Monday 23rd April 2007 to Friday 27th April 2007
Programme and Information
|
Saddell 2007 Monday 23rd April 2007 to Friday 27th April 2007 Programme and Information |
| What's the Programme? | Monday 23rd - History Tour |
What's the link with the DDRA Weekend? |
Saddell follows on from the DDRA Weekend, because many Dunnett readers visiting Scotland may wish to attend both. The Saddell event is being closely co-ordinated with the DDRA Weekend, but it is being organised as a separate event by a separate committee. Note that ANYONE is welcome to the DDRA Weekend, whether or not they are a member, but the 1 Hour Annual General Meeting on the Saturday morning is for members only (we suggest that anyone else decamps to the bar for an hour, or wanders along Princes Street). |
Who is organising it? |
Diana Crane, who is one of the organisers of Oxford Day (which has been running for more than 10 years) is the founder and leader of the event, along with her husband Andy. Simon Hedges, who was one of the organisers of the Dunnett Siege of Malta and the O'Spit (and is a DDRA Committee member) is assisting and doing the web based stuff. It is expected that others will join the team over time. |
Tell me about the Saddell Landmarks |
The Landmark Trust owns and has restored the Castle and a number of other houses and cottages clustered around it which are let as self-catering holiday accommodation. We plan to occupy these. The estate consists of the following buildings: Saddell Castle (Sleeps 8), Saddell House(Sleeps 13), Saddell Lodge(Sleeps 4), Cul Na Shee (Sleeps 4), Ferryman's Cottage (Sleeps 5), Shore Cottage (Sleeps 6). All these locations are within about a kilometre (about 1000 yards / 3000 feet) of each other. The total sleeping capacity is 40. Landmarks are all historic buildings, and although they have been updated to be warm and comfortable, and to have nice kitchens and comfy beds, they do lack some modern amenities: shared bathrooms and toilets are the rule (no en-suites) and there are no TVs. Smoking is not allowed. But real fires are often to be found - and bags of atmosphere. You can find more information about the Saddell landmarks here |
What if there are too many of us? |
We expect that some people will require the comfort of staying in a hotel, with en-suite facilities, so that will give some room in numbers, but it is possible that we may be full and have to turn away some people. However, given current levels of interest, 40 seems about the right number. |
How will accommodation be assigned? |
Depending on how many people come, this may well be rather a challenge. On the registration form people are being asked for their preferences. Some people almost certainly won't get their first choice. We're going to have to look at the bookings, and make offers back. |
Tell me about Saddell |
Saddell is a hamlet on the Kintyre Peninsular. As well as the Landmarks, it has a ruined abbey (with a fine selection of gravestones!), and is surrounded by lovely countryside. The Landmarks are adjacent to the beach. In the locality are opportunities for walking and cycling. |
How can I get there? - Bus |
We plan to provide a coach from Princes Street in Edinburgh (location of the DDRA Weekend) on Monday morning to take people to Saddell. On the Friday the coach will return to Edinburgh. The trip to Saddell will go past (the bonnie bonnie banks of) Loch Lomond, and we'll be stopping for lunch on the way. We'll also provide a return coach. A minimum of 25 people is required in order to make the coaches financially viable. |
How can I get there - Car |
You can drive to Saddell quite easily, but it's further from Edinburgh and Glasgow than you might think (175 miles), because of all the sea lochs in the way: you must drive to the north of them. Also, if you are not used to driving on remote British country roads you may find the single-track-with-passing-places sections a little unnerving. |
How can I get to Scotland? |
If you're coming from overseas, you can fly to Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport. Some flights also go to Prestwick Airport (near Ayr) which has good rail links to Glasgow. Or you can fly to the various other airports in the UK (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, etc) or Europe which have flights on to Glasgow/Edinburgh/Prestwick. Edinburgh is 4 hours by rail from London King's Cross railway station (but not, alas, platform 9¾). You can drive from London, and it will take about 9 hours to get from London to Edinburgh (400 miles). London to Glasgow (also 400 miles) is about an hour less. London to Saddell(526 miles) takes about 12 hours Various combinations of plane, train and car are possible. You can even go by part of the route to Saddell by ferry. |
You mentioned self catering... |
We will provide you with a 'welcome pack' which will include basic foodstuffs (Cornflakes, Tea, Coffee, Bread, Milk etc) so you can make your own breakfasts, and a pre-prepared meal for the first evening. There will be a trip to Campbeltown on Tuesday afternoon/evening, so you'll be able to stock up on anything else you need at the supermarkets there. |
What's the Cost? |
When you complete the registration form, you'll be able to see the result of the your choices on the Costs form. Working out the costs for this trip has been quite a challenge: we have to pay a fixed fee for the Coaches and the Saddell properties regardless of however many people come. This means that we've had to assume that the properties will not be full, and neither will the coaches be, and charge accordingly. If everything IS full, then we may be able to absorb additional costs into the basic fees: we do not intend to make a profit. |
How can we pay? |
As with Malta, payment will be taken by personal cheque drawn on a US, UK, Canadian, Australian or Euro bank account. Payments will also be acceptable by direct credit transfer in UK Pounds and Euro, or by PayPal in UK Pounds. |
I have a question you've not got on this list |
Join the DDSaddell email list (you'll need to do this if you're planning to come to Saddell) by sending an email to DDSaddell-subscribe@yahoogroups.comand then send an email to that list using the address DDSaddell@yahoogroups.com. If you want to send any private emails direct to Diana and Simon, then use this link |
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2000-2006, Simon Hedges
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25 Sep 2006 - update for registration
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