The Year of Natural Scotland

2013 is the Year of Natural Scotland and is an initiative co-sponsored by Scottish Natural Heritage and Visit Scotland.

The idea is the promote Scotland as a destination where much wildlife abounds and we know that only too well at Earnknowe.

Our local tourism group, the Loch Earn Tourism Initiative – Pam is the Treasurer- has joined forces with a PR Company who are doing their utmost to promote the Loch Earn wildlife attractions which hopefully will bring more visitors to the area and boost the local economy

Self-Catering Lodge and Cottage Accommodation in Perthshire, Scotland

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Our award winning self-catering holiday accommodation of Mull Lodge and Kintyre Cottage is set on the eastern end of the village of Lochearnhead.

It is an old farm setting in the Scottish Central Highlands in Perthshire and comprises a two bedroom lodge for four people and a one bedroom cottage, ideal for two. Both have wonderful views over Loch Earn with the mountains beyond and facing Edinample Castle.

We, Pam and Lawrie, your hosts, moved here in 1993 and have continuously improved the accommodation and facilities and pride ourselves on the personal service we provide which has resulted in lots of repeat visits accounting for over 50% of our visitors. The main draw to this part of Perthshire, Scotland, is its wonderful central location. To the north Glen Coe is just 40 minutes away and Fort William 64 miles.

To the South you can get to Stirling within the hour and the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are 90 minutes away. To the East is the Fair City of Perth some 35 miles away and a round of golf at St Andrews is just 70 miles. In the West, a day out in Oban is less than 60 miles away and a day on the Island of Mull is easily achievable.

The accommodation is open all year round and each season brings its own attractions. There is winter climbing, a ski lift in Glen Coe for the more adventurous and often snow on the hills and mountains making for spectacular drives.

In Spring and Autumn, you will witness much movement of migratory birds and from March to September, ospreys are resident on Loch Earn and can often be seen from the accommodation diving for a brown trout from the loch. Around us there is much wildlife with red deer and red squirrels often seen daily. Our hens provide much entertainment and of course free range eggs are sometimes available to visitors.

Being in the Breadalbane sector of Scotlands first National Park, our holiday accommodation is ideally placed for many activities including

• • • • • • • • • touring
                • watersports
                • golfing
                • fishing
                • and many other leisure activities

The Perthshire village of Lochearnhead with its shop and Post Office with free ATM, has two good hotels with restaurant and bar facilities and both are within easy walking distance from your accommodation at Earnknowe. You can even walk down the disused railway line that runs to the rear of the accommodation. This also links to the Sustrans National Cycle route running northwards through Glen Ogle.

The accommodation is graded and classified with the Visit Scotland Quality Assurance Scheme and we are also members of the Association of Scottish Self Catering and both organisations demand good quality accommodation. Every year we try to add to the facilities as we seek to maintain standards and customer satisfaction.

Nearby is Killin with Loch Tay and the spectacular Falls of Dochart and the Ben Lawers mountain range. Golf can be played at St Fillans at the other end of Loch Earn or at the challenging Killin course. You can fish for trout from our jetty and shore and we can arrange boat hire for fishing on Loch Earn. There is excellent trout and salmon fishing on the Teith, Forth and Tay river systems but for the more energetic, activities like wakeboarding or water skiing on Loch Earn and Loch Tay. Cycling with bike hire in Callander and Killin is made easy with Sustrans Route 7 running past Loch Earn. The Munros and Corbetts locally provide good walking and climbing activity and include Ben Vorlich, Stuc ‘a Chroin and above Killin, the Ben Lawers mountain range.

For the children the much improved Auchingarrich Wildlife Park above Comrie is a must as well as Blair Drummond with its always changing residents.

For antique collectors a visit to the Doune Antiques Centre is a must and for the whiskey lovers a visit to Glenturret Distillery in Perth or to the newly opened Deanston Distillery in Doune. A trip to tour the Trossachs with its many attractions must include a cruise of the Sir Walter Scott steamship with tea to follow in the tea room.

There are so many things to see and do when you are visiting Earnknowe and a few of them can be found on the activities page and to find us, we are just a click away.