one of the game’s most revered links courses when The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex returns to Turnberry from July 26-29, and fans can now book their place to see more history in the making on the picturesque Ayrshire coast.

Discounted advance tickets are now on sale for the 26th Senior Open Championship at a historic venue that is universally popular with leading senior players from both sides of the Atlantic.

Scotland’s Sam Torrance, the victorious 2002 European Ryder Cup Captain, will be hoping to lead the home challenge on Turnberry’s Ailsa Course, which he ranks as one of his favourite golfing venues.
“I was at Turnberry a few weeks ago and it looked absolutely magnificent,” enthused Torrance. “I’m really looking forward to The Senior Open there. Aesthetically it is one of the most beautiful looking courses in the world, in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and it is a great golf course.”
“The Senior Open is always special, no matter where it is played, but it is extra special when it is played in Scotland. I’m from that area – I was born about an-hour-and-a-half from Turnberry – so it will be special.”
Tom Lehman, the leading player on the US Champions Tour in 2011, believes Turnberry would be the perfect venue to add a Senior Open Championship victory to The Open Championship he won at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in 1996.
“Turnberry is an amazing place,” said the 2006 United States Ryder Cup Captain. “It is a tremendous golf course and a beautiful spot in the world. The views from the top of the hill and the hotel looking over Ailsa Craig are exceptional. Winning The Senior Open is on my wish list.”

Carl Mason, the most prolific winner in Senior Tour history, has bitter-sweet memories of Turnberry, having agonisingly let the 2003 Senior Open Championship slip through his grasp.
Mason had a two shot lead playing the final hole on his Senior Open debut, but a closing double bogey allowed Tom Watson to take the Championship into a play-off, which the American won on the second extra hole 26 years after winning The Open Championship at the same venue in the famous ‘Duel in the Sun’ with Jack Nicklaus.

“Turnberry is one of the leading links courses, a set-up that everyone enjoys, and it is very fair,” said Mason. “It is also in a beautiful spot. The Senior Open is an event we all want to try and win and I’m sure we will all look forward to playing Turnberry.”
Barry Lane, winner of the past two Scottish Senior Opens and runner-up in the 2011 Senior Tour Order of Merit, added: “Turnberry is a wonderful venue. For us, as seniors, to play Turnberry is fantastic. We play some great courses anyway but to play a course that is on the Open rota is a real privilege.”
It will be the seventh time that Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has hosted The Senior Open Championship, the most of any venue, surpassing the six editions played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Turnberry hosted the inaugural Senior Open in 1987, when Englishman Neil Coles captured the trophy, with Gary Player capturing the title in 1988 and 1990 and Bob Charles lifting the trophy in 1989.
American Loren Roberts took the title on the Senior Open’s last visit to Turnberry in 2006, four years after Watson’s play-off victory over Mason.
Turnberry has also hosted The Open Championship on four occasions, including in 2009, when Watson lost in a play-off to Stewart Cink at the age of 59.
With the US Senior Open moving from its traditional slot in the last week of July to a new date of July 12-15, The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex will now be the final Senior Major of 2012, as well as the only professional Major Championship in Scotland this year, and fans can now reserve their tickets to be there.
Discounted advance tickets for The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex can now be purchased online, with season passes now available at £60 and any one day tickets at £18. They can be booked online at www.europeantourtickets.com, where other discounts and offers can also be found.

American Russ Cochran won The 2011 Senior Open Championship at Walton Heath, England, holding off the challenge of former Open Champion Mark Calcavecchia, three-time Senior Open Champion Watson and 2010 United States Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin.

Cosses Country House is just 30minutes drive south of Turnberry in a beautiful hidden valley www.cossescountryhouse.com

Contact Susan Crosthwaite staying@cossescountryhouse.com

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.

Brian is cycling 470 miles from Norwich to Newtownards to raise funds for
Motor Neurone Disease : http://cyclingformnd.com/index.htm

Day 1: Norwich to Lincoln. (Caenby crossroads, about 12 miles North of
Lincoln to be exact)

Day 2: Lincoln to Leyburn – on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

Day 3: Leyburn to Gretna

Day 4: Gretna to Cairnryan via the Galloway Forest Park – nice views!

Day5: Get the boat to Larne and finish the ride to Newtownards.

Angie is following them in their fabulous car

Brian and Angie commented on the safe secure parking and storage for their car and bikes.
I was telling them about the fabulous cycling from Cosses Country House – some organised trails such as the 7 staines trails and many local tracks and trails. The International Mountain Biking Association states that Scotland was designed with mountain biking in mind!
Cosses Country House is the perfect base with fantastic food to begin and end each day!
local routes and a favourite from Cosses is Ballantrae, Beneraird and Arecleoch Forest

Kiroughtree visitors centre is just 45 minutes from Cosses Country House (through some glorious scenery), where you can hire bikes and discover the level of mountain bike trail to follow. If you have not tried it before, come and have a new experience that will enrich your life. This is a perfect way to explore nature, fresh air and exercise are the perfect remedy to stuffy work conditions.

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.

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

View from Cosses drive

View over Cosses Valley