Hi again, it’s your favourite blog-writing building, aka me, the Old Millhouse at Dalkeith.

Today, I want to tell you about the birds and bees.  Being in a quietly secluded nook in the centre of Dalkeith (it’s amazing, but you simply don’t know you’re in a town), there are lots of what my boss, Sally, calls flora and fauna. I’m not quite sure what that means, but she tells me it’s just the garden, with all its birds, bees (other insects are available) and greenery.  I got confused though, because we do have some resident deer and I thought fauna was a baby deer, which we do have in the garden, although it (I’m not sure if it’s a boy or girl) is growing up now.

What has this to do with you coming to stay here you ask?

Well, every year, we get several groups of visitors who come to do walks and explore the countryside round about and one of them told me about this charity called the Scottish Wildlife Trust. I did some exploring (OK, Sally did as she’s better at Googling than I am), and it turns out that this is a really interesting environmental/conservation body that does really great work across the country.  Its vision is “for a network of healthy, resilient ecosystems on land and sea, supporting Scotland’s wildlife and people.”  As that’s what we believe in here in the Old Millhouse, I did some more digging (or rather Sally did…) and we found that the SWT has lots of sites around Edinburgh where you can go and explore nature.  One of the nearest to me is Linn Dean, where you can see a colony of northern brown argus butterflies, juniper and unusual mosses and a host of wildflowers. Or there’s Milkhall Pond, just outside Penicuik (again, very near), which plays host to amazing dragonflies and waterfowl. And there are lots more sites dotted around Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Borders.

Of course, there are lots of other things to do around here – golf, music, bars and restaurants, shopping in Edinburgh and exploring Scotland in general, but the one thing they have in common is that after a busy day, whether browsing shops or butterflies, you know that you have a unique haven of peace and warmth to return to, or, to put it another way, ME!

If you’d like to find out more about what makes the Old Millhouse such a special place – an award-winning, five-star luxury setting that people return to every year, then call Sally on 07824 773 060 or email sally@oldmillhouse.co.uk

Ciao for now!

The Old Millhouse