Christmas 09

Well, just in case you are wondering, YES, WE ARE OPEN.  Whats more we have some great offers available for late bookers, check out our prices at Fludha's Christmas Tarif and be sure to not leave it much longer as very few places left!

It's my Birthday

Just had my hair cut and I swear I could double for George Clooney (in my dreams).  55 Years young on the 30th Nov.  To celebrate, and let my hair down :-)  we  are away for a couple of days to Yorkshire staying at our best friends Adrian and Ann who run one of the finest Guest Houses in York. Barbican House

No Floods at Fludha

Concern has been expressed by guest as far away as Canada after the recent "Perfect Storm" over the lake District and Dumfries and Galloway I just thought I would assure eveyone that Fludha and Kirkcudbright are almost unaffected. Lots of fields have flooded but that s all,  here is a picture of the "High Tide"

To compare to normal

Not a Hotel

Today we had a guest who having looked at our web site booked on the internet for a four night stay.  They left 10 minutes after arrival saying it was not what they expected, when I queried this he was a little vague but insisted that although the room was beautiful (room 5) he had expected it to be more like a hotel?  I am very sorry they were not happy but I am also puzzled by this as our web site and all our advertising heads up "Fludha 5 Star Guest House". Ah well, you can not please everybody.  Just in case your wondering what the difference is, here are a few of the major differences.

	Hotel	Guest House
24Hr Reception	Yes	No
Porter service	Yes	No
Open to public	Yes	No
Bar	Yes	No
Lunches served	Yes	No
Public Rooms	Yes	Sometimes

Fludha is a top class guest house and we do offer exceptional standards of accommodation and service.  We are licenced to serve alcohol to guests who choose to dine with us and we offer an excellent menu in the evenings.  We do have plans to extend in the future and build a beautiful orangery but at the present moment in time our indoor public space is limited to the guest's own (spacious) room and the dining room.

Galloway Forest Park is the first Dark Sky Park in the UK

Galloway Forest Park has been officially unveiled as the first Dark Sky Park in the UK.

The award, announced by the International Dark Sky Association, confirmed Galloway as one of the best places for stargazing in the world.
Lighting experts were brought in to ensure the skies above the forest park were pitch black at night.
The organisers of Galloway's bid said they hoped the award would boost tourism in south west Scotland.
The final decision on the award was taken at the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) AGM in Phoenix, Arizona, over the weekend.

IDA DESIGNATED DARK SKY PARKS ACROSS THE WORLD Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania Geauga Park, Ohio Galloway Forest Park, Dumfries and Galloway Source: International Dark Sky Association In praise of real darkness

Part of the selection process involved giving a rating via a sky quality meter, which measures the darkness of the sky overhead.
The higher the sky quality meter reading the better the conditions for viewing stars, with the darkest reading, such as would be recorded in a photographer's dark room, rated 24.
In major cities such as Glasgow or Edinburgh, a likely reading would be about 15 or 16 on the scale. Galloway Forest Park was rated 23 on the scale, giving it a gold tier Dark Sky Park award status - the highest achievable.
Martin Morgan-Taylor, UK board member for the International Dark Sky Association, said: "Galloway Forest Park is a fantastic asset in the now international network of Dark Sky Parks.
"A core aim in creating such a park is to identify and honour protected public lands with exceptional commitment to, and success in implementing, the ideals of dark sky restoration and preservation.
"Its location is ideally situated for access from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and northern England meaning that many people, including children, may have access to a quality night sky, both now and in generations to come.
"Such skies are rapidly disappearing and less than 10% of people in the UK can now see the Milky Way from where they live."
'Big plans'
Keith Muir, Forestry Commission Scotland's head of tourism and recreation in Galloway, said: "We have boldly gone where no-one in the UK has gone before.
"Tourism is the single largest economic development opportunity for south west Scotland.
"Currently, the Galloway Forest Park welcomes around 850,000 visitors each year and we have big plans to double this over time. This award, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, should be seen as a universal achievement."
Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said the worldwide interest in the Dark Skies initiative would put the forest park "firmly in the spotlight".
Galloway Forest Park, which was established in 1947, is the largest of its kind in the UK.
It covers some 300 square miles (about 77,700 hectares), and is managed by Forestry Commission Scotland.
The limited numbers of buildings within the forest park's boundary allows light pollution to be kept to a minimum.

Weather

Well the weather man got it wrong again today.  Forcast was for between 50 and 100mm of rain here today, what we actually had was an almost dry and mostly sunny day, mild and still with hardly a breeze all day!

Little Rascals

Our pets (Jake & Ruby) can be the sweetest wee beasties, they can also be absolutly frustrating.  We are having a wall built and they just love to roll in the building sand- in the rain then race inside - dont you just love em!  Any how - heres a couple of "cute" pics - (Ruby is 6 month old today!!)





Check out the sticky bobbels on this pic of ruby by clicking to enlarge picture

Autumn view from Fludha

This is a photo I took last week from our front door

 

and this is a photo I took yesterday (admitedly with a zoom lense, an almost perfect reflection of McLellan Castle.  Also, if you look closely you can see all the ships in the harbour!

Gift Vouchers

With the festive season almost upon us do you start to dread recieving loads of presents you dont want.  Of course your too polite to say anything, but don't you just wish they would ask you what you would like!  Well, I am not saying this is the perfect solution but it is certainly a very nice option.  You can now purchase gift vouchers (valid for 6 month) for use here at Fludha  Of various value they can be used to either pay for an entire stay or just pay towards a stay.  Pay for a meal or Champagne on arrival the choice is yours.  If the voucher you want is not there you can email me and I will do my best to create one for you

Change to our Terms

Because we love dogs and Galloway is a great place to bring them It is only after a lot of heart searching that we have decided to stop allowing guests to bring there pets with them. It's not a case of "one bad apple" we have not had a bad experiance with any of our guests that have brought their pets. It's just that the house is really not suitable. When you come in winter or when its wet (which can be any time of year) and enjoy lovely long walks through our forests or along our coast the dog can not help but get filthy - if you were at home you would have an area suitable to cope with this on your return but taking a pet into one of our rooms is entirely innapropiate. So we are really sorry but pets are no longer allowed.

Brrrrrrr

Beautiful white frost greeted us when we got up this morning. Last night as the last light was fading a beautiful scotch mist rose from the river, as the sun sank it all glowed pink - stunning. Guests who came in from a walk shortly after said all that was needed to make it perfect was the sound of bagpipes - sorry folks I have not got a musical bone in my body - but living here gives me a song in my heart!
You can view loads more of my photoes at Fludha Web Gallery

Christmas and New Year

There is still time to book your (child free) break at Fludha during the coming festive season. Check out our seasonal tariff and book online at our website

Food

Tonight (mid Novemner) we have 7 for evening meal. All our current guests are here taking advantage of our autumn/winter special offer - stay 3 nights and get a free evening meal for two!!

My first Blog

Suck it and see is the old phrase, so here goes. I intend to use this blog to publish my thoughts concerning the business I'm in (tourism) and most especially my own business www.fludha.com which is the only 5 star Guest House, B & B or Hotel in the whole of Dumfries & Galloway