Waking up the cottage

The first thing that we noticed when we arrived at our Ullapool cottage at the beginning of July, was the huge amount of plants and grass which had sprung up around it. It was startling and reminiscent of the thick foliage surrounding Sleeping Beauty’s castle! Of course only five months had passed rather than 100 years but the warm spring followed by rain in June had resulted in lush growth of greenery.
When we waded through the weeds and entered the cottage we we glad to find it in good order.
James was absolutely brilliant at constructing our Ikea sofa bed and rocking chair, and then the beds when they arrived. I cleaned the kitchen units and the fridge and defrosted and cleaned the freezer. With our furniture installed the cottage really started to feel like home.
James then enthusiastically set about the garden with strimmer and lawnmower and hedge cutters and loppers and secateurs. He woke me early one morning to point out a little roe deer who was nibbling at the gorse bushes at the back of the house. It was so sweet.
I wasn’t much help in the garden I’m afraid, but I did give the cottage a good deep clean which it badly needed.
James and I agree that we will never get tired of our view across Loch Broom to the mountains beyond. It is stunning. Below our cottage is a duck pond, and then the Ullapool River flowing into the loch. Several times a day we can watch the Calmac ferry passing on its way to and from Stornoway. We have a favourite circular walk from the cottage to the centre of the village, down the road past Highland Stoneware to the front, then up past the Ceilidh Place and along Castle Terrace. Then we follow a path down to the river, cross a wooden bridge and walk up to the cottage through gorgeous woodland. 

It has been really interesting to watch Ullapool wake up from the lockdown. We must have been almost the first incomers to arrive and at first the streets were very quiet. Then we noticed more people arriving in cars and strolling around the streets, and since the campsite opened on about the 15th July, there are now quite a lot of camper vans in there. With the pubs and restaurants and shops open, there is a much livelier atmosphere in the village, which must be a relief for the local tourist industry, although they have already lost half of their summer season.