Garmoran Square

29/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – I finally got the night walk I was waiting for! 🌙✨

At various points during this challenge I’ve wondered whether I should have called it 30 Reasons to Live Here - or perhaps 30 Things I’m Grateful For. ❤️

Then I remembered that this is the Garmoran Square page, and really what I've been sharing all month is 30 reasons to come and stay at Garmoran! 😂

Although I may have just given myself ideas for another couple of 30-day challenges… 🙈

Last night was definitely one of those evenings that makes you appreciate where we live.

Just as the daylight was disappearing, I managed to squeeze in a wee dip in the sea. 🌊🏊‍♀️ The light was fading, everything was becoming still and it was a beautiful way to finish the day.

And then, finally, I got the night walk I've been hoping for!

After some of my previous night walks involved drizzle, clouds and not very much to photograph, last night the sky was clear, the stars were out and the moon was shining. 🌙✨

It was absolutely beautiful.

There’s something very special about walking here after dark when the skies are clear — so little light pollution, just the moon, the stars and the quiet.

A sea swim at dusk followed by a walk under the stars…

Yep, that was a pretty good night. 😍

And perhaps another couple of reasons to come and stay at Garmoran. ❤️

26/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – Salen Lochan (and a childhood warning! 👀)

Today’s walk started with the very glamorous job of taking the bottles to the recycling banks in Salen! 😂

Oran and I decided that deserved a little reward, so we stopped at Salen Jetty Shop, where I had the most amazing potato and sweetcorn chowder. 😋 Definitely one of the advantages of choosing your walk around lunchtime!

Suitably fuelled, we headed up to the Lochan Walk, one of the forestry walks at Salen or alphabet walk as it is known locally. It’s a lovely little walk around the lochan and doesn't take too long — although there are lots of wee paths heading in different directions, so naturally we explored quite a few of them.

And then, perhaps rather stupidly given my previous promise about not going off-piste during stalking season, we went slightly off-piste. 🙈

There has been quite a bit of tree felling, and I wanted to climb a little higher to see if we could get a view out over Salen Bay.

Also a bit of tree fall, this was where I discovered that Oran is still small enough to wriggle underneath fallen trees and agile enough to leap over them.

Me? Not so much. 🤣🌲🐾

But walking around this lochan also brought back a very vivid childhood memory…

When we were children, we were always told NEVER to go too close to the water, because there were water-horses living in the lochan. If you went to the edge, they would come out of the water, tempt you onto their backs and then carry you down beneath the surface — and you would never get out again! 😳

Needless to say, we were absolutely terrified and kept well away from that lochan. 😂

Looking back now, I wonder how many of these old stories and legends were also a very effective way of keeping children away from dangerous places?

This was, after all, back in the days when you disappeared off to play for hours without your parents accompanying you everywhere. Telling a child “the water is dangerous” might only work so well…

A supernatural horse will drag you to the bottom and keep you there forever apparently worked brilliantly. 🤣🤣

Did your family have another terrifying story designed to stop you going somewhere you shouldn't? 👀

Another walk done ✅ and this one came with soup, tree-clambering and a bit of local folklore. Not bad for a trip to the bottle bank! 🥾🌲🐴

24/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – with a rather lovely reward at the end!

After a beautiful walk around the Dorlin circuit yesterday, we decided we had definitely earned a treat… so headed down to Mingary Castle for dinner. 😍

There was actually a particular reason for our visit. After six seasons at Mingary Castle, Colin Nicholson will be leaving on 2nd November, and having enjoyed many absolutely beautiful — and delicious — meals there over the years, we wanted the chance to enjoy his talents one more time before he hangs up his Mingary apron.

And, as always, it was fabulous. ❤️

If you're staying at Garmoran and looking for somewhere really special to eat, a trip down to Mingary Castle is something I would highly recommend — and if you want to experience Colin's cooking there, you haven't got too long left!

As usual, I was far too busy enjoying the food to remember to take any photographs of it. 🤦‍♀️😂

But when we came outside afterwards it was such a lovely clear, dark evening that I did at least manage a few photos of the castle under the night sky. ✨🏰

So yesterday had a bit of everything — a beautiful walk, a drive through Ardnamurchan, a wonderful meal and a spot of dark-sky photography to finish.

Not a bad way to spend an evening at all. ❤️

23/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – exploring a little bit of local history

This is a wee video from Sunday’s walk, when I also attempted my first live while out exploring 🙌 — however apologies for the slightly out-of-breath commentary on this video !😂 Clearly walking uphill and talking at the same time is a skill I still need to master!

One of the fascinating things I wanted to show was the remains of this old house in the abandoned village of Briag sitting above Loch Moidart.

I love the gable end that is still standing, particularly those unusual little triangular openings. It’s one of those ruins that immediately makes you wonder who lived here, what the building looked like and what life must have been like in this spot all those years ago.

I have been trying to find out more information about the village of Briag (can find lots on Port a Bhata further along the silver walk) it was cleared during the 1800s. I think around 1845 possibly by Alexander MacDonald. But frustratingly, I haven't managed to discover very much more about it.

So this time I'm hoping some of you might be able to help me!

Does anyone know anything about Briag?Perhaps you've heard stories about the families who lived there, know when it was abandoned, what the buildings were used for, or have seen it marked on old maps or mentioned in local history?

I'd absolutely love to find out more — and I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be interested. ❤️

One of the unexpected bonuses of this walking challenge has been slowing down and really noticing places like this that we can so easily walk past without thinking about the stories behind them.

And next time I'll try to do the history lesson when I'm not quite so out of breath… 🤣🥾

20/09/2026

17/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – and a little milestone!

Yesterday’s walk was done ✅ and it also meant I completed the 30km September walking challenge I’d set myself on Strava! 🙌

That’s 30km from the walks I actually remembered to record… there may have been a few where Strava was forgotten about!🤦‍♀️😂

Feeling rather pleased with myself, I then made the mistake of looking at the leaderboard.

Turns out 30km isn't quite as impressive as I thought. Some people have already walked hundreds of kilometres and I'm currently sitting somewhere around 5,000-and-something on the leaderboard. 🤣🤣

Oh well… there's always room for improvement!

But today I thought I’d share a slightly different kind of walk with you.

Rather than another woodland path, hill or beach, how about a little WALK through one of the houses here at Garmoran Square?🏡😍

Starting with our beautiful Tioram

Come on in and have a wee look around. ❤️

Because after all these walks, it’s rather nice to see where you can come home to, put your feet up and relax afterwards! 🥾🔥

15/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – Day 15

Last night's walk was in the pouring rain, so we're just going to gloss over that one… because obviously if you come and stay at Garmoran, it never rains. 🤣🌧️🙈

Moving swiftly on to today…

Today’s walk was in the woods and turned into much more of a photography walk than I had planned. 📷🌲

The light coming through the trees was just beautiful. I kept stopping to try to capture the way the sunlight was filtering through the branches, creating shadows and little pools of light across the woodland floor. 😍

It’s amazing how a walk you’ve done many times can look completely different depending on the light, the weather and the time of year. Today was definitely one of those days when it was worth slowing down and actually looking at what was around me. We have been lucky with how much greenery we have around about us. The place really does look lush at the moment. 🌳🌿

I finished off with a wee stretch along the road beside Garmoran. At the moment, with all the leaves still on the trees, so much of the view is hidden — but every now and again you catch a little glimpse through the branches. There’s something rather lovely about that too. 🌿

14/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – Day 13

Last night’s walk was an absolute beauty — one of those evenings when you’re reminded just how lucky we are to have all of this on our doorstep. 😍

We parked at the White Gate and headed down to walk alongside the River Shiel, following the river all the way towards its mouth at Dorlin.

The full circular route is one we’ve shared on the Garmoran Square blog, but last night we decided to keep things simple. We followed the riverside path down to where the River Shiel meets the sea, with beautiful views across to Castle Tioram and the houses at Dorlin. 🏰🌿

We carried on past the houses for a little while before turning around and retracing our steps.

Sometimes on a walk you feel you should make a circuit of it or find a different way back, but it was so peaceful beside the river that neither of us minded walking exactly the same way again. ❤️

The light, the stillness, the river beside us and Castle Tioram in the distance — just a beautiful evening to be out.

Day 13 complete ✅

This challenge is definitely reminding me that a good walk doesn't have to be a big adventure. Sometimes an hour or so somewhere wonderfully peaceful is exactly what you need. 🥾🌿

12/09/2026

🥾 30 Days of Walks – Days 10 & 11

There are some brilliant Scottish words where just one word paints the whole picture… and the word for the last couple of days has definitely been dreich!🌧️😂

Grey skies, drizzle, damp air and that unmistakable feeling that autumn is starting to creep in.

But the challenge continues! 🙌 on Thursday Oran and I still managed a good 45-minute walk, despite the weather, and actually enjoyed every minute of it. Last night got out in the dry for 30 mins.

I think there’s something quite satisfying about wrapping up, putting on the waterproofs and heading out anyway. And perhaps even better is knowing what’s waiting for you when you get back… 🔥😍

One of my favourite things about Garmoran at this time of year is coming home after a wet or chilly walk, getting the boots off and lighting the fire. There really isn't much that beats that feeling of being warm and cosy inside when the weather is doing its worst outside.

So perhaps dreich isn't always such a bad thing after all — especially when there's a roaring fire at the end of it. ❤️🔥

Days 10 & 11 complete ✅

11 different walks down, 19 to go… and I'm beginning to think the next few might require waterproofs! 😂🥾🌧️