Lower Quoys and Orkney News

So it has been about six weeks since I last updated our news! How time flies, when your having fun renovating! The house is almost ready now, and it is beginning to look like a home. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our first guests to Lower Quoys later in the Summer, why not check out our calendar for availability! I will upload some photos of the kitchen and bedrooms very soon.

Orkney has been a hubbub of activity over the last few weeks with the battle of Jutland commemorations which you may have seen coverage of on the BBC,  tours on battleships (HMS Duncan), Weeping Windows, Royal visitors and Festivals galore! You will never be short of things to do here in Orkney, that is for certain! The next big festival is the St Magnus International Festival. See the full programme at www.stmagnusfestival.com/calendar.  Oh and we were also was voted one of the UK’s top 10 islands in the 2015 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, which is no mean feat! 

Don’t forget to follow our Facebook page as well, as I regularly post things on there about local events, wildlife sightings and pictures of Lower Quoys. Orca’s have been spotted in Eynhallow Sound on a couple of occasions during May and June, and I posted pictures of these (courtesy of Tim Wootton who lives up the road) on our Facebook page.

At the end of April, I  talked about the wee lambs appearing and the hail and snow after a sudden drop in temperature; how different it has been the last few weeks. We have been enjoying a few weeks of warm, dry, sunshiny days with spectacular sunsets and light nights. (It doesn’t really get properly dark at this time of year!). We’ve had some great days on the beach (Scapa beach and Aikerness/Evie beach), as well as trips out for ice-cream to Geri’s ice-cream parlour at Stennes. The garden is bursting into life. The Clematis, which climbs up the front of the house, is putting on a spectacular show, my rhododendron flowered this year (apparently not easy to do here), and my buddleia has gone quite mad. It is difficult to get into the garden as much as I would like. There is so much to go at with 4 acres and with little time, but it’s coming along slowly. The seaweed I dug into the wee bit of soil directly in front of the house must have helped as the chives have also doubled in size this year and the purple blooms against the white of the house are lovely. (Chives, meant to be good for hay fever!).

Our ducks have gone all broody on us and are squirreling away eggs in daft places. I was hoping for some fluffy friends, but the first nest was raided sadly. We are watching another mum now on a different site, hidden well from view.

School holidays are almost upon us. Here in Orkney, the children break up at the end of June and return at the end of August. Eight weeks this year! The Cruise Ship visitors are almost a daily occurrence now too, docking at Hatston in Kirkwall, there are sometimes two and even three which is quite a sight as you approach Kirkwall.

We look forward to welcoming you to Lower Quoys. See You Soon!

PS: If you get a minute, do visit our Facebook page and give us a like and a share! oh and feel free to comment on any of the posts while your there!

Jayne