IN THE FIELD
It’s been the base for many a Bird Watching reader’s holiday. John Miles looks at The Grant Arms, and the birds to see there
CAIRNGORMS
Birdwatchers love visiting new locations. Of course, it is the habitats that bring the birds, and the locations with the best habitats that draw the most birdwatchers.
But how many of the locations really cater for those birdwatchers? One man who had the idea of catering for birdwatchers, and improving the opportunities for them to stay – and be entertained – in comfort, was John Woods, who set up the Grant Arms in Grantown-on-Spey, base for many a Bird Watching reader holiday.
He told me the story of how he created it: “I had the idea for a hotel for birdwatchers around 2003. I think at that time I imagined something like a residential centre running three-day or seven-day courses – with everyone doing everything together.
“One experience that had an influence on us was when my wife and I went for a holiday on Orkney. We saw a notice at the ferry terminal for a day excursion to Westray that Sunday. What we didn’t realise was that this excursion was primarily designed for locals. They got on with their cars and drove off when we got to Westray to have a fish and chip lunch at the hotel, leaving us, and one other person, standing on the quay wondering how to fill four hours. “Fortunately, our fellow traveller had a walking guide, and we went off together up the road, and then, following the map, turned off up a path to the cliffs. Round the corner, there was a perfect stack, packed full of Puffins.
Later, an Orca pod swam by (as did one lone seal). I think it was then that I came up with the concept of a hotel where guests did what they wanted during the day, but where we made sure they had good food and accommodation and the information they needed to know what was available to see locally.
“The idea developed in my mind over the next four years, and I kept looking at the ‘hotel for sale’ sites on Google. But, it was only in 2007 that I was financially in a position to start looking seriously. I looked at every possible hotel in Norfolk (because that’s where home was) but there was nothing suitable. I then started looking further away. We looked at four hotels in North Wales, three in mid-Wales, four in the Lake District, two on the Solway Firth, one on Barra (two trips), one on Mull, three or four around Oban/Fort William, two on Skye, at least three in Strathspey, three on the Buchan Coast, and four on Shetland (three trips).
“Then, the Grant Arms came up. It probably wasn’t as obvious a choice as it looks now. Grantown wasn’t really regarded as
