Posts Tagged ‘Wolsey Lodges’
Friday, February 18th, 2011
In Ayrshire there is an amazing source of local produce. Wendy Barrie from Scottish Food Guide says ‘As a leading contributor to the Scottish food scene and campaigner for good food: natural, wholesome, fresh and safe, may I commend to all seekers and providers of good food my selection of the best of Scottish fare.’ Wendy stayed with us last week whilst checking out some of the great places to eat in South West Scotland. She and I go back along way, to the early days of ‘Taste of Scotland’. Robin and I were going to the rugby the next day and had lunch at Zucca on Wendy’s recommendation – an Italian restaurant using local produce – which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Scotland Food and Drink says: ‘Visitors to Scotland are looking for a ‘food experience’ where they can sample a local culture through its food and drink. By offering fresh ingredients and local dishes, businesses are more likely to attract new, first time visitors; enhance their visitor experience; and entice them back.’ The Ayrshire Food Network does just that in Ayrshire.
By highlighting their use of Scottish food and drink through menus and staff, businesses can enhance their visitor experience, offer greater value for money and improve their bottom line.
People today have greater awareness of health issues and are conscious about what they eat. Cosses Country House ensures that its menus are well balanced including fresh garden produce.

Food from the Garden
By offering catering from regional or local suppliers, shopping at
farmers markets; businesses can really cut down their food miles and appeal to the growing number of visitors influenced by green business practices. What’s more, by offering Scottish food and drink, businesses are supporting other Scottish companies and ensuring that their business contributes to the Scottish economy. Cosses Country house is a Wolsey Lodge –
Wolsey Lodges is the epitome of luxury bed and breakfast B&B accommodation in Britain’s and France’s finest, unique homes where use of local produce is reflected in their breakfast and dinner menus.
Tags: Best Food, Best places to eat in Scotland, Eat Scotland, Fine Dining, Holiday Scotland, Luxury Bed and Breakfast, Scottish food and Drink, Special Offer Breaks, Wolsey Lodges
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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.

This is the legacy we should leave our grandchildren- not one littered with wind turbines
Tags: favourite walks in Ballantrae, holiday-southern-scotland, Romantic Locations, Walk Scotland, Windfarm objections, Wolsey Lodges
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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!
Tags: Best Food, Brockman's Gin, Courgette Cake Recipe, Eat Scotland, holiday-southern-scotland, Places to eat in Scotland, Scottish Food Guide, Slow Food, Wolsey Lodges
Posted in Best Restaurant, Fine Dining, Food, Gardening, Holiday Scotland, Luxury special offer breaks in Scotland, Romantic Holiday, Tourism, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
After some much needed rain everything is green and growing again! I made blackcurrant jam this morning and picked broad beans, french beans, spring onions and various salad leaves to mix with smoked Ayrshire Bacon, parmasan shavings, anchovies, free range eggs and olives for a delicious lunch.
As we still have some availability in July and August we have put together some special hot summer deals to tempt you to this beautiful unspoilt part of Scotland
If you are a ‘passionate foodie’ you will love it!
*Come and stay for a minimum of 4 nights (with dinner on a minimum of 3 nights) and receive 20% discount off the B&B price (Sunday to Thursday)

*Enjoy a weekend break away from it all and receive a free bottle of wine, with dinner. ( 2 nights)
*Walking Packages – from gentle walks to a bit more strenuous, to a real challenge (including free packed lunch and drop offs ) The walking in this enchanting area of natural beauty has amazing views with seascapes
, Southern Upland Way, Ayr River Way, Carrick and Galloway hills.
*Romantic Luxury Break with free bottle of Delamotte Brut, Champagne, (Established in the prestigious village of Le Mesnil. Champagne Delamotte is Chardonnays most refined in style and pedigree.One of the oldest Champagne houses, 250 years old this year.)
and Pamper Packages arranged at Pebble Spa. – minimum 2 nights
5*****Golfing breaks on delightful courses, for couples or small parties, in South West Scotland. Golfing itineraries arranged and a 3 night package will include 2 rounds of golf at Dunsky / Stranraer/ Brunston / or Girvan.
3 nights dinner B&B and 2 rounds of golf in the Ailsa or Iona Suite £295 per person / Garden room £265per person
Please quote ‘Summer Specials’ to claim any of these offers – subject to availability.
We are a Wolsey Lodge, that very special place to stay away from it all!
Tags: Best Food, Best Golf Courses in Scotland, favourite walks in Ballantrae, Romantic Locations, Slow Food, Special Offer Breaks, Summer Special offers, Walk Scotland, Where to stay, Wolsey Lodges
Posted in Best Restaurant, Cycling Scotland, Fine Dining, Food, Gardening, Gardens of Scotland, Holiday Scotland, Luxury special offer breaks in Scotland, Romantic Holiday, Tourism, Walking Scotland, Wine and Whisky | Comments Off
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
The sun is shining again after 24 hours of lovely summer rain so all the plants are drenched, fresh and happy! Cosses has a beautiful hidden garden where guests can relax in a romantic setting soaking up the sun and the beauty. After the rain I can plant out the remaining bedding plants, cut back geraniums which have finished flowering and dead head roses and lupins. In Wolsey lodge tradition, our guests enjoy afternoon tea (lemon cake with strawberry jam yesterday) in the garden.

In the kitchen garden I have picked mange tout, carrots, courgettes, spinach, chard and beetroot as well as several varieties of potatoes; and strawberries and gooseberries this week. I made strawberry jam yesterday.
Our guests from Luxembourg wrote in our visitors book “What a wonderful place! Lovely hosts and Susan’s cuisine is absolutely out of this world!”
Tags: Best Food, Best gardens in Scotland, holiday-southern-scotland, Where to stay, Wolsey Lodges
Posted in Best Restaurant, Fine Dining, Gardening, Gardens of Scotland, Holiday Scotland, Home, Romantic Holiday, Tourism, Wine and Whisky | Comments Off
Monday, June 21st, 2010
I just love these long summer evenings when it hardly ever seems to get dark. The cottage garden is a dream with lupins, delphiniums and roses, and the kitchen garden is beginning to produce an abundance of fruit, herbs and vegetables. The guests relax in the garden over afternoon tea with chocolate cake, whilst I select the evenings vegetables. There is a choice of Swift or Epicure potatoes; spring cabbage, spinach or Swiss chard, a gourmet selection of lettuce and lots of fresh herbs. Strawberries and gooseberries are in season, well matched with Elderflowers for faulous desserts.
i will be demonstrating at the Royal Highland show on Thursday, using all this seasonal produce.

Tags: Best Food, Highland Show, holiday-southern-scotland, perfect holidays, Romantic Locations, Slow Food, Wolsey Lodges
Posted in Best Restaurant, Fine Dining, Food, Gardening, Holiday Scotland, Home, Romantic Holiday, Tourism, Wine and Whisky | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Wolsey Lodge guests arrived in their beautiful blue Riley, having been to a rally near Loch Lomond. Wolsey Lodges are a great place for vintage car owners to stay as they nearly always have safe discreet parking.

Tim with his Riley
Other guests, this week have had great walking experiences doing the first section of the Ayrshire Coastal Path, walking aroung Glen Trool, the first section of the Southern Upland Way from Port Patrick and out to St.Ninians Cave on the Isle of Whithorn.

The path down the Merrick towards Loch Trool
The garden is looking glorious and guests have enjoyed afternoon tea and breakfast in the garden. It has rained all day today and provided a much needed watering of the garden.

In the garden at Cosses Country House
Tags: Best Food, Best gardens in Scotland, Gardens of Scotland, holiday-southern-scotland, perfect holidays, Romantic Locations, Vintage Cars, Walking Scotland, Wolsey Lodges
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Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Guests leaving this morning said that their visit to Cosses Country House was ‘the icing on the cake’ to finish a lovely week touring Scotland. They said that the dinner was fabulous – Fresh asparagus with Marrbury Smoked Salmon and home grown salad leaves; Fillet of Dalduff beef with mushroom stuffed with spinach and roast beetroot with balsamic and saute potatoes; Blackcurrant Creme Brulee; Scottish Cheese and Home made oatcakes; finished with coffee and home made Tablet.
They called in woodland Farm shop to buy farm house cheese – Ann Dorwood’s Aiket Brie and Epicure potatoes to take back home to Ireland; then they were going for a walk in Castle Kennedy before going for the ferry.
It rained last night, which watered the garden, as I had planted out the runner beans – St George and climbing beans – Cobra. The first early potatoes (in the green house) will be ready at the weekend, the spring cabbage is almost ready, and everything else has grown after the rain – including the weeds!
Tags: Best Food, Best gardens in Scotland, favourite walks in Ballantrae, holiday-southern-scotland, Romantic Locations, Slow Food, Wolsey Lodges
Posted in Best Restaurant, Food, Gardening, Gardens of Scotland, Home, Romantic Holiday, Tourism, Walking Scotland | Comments Off