'The Water Horse' film preview.

We went to Saturday morning pictures - taking us back to our childhood days, but this wasn't just any old film. We were priviliged to see a special pre-release screening of Sony's new movie -'The Water Horse - Legend of the Deep' at Eden Court Theate in Inverness. It was hosted by VisitScotland, Scotland's national tourist board, and held in association with the Destination Loch Ness consortium and BAFTA Scotland. We were invited, along with other businesses, local attractions and the media, to view the film before the official UK release date of 8th February. The film has already been released in the US and has been a great success. Destination Loch Ness is keen to ensure that this renewed public interest in Loch Ness can help with the campaign to secure World Heritage Status for the area.It was a really good film for all ages. It made us laugh, get weepy, and jump out of our seats with the terrific special effects, made by the 'Lord of the Rings' team of experts.Cannot give a photo but do visit the official web site where you can watch some clips.

Wildlife update.

The week began quite calmly and the mother and offspring were often seen wandering casually in the forest behind the house. This is the young deer we first saw last July when it was just a few weeks old-wobbling about on its stick thin legs. It is now nearly as big as the mother, who we can easily recognise by a slight nick out of one of her ears. The temperature dropped by mid week and the snow arrived on Thursday and poured down most of the day although it only laid seriously on higher ground. A large white hare in its winter coat was seen running up the lane to the single track road and off into Farigaig Forest. When the snow eased off the hungry birds descended for a feeding frenzy. There was a mixture of green male siskins,long tailed tits, great tits, chaffinches, blue tits, robins, large blackbirds and tiny coal tits.
The most unusual bird we spotted on the nut feeders was the goldfinch, one we very rarely see so close to the house.

Sled Dog Rally

This weekend [ January 19/20th ] hundreds of dogs have gathered in the Highlands for the biggest event in the British Husky calendar. About 200 teams of dogs, including Alaskan Malamutes,Samoyeds, Greenland dogs and Canadian Eskimo dogs, will take part in the annual Sled Dog Rally near Aviemore. The event is organised by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain. The dogs are initially paraded through Aviemore by torchlight in the evening for everyone to admire, which must be a wonderful sight. During the day teams of between two and eight dogs run at up to 20 miles an hour over a stretch of about four miles around beautiful Loch Morlich at the base of the Cairngorm mountains.

All Highland ski centres open.

The recent wintry cold weather has provided Scotland's Highland ski centres with their best snow for years. All five resorts were open this weekend with most main runs complete as well as extensive nursery areas for skiers and snowboarders. It is quite unusual for all the centres to be open with good snow cover at the same time.Cairngorm reported skiing 'from top to bottom' ,the Lecht [near Balmoral]opened its rail park last Thursday, and Glenshee has snow across three valleys. Glencoe has loads of snow with all pistes complete and Nevis Range, near Fort William, has good skiing conditions. Reports say that this winter season will be brilliant with some of the best snow seen for years. More snow forecast for the Scottish Highlands later this week.

Illuminations.

The sky was quite ominous this morning and, as we drove back from Inverness, down came the snow. We could see it laying already on the lower ground around Urquhart Castle on the opposite shore. The cloud base was very low and we could not see clearly across Loch Ness or any of the mountains opposite. After a few hours it eased off leaving a layer of snow around the house and in the forest, the fir trees looked a picture. The birds were desperately trying to find their lunch which,by now,was hidden under an inch of snow. Had a swarm of long tailed tits in the trees taking bits of litchen and moss for their nests. A few green and yellow siskins appeared on the nut feeders which is quite unusual for this time of year-they normally come to feed in the spring and summer months so hope this is not an omen of bad weather to come! By 4 o'clock it was starting to get dark when the sky was suddenly illuminated for a few minutes in a colourful light show.

January snow scenes.

Very heavy snow showers hit the east coast of Scotland last night and inland as far west as Perthshire and the Trossachs. The Borders were especially badly affected with 8 to 10 inches of snow expected overnight with high winds causing treacherous drifting. The gritters and snowploughs were out in force in the worst hit areas, mainly the cities of Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee and Edinburgh. We woke up here overlooking Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland to a slight sprinkling on the higher ground but as the day progressed the temperature increased and the snow now only remains on the mountain tops. The sun shone on Urquhart Castle and it was just beautiful.

Happy New Year.

No sign of snow at lower levels yet although there is some to be seen on the higher mountains. The temperatures have been fluctuating between -5C and +5C with sharp frosts one day and rain the next. The lochs above us are still frozen and, judging by all the rocks resting on top of the ice, attempts to break it have been unsuccessful. Loch Ness never freezes as it is so deep. Very low cloud formations at times which lock in the cold air. The 'Lord of the Glens' cruise liner took passengers on a week long trip over Christmas and it glided past us yesterday on its return voyage to Inverness lit up with fairy lights from bow to stern. The Jacobite Queen and Jacobite Legend have been in action [apart from Christmas Day] taking passengers to Urquhart Castle and back to Inverness. No private craft in operation over the winter months.

A swarm of long tailed tits have descended on the nut feeders in the garden - exactly the same time as last year.

A huge skein of geese suddenly took flight from a field as we were driving along making a terrific noise and possibly on their way to the western isles. Happy New Year everybody.