Welcome to Owlswood Lodge,
Owlswood Lodge was purpose built to offer self catering accommodation on the mainland of Orkney for up to 7 people . The house sits in an elevated position looking over Scapa Flow and the south isles but is conveniently located very centrally being only 4 miles from Kirkwall .
The house has been built in traditional style with welsh slate roof , flagstone floors and multi fuel stove but has all the comforts of modern living including Wi Fi and a hot tub .
Under floor heating powered by an environmentally friendly ground source heat pump , ensures that the house is always cosy even when Orkney experiences several changes in weather in one day !
The environment is very important to us all our cleaning products are eco friendly and all appliances energy efficiency rated 'A' . Our flag stones for the floor and the stone for the dykes came from a local source and we encourage recycling . Owlswood Lodge also has a 5kw Evance wind turbine to utilise renewable energy and provide electricity for the house . Surplus is exported to the national grid . We were delighted to receive a Gold Award from the Green Tourism scheme in June 2010 .
BIRDWATCHERS
We are members of the RSPB and the house is located adjacent to Orkneys Hobbister RSPB reserve - bird watching from the window ! The open moorland near the house means there are lots of opportunities to see grouse , pheasant , snipe ( and hear them too in the evenings ) , lapwings ( teeicks ) , curlew etc and for keen bird watcher we regularly see hen harriers .
Hobbister reserve has a wonderful coastal walk and includes Waulkmill Bay which has acres of sand when the tide is out and is a bit of a sun trap on a bonnie day .
FISHERMEN
Orkney is a fisherman's paradise with lots of lochs for wild brown trout fishing and the long coastline offers plentiful opportunities for sea angling from a boat or the shore . We can arrange boat hire , gillie services and visitor membership for the Orkney Trout Fishing Association prior to your arrival We can even arrage to have your 'big ones ' vacum packed and /or smoked for you to take haome .
The larger lochs of Harray , Stenness and Broadhouse are approximately 20 minutes drive away and the smaller Kirkbister Loch is just a 5 minute drive down the road - perfect for that evening 'dabble '.
OWLSWOOD LODGE is the perfect base for your Orkney experience whether it is watching the stars from the hot tub ,trout fishing at midnight in June , waiting patiently to see otters , beach combing for Groatie Buckies on long sandy beaches , watching red throated divers on a moorland lochan , exploring exciting archaeological sites , hearing traditional music , discovering inspirational art and writers , enjoying locally produce food or simply enjoying the peace and quiet .
In Owlswood Lodge we have tried to pay attention to all the details , large and small , which will make your holiday perfect and hope you have a memorable experience in Orkney .
We look forward to meeting you soon .........
Carol and Vince Mainland