Some sort of meeting room would be good so that participants can carry on fascinating work and conversations without boring outsiders.
Agreed. I will investigate Highland Lodges a little further but I expect we will find that most of the lodges have a large lounge or livingroom which we could use for group evenings. The room we used in Lofoten was not very large, after all. And I will also check the wifi situation.
As to dates - I've been looking at my archive of photos from May and September 2014. If we go for spring, we want to have the wonderful freshness of early spring which is starting to fade by the end of the month, so I would go for the third week, beginning Sat 14th May, or at latest the following week. Bluebells will be at their peak in the woods, and in Scotland this can be quite spectacular.
In autumn it's tempting to be governed by when the autumn colours are good, but here that is not until at least mid-October and the risk of bad weather is high. In mid-September all the grasses and similar have turned colour; all UK schools have finished their summer holidays so there are fewer tourists around, and the weather risk is less than in October. Again, I would go for the third week, beginning Sat 17th September, the alternative being a week earlier, beginning the 12th.
I imagine the final choice of dates will be decided by the members taking part, remembering that we should try to book "off-peak" to get the best deal on accommodation. I will find out what the spring and autumn off-peak dates are.
Some NG members will be familiar with my images from around Killin. Later, I'll post a few pics of our other "attractions".
