So I find myself reflecting on our first 6 months of living in Glendaruel (Cowal, Argyll). Launching a new business is always tough no matter what that business is and the first few years of course we had expected difficulty and hardship along the way. But also hugely rewarding. After spending 20 Years working for large corporations who care l very little for their people our business was also about putting us back in control of our lives both work and play. So we have spent many months renovating our cottages ready for guests and we are really pleased with the results.
It’s been a real team effort from family and friends and a few contractors as well. We have learnt so much. Firstly renovations in a 150 year Steadings building in rural Scotland is a difficult task. Supplies and provisions take time and cost more to ship to site. Old buildings require a lot of TLC. When you start stripping back things you will sometimes find little gems from the buildings past, but often you find horrors that need addressing urgently. We learnt that not all contractors are actually very professional at unfortunately can rip you off. A hard lesson to learn especially when our budget was always very tight. But after all that we finally finished and opened the doors of our two self catering holiday accommodation. Skye Cottage and Rose Cottage, both sleep 4 people look great. Our guests that have stayed so far have given us 5 star ratings and we are looking forward to welcoming many more guests throughout 2018. We are vegan friendly, and dog friendly. We have amazing views of the Glen and mountains, and we have a wee burn running though the grounds.
So what’s next? Well we have started a partnership with Eco Tour Scotland to offer guest bespoke tours of Cowal and Argyll. We are building our first bird hide in the grounds and have plans for a second hide already. We are planning our first retreat, a mindfulness weekend and later in the year yoga weekends to. We are offering packages for people wanting to walk the Cowal Way. These are fully supported so guests can just enjoy the hiking.
So we have done a lot and have so much more to come. I try to blog again a bit more often this year. And will next time talk about all the work we have been doing with the local wildlife and birds.
We are on our way now and hope we can make the business a financial success. I hope we can become sustainable as a business and people will come and stay enjoying their holiday and tell all their freinds what beautiful place Glendaruel, Cowal and Argyll is in the West Coast of Scotland.
Take care
Peter
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