Auld Lang Syne music, lyrics and Scenery of Scotland

Auld Lang Syne music, lyrics and Scenery of Scotland
At the end of the year what could be better than a wee walk through the beautiful scenery of Scotland



Auld Lang Syne : Lyrics
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Cottage Scotland video Perthshire Waterfall on the River Brann December

Cottage Scotland video Perthshire Waterfall on the River Brann December

Shoppers in Perth 22nd December

Christmas Shoppers in Perth 22nd December

Rent a Cottage Scotland music videos Edinburgh

Rent a Cottage Scotland music videos Edinburgh
This is a compilation of some music videos taken of performers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this year, some good music in this....enjoy!

Rent a Cottage Scotland Glenshee Ski Resort Google Street view

Glenshee Ski Resort Google Street view
Within easy reach of Perth, Blairgowrie and many other Pertrhshire towns. Great for people of all skills and abilities.
Glenshee Ski Resort
Cairnwell
Ballater
AB35 5XU‎
01339 741320
Find on Google streetview and map.
Use the control to zoom in and out or click on the map to plan your route.

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Video of one of the Ski runs at Glenshee



Check the up to date  snow conditions at Glenshee

Rent a cottage Scotland video East Coast of Scotland

Rent a cottage Scotland video East Coast of Scotland evening sky

Cottage Scotland video Glenshee Resort and Hiills

Cottage Scotland video Glenshee Resort and Hills

Rent a Cottage Scotland walk by the River Tay 5th December

Rent a Cottage Scotland walk by the River Tay 5th December
Great day for a walk in Perth today along the Tay today

Rent a Cottage Scotland video Glenshee Ski Resort

Rent a Cottage Scotland video Glenshee Ski Resort
Great start to the season at all the Scottish ski resorts this year

Karl Lagerfeld Stella Tennant come to Linlithgow Palace Scotland

Karl Lagerfeld Stella Tennant come to Linlithgow Palace Scotland
The show starts on Tuesday the 5th December, Karl Lagerfeld and his associate of over 20 years Stella Tennant are hosting an international fashion event at the Historic Scotland run venue  Linlithgow Palace Scotland. The beauty spot will play host to Chanel's annual Métiers d'Art show, including Chanels recently acquired Scottish Borders-based Barrie Knitwear.
The Scotsman reported Linlithgow is to expect a glimpse of Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, who are rumoured to be attending along with many other fashion celebrities. If you are planning on visiting expect delays as the roads will be closed by the police into Linlithgow to allow the VIP visitors access. And a word of advice, wear your winter woolies, has to be Barrie Knitwear of course, as its snowing in Linlithgow !
See the Ell photos of the show

Click on the Google street view image to zoom in and out or enlarge the map.


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Old photograph view of Linlthgow Palace.

Rent a Cottage Scotland video Walking into the Sunset Perth December

Walking into the Sunset Perth

Cottage Scotland guestbook

Cottage Scotland guestbook

Our stay at Tay Chambers Self catering holiday apartment Perth November 2012

Dear Ewart and Vyvyen

Just a quick note to say how much Dawn and I enjoyed our stay last week. The accommodation could not have been any better and had everything we needed. Hopefully we will be able to stay there again in the spring. I will be in touch once we have the dates finalised.

Thanks for now

Carl

River Tay Perth Perthshire today 28th November

River Tay Perth Perthshire today 28th November

Arbroath Smokies at the Perth Market 24th November

Arbroath Smokies come to Perth Market
Rent a Cottage Scotland video of the interview with Vyvyen of Perthshire on Line TV and Spink Fish smokers Arbroath

Scone Palace Arch today 23rd November

Scone Palace Arch today 23rd November 2012

Rent a Cottage Scotland video of Abernethy Village Perthshire

Rent a Cottage Scotland video of Abernethy Village Perthshire

Holiday Cottage Scotland video road to Newburgh Fife

Holiday Cottage Scotland video road to Newburgh Fife

Cottage Scotland walk through Glencoe

Cottage Scotland walk through Glencoe
A reminder for our friends and family who joined us on a wee ramble up and through Glencoe.
This was the area in Glencoe Scotland for the new Bond film Skyfall and the scenery is stunning even in the rain.

Caledonia by Dougie Maclean Youtube

Caledonia by Dougie Maclean Youtube

Cottage Scotland video the Lifeboat leaving the Arbroath Harbour

Cottage Scotland video the Lifeboat leaving the Arbroath Harbour

Clocks Coldplay version played by a Scottish Piper Arbroath

Clocks Coldplay version played by a Scottish Piper Arbroath

Kimber's Men Singers Arbroath 9th Novermber

Kimber's Men Singers Arbroath 9th Novermber
Cottage Scotland video taken at the Old Boatyard restaurant in Arbroath as part of a special gourmet food night called Diner on the High Seas.

Rusty Ironwork on a Fife Beach

Cottage Scotland photo of Rusty Ironwork on a Fife Beach

 

More photos of ironwork on a Fife beach

Scottish Bonfire and Fireworks 5th November

Scottish Bonfire and Fireworks 5th November
Cottage  Scotland video of  a lavish bonfire and display of fireworks, Perth Scotland

Sunny Autumn day on the Tay Perth

Sunny Autumn day on the Tay Perth

Sunset East Coast of Fife Scotland 29th October

Sunset East Coast of Fife Scotland 29th October

Cottage Scotland video of Brechin Cathedral and Round Tower

Cottage Scotland video of Brechin Cathedral and Round Tower
Brechin Cathedral dates from the 13th century hand as many beautiful stained glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones and 20th century Scottish artists. 

Of Interest is the round tower, one of the two remaining round towers of the Irish type in Scotland, built in the late 11th century with a remarkable carved doorway.


Photos of the Culdees round tower at the Brechin Cathedral

Sunshine on Scotland Street comes to Scone Palace

Sunshine on Scotland Street comes to Scone Palace 

I recently was gifted a copy of Alexander McColl Smiths new novel when meeting the author on a recent visit to Scone Palace where he was interviewed by Perthshire online Vyvyen Corrigan

Scotland Street witnesses the wedding of the century of Angus Lordie to Domenica Macdonald, but as the newlyweds depart on honeymoon Edinburgh is in disarray. Recovering from the trauma of being best man, Matthew is taken up by a Dane called Bo, while Cyril eludes his dog-sitter and embarks on an odyssey involving fox-holes and the official residence of a cardinal. Narcissist Bruce meets his match in the form of a sinister doppelganger; Bertie, set up by his mother for fresh embarrassment at school, yearns for freedom; and Big Lou goes viral. But the residents of Scotland Street rally, and order - and Cyril - is restored by the combined effects of understanding, kindness, and, most of all, friendship.

See book details on Amazon Perth Bookshop

Scottish Waterfall Perthshire Scotland

Scottish Waterfall Perthshire Scotland
Cottage Scotland video taken on a recent walk near Dunkeld Perthshire Scotland

Taybank Hotel Perthshire Open Mic Blues Session 9th September

Cottage Scotland video of Taybank Hotel Open Mic Blues Session 9th September

Ain't no Sunshine



Summertime

Fine Chisel Theatre at the Fringe August

Cottage Scotland video of Fine Chisel Theatre at the Fringe August

Pocket Fluff at the Edinburgh Fringe

Pocket Fluff at the Edinburgh Fringe

Mc Xander at the Edinburgh Fringe 22nd August 2012

Mc Xander at the Edinburgh Fringe 22nd August

Thomas Ward Guitarist Edinburgh Fringe 22nd August

Thomas Ward Guitarist Edinburgh Fringe 22nd August

Kinematics Acrobatic Act Edinburgh Fringe 22nd August

Kinematics Acrobatic Act Edinburgh Fringe 22nd August

How to set up and run a successful Self Catering Holiday Cottage Part 2

How to set up and run a successful Self Catering Holiday Cottage Part 2

Attracting guests, setting up a new  web site

Having bought a holiday cottage in Lower Largo Fife we realised that with busy working lives, our time was very limited to stay at the cottage. The solution? Rent it out and make some money.

What would we call the cottage? The family were duly consulted. The name Castaway Cottage was decided. This was derived from the location in Lower Largo Fife being associated with the author Daniel Defoe, creator of Robinson Crusoe. There is even a famous Crusoe statue in the village. Castaway Cottage where every day feels like a Friday..hmmm a bit cheesy… perhaps?

As we lived an hour away in Perth we arranged for a housekeeper to clean the cottage and do the laundry for the changeover, usually on a Saturday.

How do you market and advertise a cottage staring from scratch?

This was the early days of the internet, 10 years ago. No social media, blogs , twitter or Facebook.  We simply did a search for holiday cottage Fife and took note of the top listings on the net. I employed a website designer on the same basis and inserted the cottage in some the directories at the top of the search pile. I also entered the website in as many free listings as possible. We were off and running!

The next step was to try Visit Scotland.

The cottage was assessed and given a star rating, a disappointing 3 star. Entry into the Visit Scotland brochure and website were arranged for an extra fee. It all felt like they were doing us a big favour but always at a cost. Disappointing from an organisation that receives massive public funding. The 3 star rating would do little to attract visitors. It was clear most guests were looking for 4 star or higher. Less than 4 star attracted little attention or enquiries.

As it turned out most enquiries were coming from our own website by email.

Our main attraction and strength was the location of the cottage right on the beach in Lower Largo. The village also had a decent restaurant, local shop and pub within staggering distance. St Andrews, the main visitor attraction in Fife was only 15 minutes away by car. Within our first year we had over 30 bookings.

But our website began to slip out of sight on the search. How do you keep your web site on page one of google? My next post will answer that question.

Scone Palace Perth Interior video august 2012

Scone Palace Perth Interior video august 2012
Near to our self catering apartments Scone Palace makes a great day out with a lot to see in the interiors and fantastic gardens.
Check the Scone palace website for details

How to set up and run a successful Self Catering Holiday Cottage Part 1

How to set up and run a successful Self Catering Holiday Cottage Part 1

 The Purchase

I have been asked on many occasions how to set up and run a successful Self Catering Cottage. I thought it was time to write a blog post on that subject.

We run 8 successful Self Catering properties in the Fife, Perth and Angus areas of Scotland and have done so for over 10 years. They are a mixture of cottages and apartments. How did we start?.

It was by accident that we stumbled into the business. Close friends were needing some funds to finish the building project of their new house in Fife near St Andrews. Funds were running rather low and they were adding a swimming pool. So the holiday cottage had to go!.

My wife was shopping in Tesco of all places in our home town of Perth. She met our friend who said the cottage in Largo near St Andrews was about to go on the market. We will buy it, don’t advertise it! The deal was done.

What did you get at Tesco today I innocently asked…. A self catering cottage was the answer. Oh yes, what aisle was that in I replied?

So that was the start. It had all the furniture, hand painted stuff, beds, dining table and chairs, sofas, all a bit tired but it was perfect for our needs. We could walk right into it and use it right away and bought at a bargain price thanks to our friends. We had a 200 year old 2 bedroom cottage on Main Street Lower largo in Fife which was right on the beach.

But questions needed answered. We had bought a cottage I had not even seen.

What would we call the new cottage? Would we use it much? Where is Lower Largo? Are we mad?

In my next post I will discuss how we decided on a name, set up a website and started marketing our self catering holiday cottage by renting it out.

Read part 2 of How to set up and run a successful Self Catering Holiday Cottage

Our Stay at Castaway Cottage Fife July

Our Stay at Castaway Cottage Fife July


We had a lovely week at Castaway Cottage, 3rd year in a row. The cottage has become synonymous with summer holiday in my family's mind. It was great to have the new DVD player on that rainy Wednesday.

Best Wishes

Catriona G Edinburgh

Short Walk in the woods near Fort William Scotland

Short Walk in the woods near Fort William Scotland

West Highland Way Scotland Photos Album 2012

West Highland Way Scotland Photos Album 2012

Weavers Hall Cottage video near Perth Scotland July 2012

Weavers Hall Cottage video near Perth
Took this video of our holiday cottage and edited it yesterday using the youtube video editor

Brave the movie set in Scotland

Brave the movie set in Scotland
The film tells the story of a young Highland princess and has been made by the same studio behind the Toy Story series.
Set in mythical Scotland, Brave follows the adventures of fiery and headstrong Merida voiced by Kelly Macdonald, a skilled archer who is described as an adventurous tomboy and a happy young woman who struggles to take on adult responsibilities.
Merida is the daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor, voiced by Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson. Other stars involved in the movie include Kevin McKidd and Robbie Coltrane.


There are big hopes that Brave will help boost Scottish tourism.

Perth Bridge from Potterhill flats

Perth Bridge from Potterhill flats
Great location for an elevated view of Perth and the River Tay

Pipers at a Recent gathering In Perth for the Jubilee

Pipers at a Recent gathering In Perth for the Jubilee

Olympic Torch Perth Bridge 12th June

Olympic Torch Perth Bridge 12th June
This was the view from our self catering holiday apartment Tay Chambers as the torch crossed the bridge today.

Holiday Apartment Perth 12th June

River Chambers Holiday Apartment Perth
Our 2 bedroom flat in Perth, River Chambers, has just had a refurbishment, adding a 2nd bedroom and a new kitchen. All the rooms have stunning views over the river Tay. Having a central location in Perth its well placed as a holiday let or for business clients.

Kinnoull Tower Walk near Perth 8th June

Kinnoull Tower Walk near Perth 8th June
Great walk near Perth Scotland as you can see from this phoro looking out across the Carse of Gowrie. Leave you car in the Jubilee Car park and enjoy a walk of about an hour

Google map for directions to Kinnoull Hill


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Kinnoull Tower Perth

Kinnoull Tower Perth

Perth has a nearby fine woodlands walk with ending in a dramatic clifftop escarpment above the Tay. It makes a grand setting for a cylindrical tower built as a folly.



All photos copyright Cottage Scotland 2012

St Monans Church Fife

St Monans Church Fife
St Monans Church is situated just to the west of the village of St Monans in east Fife on the very edge of the sea in  a dramatic setting.

Carse of Gowrie from Kinnoull Hill Perth 13th March

Carse of Gowrie from Kinnoull Hill Perth 13th March
Videos taken on a walk up Kinnoull Hill in Perth

Perth Scotland in the spring 5th March

Perth Scotland in the spring 5th March



All photos copyright cottage scotland 2012

Lower Largo in the mist 2nd March video

Lower Largo in the mist 2nd March video

Lower Largo 16th February

Lower Largo 16th February

Perth Scotland 6th February 2012

Perth Scotland 6th February 2012

Stormy waves Scottish Beach, East coast of Scotland

Stormy waves Scottish Beach, East coast of Scotland

Forth Road and Rail Bridges Bridges Scotland January 2012

Forth Road and Rail Bridges Bridges Scotland January 2012
Video taken from the South Queensferry side of the Firth of Forth



All video and photographs copyright Cottage Scotland 2012

Sun Setting over the Tay from Dundee

Sun Setting over the Tay from Dundee
Video taken in Dundee looking across the Firth of Tay to Fife

Lower Largo Fife Beach and Harbour

Lower Largo Fife Beach and Harbour

Loch Rannoch January 2012

Loch Rannoch January 2012

Queens View Perthshire 4th January 2011

Queens View Perthshire 4th January 2011
Fantastic views but bitterly cold.