Croick Estate

I have today updated the stalking records on the site to include the 2020 stag stalking.

2020 was of course a peculiar year in many ways. Not only were friends and guests largely unable to join us and stalk on the estate in any number, but the weather was also most unusual; warm throughout and with light changeable winds. This made stalking a challenge and limited the areas where we could stalk. Still it was a good rut with plenty of activity and the stags were in good condition.

Now, we just need some winter weather to draw the hinds in so we can start the hind cull.

More and more of our clients and potential clients turn to Instagram as their first social media platform. To accommodate this we are now on Instagram.

Our farming and general estate activities can be found at TheFarmAtCroick.

Information specific to our two holiday cottages, Croick Manse and the Mission Hall can be found at Croick_Holiday_Lets.

If you are staying at Croick and enjoying your time here, please do tag us on your pictures.

The blog will remain for the time being but will probably be used primarily for key information.

You can find more pictures on Instagram at The Farm at Croick.

It’s time to also welcome our four new pigs. Every morning they lie entirely buried in their bed of straw and they have to prodded to wake and get up. Sounds familiar!

Hard to imagine that in a few months time they will be rapidly approaching 100kg each. In the mean time, they have the best part of a 1,000 acres to explore.

A few days later, and after a couple of days outside in the wide world (no self-isolation for her) our new calf is already showing attitude! Two more calves have already joined her outside, with another one to follow in the next couple of days.

So far, so good.

With the troubling events in the wider world it is comforting to focus on what you can see and influence in your own backyard. And important to remember that the seasons move inexorably on and we are now in the season of new birth and new growth.

This is our first calf of the new year, born to one of our new heifers. About three days old now and already very self-confident. There is nothing he likes more than pushing his head through the fence for a stroke.

It won’t be long before he’s too big for that.

We have such a relentless series of wet, windy and stormy days that I thought we might slide into spring with no proper winter weather at all. But at last we have had one day anyway of cold, frosty weather with snow on the ground. I doubt it will last long but it is nice to be able to enjoy it while it’s here. The frozen puddles across all the fields are a reminder of how just wet it has been.

Happy New Year

I’m delighted to say that we can start the new year with a second holiday cottage available for let. The Mission Hall was a Church of Scotland place of worship which became redundant. It has now been extensively renovated and is available for rent. It is designed for a couple on a short break, nestled amongst trees with red squirrels feeding in front of the hut.

You can find more details and pictures on the website below, and organise rental through Unique Cottages. We look forward to welcoming our first guests.

https://www.unique-cottages.co.uk/cottages/highlands/sutherland-caithness/ge1-the-mission-hall

After a disappointing rut last year, we have enjoyed an excellent rut this year. There have been a good number of stags on the ground, the action has been fast and furious and there has been a lot to see.

As a result, many stags are already lying up and recovering before winter. But a number are still holding hinds like this stag who we captured on a beautiful early morning. As is often the case he was more concerned about other encroaching stags than he was about us.