The weather for the first three weeks of July gave us many periods of unbroken sunshine achieving a high of 83°F according to our max-min thermometer.
Our guests from the south of France could hardly believe it. They had come for a fishing holiday and certainly were not disappointed with their efforts - most evenings they cooked fish platters even creating culinary delights with some of the five massive pike they caught up by Rannoch.
All good things come to an end and the last week of July brought a fair amount of moisture but the countryside is looking very green and lush as a result.
The Highland nights in nearby Pitlochry have been a great success and will continue each Monday during August.
Looking forward to August there will be many and varied activities including a interactive battle talk and display of weapons at the Killiecrankie visitor centre, each Thursday there will be an evening of music and comedy at Castle Menzies and the Blair Atholl local skills trail will give the opportunity to see local artists and craftspeople at work demonstrating a range of skills among them such as sugar craft ; bookbinding and fine book conservation ;textile art; milling ;fly tying; blacksmithing ; clock repairs ; picture framing and so on.