At long last...we have a marketing executive at the top of VisitScotland

Guinness Shadow
Originally uploaded by Steffe

From Guiness to VisitScotland - a good move at last by the country's tourist body. Malcom Roughbead, the marketing director has been promoted to Chief Executive.
The organisation has been in turmoil for a few years - there have been petitions to parliament about its website, questions asked about its strategy. Members have left in droves. We never belonged, thank goodness, but we benefit from the advertising operation. In return our one cottage alone produces about £100,000 a year for the Glencoe and Highland economy from visitors.
If you can run Guinness brands world-wide, as Malcolm Roughhead has done then you can run VisitScotland. I know Guiness, and I worked with them at senior level years ago. They have a good marketing operation everywhere around the world.
Already, the first move at VS has been to concentrate a lot of attention on the domestic market for visitors from England and the rest of the UK. Hoorah! That's where the money needs to go. Fish where the fish are, for heaven's sake. More than 80% of our visitors are from the UK, we must, must, must keep them sold.
Well done VS, Congratulations Mr. Roughhead. We don't know each other but since we are both Fellows of the Marketing Society, and of the Institute of Marketing we may well run across each other sometime. Doubt it, though. I can't be bothered to go to their shindigs each year, and I'll bet he doesn't either.
John

Information about the area in our Site map
About Fort William
Appin is gorgeous
B&Bs Oban to Fort William
October short breaks in Glencoe
Cottage holidays off peak Autumn, Winter, Spring
BEst way to find holiday cottages anywhere
Glencoe photographs
Walks around our cottage area in Glencoe
Hill walks in Glencoe
You can walk up Ben Nevis one day?
Munroes around Glencoe
Port Appin
Barcaldine
Accommodation in the area
Kentallen
Ballachulish
Onich
Short breaks in Scotland, Last minute cottage holidays Scotland, Autumn, Winter, Spring
Weather month by month Scotland summer
Weather month by month Scotland Autumn
Weather in Scotland Winter, month by month
Misunderstandings about Scotland's weather
Scotland's rain
Advice on driving in Scotland. Several Scotland driving pages are linked to this.
Honeymoon cottages in Scotland
Scotland for Christmas and New Year
The unofficial Scottish tourist Board
Cottages in Scotland permitting smoking
Cottages in Scotland welcoming pets

British people. The prime target market for Scotland's tourism

Bit by bit, VisitScotland, the quango which handles tourism for the country, is getting its act together under new management.

They’ve just released some data from market research which shows who visits Scotland on holiday from our own land. Now this is better than the stuff they usually concentrate on, getting Australians back, and attracting Americans.

The old VisitScotland management liked all the junkets in New York too much for my liking. No one said anything about the UK visitors a year ago. Yet the UK accounts for 80% of all the visitors to Scotland.

They have identified several market segments for visitors to Scotland. In the way it has been published it is almost impossible to do anything with the data. Additionally it is four years old!

Anyway, here is a short summary. Warm Affluent southerners, as they call the prime market segment. Mostly professionals, average age 49, they like outdoor activities, and have some kind of relationship with Scotland already, through family or University. They’ve got the most dosh to spend and they use Bed and breakfast and self catering.

Young domestic explorers is the next group, aged 25-45, either couples, singles, or young families. They book at short notice very often. They come from the North of England or Scotland. Rather low on disposable income but high on internet bookings.

Next are the Mature devotees. Often retired, they prefer hotels and Bed and Breakfast and go touring a lot. Usually from the North of England and Scotland, they look for offers but tend not to use the internet.

The 4th group is called Affluent active devotees, those people who are fairly energetic, in their middle years. They like the outdoors, good restaurants, and stay in hotels.

VisitScotland has also identified a couple of what they call “cold” market segments, not so good for Scotland.

These are; Southern travel Junkies, average age 45, who take most of their holidays abroad. They don’t like Scotland too much. The final group is Northern Sometimes. They keep fit, use gyms, are image conscious, not good for Scotland.

Our experience in Bayview cottage.

We have had about 200 families stay with us. All kinds, all shapes, all sizes they’ve been, and all nice bar two. We’ve made some very good friends.

Most of them, 80%, are British, with about of these 20% coming from Scotland, particularly for short breaks off season. Professional people have been very prominent, the biggest concentration of guests. They split into, families with youngsters in their teens, couples, young and middle aged, then families with little ones,

We know what they like to do on holiday, and we know how they find our cottage on the internet. We ask them, they tell us.

They do love the place, even if it rains. But they much prefer it if it is sunnier, obviously. They like the local facilities, the meals out and have no complaints about the amenities. I have not heard one complaint about a restaurant, for example. Well, I did have a couple about an expensive restaurant which closed down.

Our website receives a very large number of visitors each year, one of the biggest in the area. Many are looking for information about Glencoe not necessarily for accommodation.

We have only one cottage to let. So the visitors looking for accommodation are disappointed with us because either we are full up every week except the off peak season, or else they are looking for short term lets, on odd days of the week, and we cannot do that.

Sorry, folks, for late bookings, and short breaks in the peak season you need the big self catering complexes.

Some of these that I know of personally in the area are:
6 cottages above Onich, with wonderful views
A large complex of cottages and chalets on the shore at Onich
Loch Leven Chalets on the shore side
Different cottages owned by the Clachaig

John
Here are some other links
Different holiday cottages around Scotland in the Autumn, Winter, Spring
Bed and breakfast and hotels around our area Lochaber and Lorne
Find Holiday cottages anywhere
Wonderful photographs of Glencoe
Appin one of the glories of Scotland
Walks, 20 of them in Glencoe
Walking hills in Glencoe
Walk Ben Nevis one day?
Munroes mountains in Glencoe

At last, we get sense out of Visit Scotland

Chap called Mike Cantlay has taken over at Visit Scotland, the quango which handles Scottish tourism.
So far he has made three good moves since he took over in April. He is talking about modifying the grading system - good.

He has sacked the previous Chief - another good move.

He is now talking about getting all of us to concentrate upon our prime market, the UK, and the UK  holidaymaker.  80% of the tourists come from the UK - they are the target market that no one can afford to neglect.

Forget USA, forget the Commonwealth, forget most of Europe except for Germany, France and Italy.

Here is an extract from him. He is concerned that the Icelandic ash cloud may come back and disrupt travel again. Maybe, maybe not, but if it achieves the primary aim of getting everyone to focus on the core market that is ok with me.


"The whole country needs to get behind the idea that holidaying in Scotland is a good thing to do. It's a good time for the industry to be looking at their databases to be making hay of the 'staycation' phenomenon. I'm not saying you should use scare tactics [to remind Scots of the risks of flying abroad] but it's an opportunity to tell people that it's a safer bet to be in Scotland this year."

"Imagine the Edinburgh Festival with the airports closed! It would be the tourism industry equivalent of rain at harvest time. We need to put our marketing emphasis on the 'close market"

Ok, you've got my vote, Mr. Cantlay. You need all of us in tourism to help.

John
Pretty cottage in the Highlands
Holidays Scotland in the Autumn, Winter, Spring, last minute
Bed and breakfast and hotels in Oban, Fort William, and Glencoe
Tales of Hghlands of Scotland
Find the best holiday cottages anywhere
Photographs of Glencoe
Lovely Appin, Scotland
Walks around our cottage area in Glencoe
Hills in Glencoe
Walk Ben Nevis one day?
Glencoe munroes

VS usually shoots itself in the foot. Will it do so again with this new idea?

Visit Scotland is going to tie itself more to Trip Advisor and customer reviews for their grading systems.
Is this going to cause big trouble for them or is this going to cause very big trouble?

We are not in membership of VisitScotland and we are so pleased not to be, so we have no axe to grind. VS membership is expensive and it is bureaucratic. A survey of self catering guests shows that only 30% know of VisitScotland and their grading system, but very few people use it for their self catering accommodation.  Those who do, use it as a small part of their decision process.

I am the first to acknowledge that VS in its early days set quality standards for accommodation and hospitality which are exemplary, the envy of the English and Welsh Tourist Boards. We have very high tourism standards in Scotland, and this is due in no small part to the work done by the early organisation, and its management not by the present lot. VS has seen its best days.

Yes, there are visitors who are devotees of the Grades, mostly they are Hotel and B+B guests, and some people will not book anywhere without a 4 star grade. But owners of 3 star properties are leaving VS, in droves.

OUTGOING CHAIRMAN WHINGES ABOUT THE INDUSTRY WHINGEING.
Here is their recently departed part-time Chairman on the subject of accommodation providers (having just received. £150,000 in bonuses on a basic salary of £24,000)

He wrote, "I have been frustrated by sections of the industry not taking a lead and taking things forward themselves. It still feels like a large part of the tourism industry is living in a dependency culture. In fact, it is one of the most supported ­industries in Scotland at national and local level, and yet ­Government ­agencies can never do enough to please. Isn’t it time ­businesses asked themselves if they deserve support? Why should they get help when the butcher down the road does not? Are they doing their bit to support growth in tourism by investing in quality, and ensuring they understand and meet their customers’ needs?

Whole regions of Scotland are resigning from VS Mr. ex-Chairman and taking matters into their own hands. Was Glencoe whingeing, when it set about revising its local infomation website - to be published later this month - at a cost of £thousands and with help from many people, plus subscriptions and special payments from all members? The industry whinges, Mr. ex-Chairman, when your web site does not produce enquiries as promised and when your inspectors seem to have their own private agendas for grades. It costs a forune to join you and the benefits are iffy. Yes, it is ok for 4 star and above, but worth little for the majority of owners.

The VS problems are two-fold - the failed booking system - everyone moans because they do not get enough VS enquiries; together with the cumbersome and picky quality control system. "You can't get 4 stars, you haven't got all wool carpets in every room" "You have not been putting parsley on the scrambled eggs" "Your walls are not perpendicular" "No we cannot make allowance for your wonderful view, and your architect designed house" "It does not matter if it is in the slum area of Arbroath. If it meets the standards it can get 4 stars" All of these are true examples.


VS PUBLISHES ITS VIEWS ABOUT TRIP ADVISOR.
The Trip Advisor idea link up idea started in England.
“In response to overwhelming demand from both the industry and the consumer, VistEngland will combine the best of the existing star rating schemes with the best of user review generated content to provide the visitor with a better and more comprehensive picture of what’s on offer.”

The VS study had a 2,000 strong samples of providers and guests. Neither a breakdown of the sample, nor an indication which company carried out the research are provided. These are basic requirements. It was probably Taylor Nelson, so that would be ok. I suspect that the best slant has been put upon the results, and a lot of negatives left out. Behind all of this is a drive to slash costs.

80% of the industry want a combined system (of Star gradings and Trip Advisor)
75% of the industry believe user reviews improve their business. (Yeah right, as long as the reviews are good.)
40% of consumers are sceptical of user reviews.
Half still look at user reviews and Trip Advisor is by far the most popular. (Look, even I look at Trip Advisor when we go away but only casually and only because Google maps always include it).
Put another way, when reminded about review sites, nearly half of customers would never use one anyway.

The VS study is a sales document. It is full of stuff from providers about how their bookings improved with the use of Trip Advisor. Many of the questions are of the "What if..." variety, being virtually useless as a guide to actual behaviour, as anyone in the market research profession will tell you.

HOW TO GET FAVOURBLE REVIEWS IN TRIP ADVISOR

Vs are going to slash the costs of grading, of that there is no doubt. The Trip Advisor idea is an attempt to boost the apparent quality of the scheme. But the potential flaws are massive.

It is going to use Trip Advisor, with or without a sharply modified quality grading system. Trip Advisor? I've just looked up "hotels in Glencoe Scottish Highlands". We know every hotel very well. First of all the Trip Advisor search facility does not show any at all. None.Zilch.

But if you put the hotel name into the search then they come up with reviews. The reviews are all over the place - for every hotel. Louisa Legg at the Glencoe hotel has the habit of replying to every single Trip Advisor review and I think this will become standard practice. What a bore, though.

When people have a moan they can be truly viscious, but people who are happy tend not to put in comments. With 1,000 bednights a week, one big hotel will not be able to make every guest totally happy. It cannot be done.

The biggest problem is that small properties can load favourable reviews into the Trip Advisor comments, through using friends and family. It is standard practice in small businesses if they can be bothered. We can't, by the way, be bothered, that is.

But for big properties, a big danger comes from deadly rivals, sticking in horrible write ups deliberately to downgrade the competitor's hotel. What hotels have to do then, if they can be bothered, is to "cover" the write up with favourable ones from their friends, so the bad review goes down the list.  You can also influence results by asking your guests deliberately to write a review once you've seen what they write in your guest book.

Well, good luck to Dr. Michael Cantlay, convenor of the Loch Lomond national park. Deputy chairman of VS, he has stepped up into the top job now.

What he should concentrate on is the Advertising and PR campaign to get visitors to Scotland. It is excellent and should not be cut. It needs the money from the government for this, because the results are gained by all. However it is wrongly slanted. He can forget about the market in the USA. The biggest market by far is in England, 90% of it then we get down to about 10% of visitors from overseas, the strongest contingent being from Germany. Don't ask me, I don't know.

John
Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland
Last minute, late availability Glencoe, self catering cottage
20 brilliant walks around our cottage area
Spectacular wild life around our cottage

LOCAL REFERRAL SITES.
Top professional photographs of Glencoe and the area
The Clachaig Inn
The Glencoe and Loch Leven Association with 40 B+Bs
Email 14 properties with one click
The Friends of Glencoe network site
The new Glencoe Skiing centre information website
News of the local area
Golf in the Scottish highlands, Dragons tooth golf course, Glencoe
Weather in the mountains of Glencoe
Weather month by month in the area
Scotlands weather misconceptions
The Viking battle in Glencoe
The true story of the Glencoe massacre
Spring breaks, March April May Glencoe
Honeymoon cottages in Scotland
Find the best Scottish holiday cottages on the internet
Cut the costs of your holidays
Cheap travel in scotland
The Clachaig Inn - great atmosphere in this world famous climbers pub
The Glencoe and Loch Leven Association with 40 B+Bs
Email 14 properties with one click
The new Glencoe Skiing centre information website
Essential information for holidaymakers in Scotland, in one page
Video. Skiing on Glencoe mountain

HOW TO RE-INVENT VISITSCOTLAND TO PLEASE NEARLY EVERYONE

Look, I'm not an expert and I'll get a lot of this wrong. But I'll bet that most of it will be right.

The Oban Times has just reported that the new local visitor centre at Mallaig (pop 797) has just processed 3,000 visitors a month. It is staffed by local volunteers, set in a local internet cafe. They hand out info about all the local accommodation and facilities. A little display board shows what's going on locally. A bit old-fashioned I hear you say. Yes, well, that’s quite good in my book because it works.

They were grumbling in the paper about getting no involvement from VisitScotland. Yet Mallaig gets 25,000 visitors each year to the local Marine Zoo. On its own.

This is not another knock at VS. It is no good grumbling about it lads and lasses, VS have no money. They also have rules that their visitor centres can only promote locations that are in membership of VS. Once you go down the central subsidy route your life won't be your own. Fancy a career as a box ticker, do you?

The locals are the ones with the headache so they need to buy the tablet as Mallaig has done. That way they'll make it work.

Gillian and I arrived in Lairg, Sutherland, a bit early. Nice little VS centre told us where to eat, a few places to visit. Two well turned out young VS ladies there - and us of course. Great film show about the birds and bees. Lairg is not big, there are 2 people per sq km in Sutherland.

Shin Falls is a couple of miles away, and that has a huge Visitor Centre to cater for bus parties. Wonderful exhibitions, very very good cafe. Shop sells Harrods products, no less. Not surprising the Visitor Centre is staffed, very well, by VisitScotland but completely owned by Al Fayed. It is a totally commercial operation as you would expect, not one bit of local involvement. If you ask about accommodation, they'll send you to the other VS centre.

Shin Falls is not that great. I'd rather amble over to Inchree, by Onich, any rainy day to be impressed.

You know, if I am a Visitor, then the Visitor Centre I prefer is the homegrown one in Mallaig. The people are deeply involved in everything going on locally. They’ll set me right.

VS, through absolutely no fault of its own is held rigid by its constitution. It cannot work as it is.

I've spent my life working with large company managements at very senior level. At one time 25% the companies in the FTSE 100 index were my clients at senior level.

I've watched takeovers and turnarounds galore. There is a standard routine.

How to effect a turnaround.
Outsiders, turnaround experts, take over failing businesses and turn them around often in 9 months from longstanding losses to profit. It is a bit bruising to say the least. Everyone gets upset at the changes but at least 7 out of 10 people will stay. If they are not turned around then all of them will go in the end.

My special takeover pal, call him Stuart, would have his team track a take-over target possibly for years. Just as Kraft have been doing with Cadburys until they struck last month. Cadburys are now "in play" as the rather jolly saying goes, for someone to take them over.

He'd know a huge amount about the company, its management, its people, before he started. Once he has bought them, he and his top team would 'walk the job' for three weeks, meeting the top teams and looking at them as individuals.

He would not spend much time with absolutely top management at parent Board level, because none of them would survive the cull to come. None. Even if they are good, and they are often very good indeed, they have to go. Otherwise, with them still in place, they will quietly block the changes to come. The staff would remain in awe of them. But Stuart aims to set the staff and their energies free. The top people must go.

Then he would take three large sheets of paper. Ignoring completely the existing organisation he would describe the absolutely essential tasks of the organisation. The high profit returns, and the growth tasks would be added.

Then, not being a total brute, he would add some "desirable" tasks. That is the first bit of paper completed. He might take a walk through the mountains and lock himself away while doing this. Maybe even stay at the Clachaig Hotel. It is a lonely task.

The next bit of paper he would fill with his necessary organisation and key jobs, ignoring the existing team and structure. That would break up the units a bit, maybe find some bits for selling off later on.

The third bit of paper hurts some people a lot. Others end up loving it. "That take-over was the best thing that ever happened to me". Yes, it is not at all unusual to hear this afterwards.

(Just imagine the reactions of the existing VisitScotland inspectors who stay on under the new plan I've got. They'll love it. It just makes so much sense. Explained in a mo)

On this third sheet is a list of the existing people, the ones reporting to the Board, the Unit chiefs, and their key managers.

He now matches existing people to the proposed jobs where he thinks they may have the skill and talent. They'll be ok.

He has some further enquiries to make about the next lot of maybe/maybe not candidates, perhaps in-depth interviews. He wants to keep as much existing knowledge as he can, as much existing experience. He does not want a baby and bathwater scenario.

He has a total headcount to think of as well, because his overall costs are going to be a lot lower, perhaps a third lower, and that goes into this mix. So all of them on the list that is left are now very vulnerable. He is going to have to get rid of some really good talent in that bunch simply because there is no appropriate job for them. This could be management buy-out time for some of them. "Best day of my life...." time again.

The other people who will go, have done absolutely nothing wrong at all. It is not their fault. But there simply will be no job for them.

After this, he has to slump into the politics of how it is done, who does what, involve the unions, government agencies, politicians, the usual treacle. Yeah, he could blow it all here, but then the company goes bust.

Now turning around VisitScotland.
The publicity and public relations is great, fabulous. Look at the Visitor numbers overall, look at Scotland's reputation.

Stuart would cut the cost of publicity material, of course. Cut back on the expensive films that few people will see, re-work the literature, and the amount if it, but this is small beer. He would keep the Graphic design head provided that he or she gives up this ambition for VS to be a "Global brand" That will continue to stultify initiative.

The local Visitor Centres, they'll need thinking about, aims and purpose, relevance, cost and a reworking into the communities which want them. If the community wants VS then maybe a service could be provided. So long as VS gets its money back. But it should be community led and made to pay for itself. Internet cafes, local booking fees, charges for providers to go on display, yes, we all need to share the pain.

It is the inspection system which is most out of date.

VisitScotland have done the job here already. They've set up wonderful standards in every but and ben, a credit to the country. They've lifted Scottish hospitality and accommodation to world standards. They have established a very high reputation for accommodation standards.

But the job is done. It is maintenance which is required from here.

Here is what I would do. I'd keep the existing scheme only for new entries to the market who join VisitScotland, with thorough inspections for them and a tough approach. Excellent.

With existing properties I would do a quick check, lasting an average of an hour, using a sampling method to check existing standards are being maintained. I don't have to stay at a B&B. I might need the right to contact three past guests for their views, I'll select them from the book myself.

I'd get in four inspections a day, average. Shock horror, it can't be done! They always say that. Then they always go and do it. Here is how.

I'd offer the existing inspectors a territory to handle, and then I'd franchise them, making them work for themselves with a contract. Give them their salary for three months (or payment by results whichever is the higher) while they get used to the new scheme, then they go self-employed. Many won't like it and will leave. Many will stay, work harder and make more money. Some will make a lot of money. People always work a lot harder for themselves than they ever work for someone else. If you don't believe it works then ask me for the hundreds of case histories I've got. Have you never bought an ice cream from an ice cream van on a Sunday?

I'd task them with bonuses to get new properties on the books. For a start they can go down the Golden Mile in Fort William and pick up some the 30 or so B&Bs they are missing now. Tip. Your past customer list is always your best list of prospects.

They'll all need re-training. The properties they handle are now their customers, they need to know that their salary is paid by the owners effectively. New attitudes will be needed. But they'll have to be tough too with some customers. Call in the heavies, maybe for a re-inspection or after severe complaints.

But, and here is the catch. The Inspectors will be inspected themselves. 1 in 20 of the properties will be re-visited and re-checked by someone from the heavy mob. In addition, each owners will need to fill in a card about the inspector's visit. Short questions, but the key one will be "How long did the inspection last?" That is the way that market research companies check on their interviews door to door, Mori, Nop, everyone good in the market research game knows that if you don't check then interviewers will fill in their own questionnaires after a while.

George Gallup, of Gallup Poll fame, once was booed at a Market Research Society conference by joking that he always recruits his interviewers broken down by age and sex, so that if they complete the forms themselves then at least he has a representative sample. Bit touchy are the serious market research people.

THE DANGER OF NOT DOING IT.
If we don’t get something like this done with VisitScotland then the scenario is as follows:
VS continue to lose money
In a bit to get financial control, Brussels legislation will be blamed and a government-inspired compulsory inspection system set up for everyone, on the spurious grounds of “getting rid of the rogue traders”
Like speed cameras, this will be a government money-making device
VS will get to handle it and our money will drain away.
More arrogance, more shrugging of shoulders.
Then the whole of the UK will adopt the system because it raises money.
John

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland

Where does VisitScotland go from here?

I'm not known to be VisitScotland's best friend in their Facebook entry.

Some people have campaigned against them, others have petitioned the Scottish parliament, everyone has a story to tell about them which makes them look silly.

I'm not a member of VS but I'm one of their best friends.

Listen.

Gillian and I knew Scotland and its accommodation thirty years ago. To say that standards were pretty awful gives a new meaning to the word pretty.

We've just had a week at B&Bs in Orkney with Dumfries and Sutherland on the way. They were all brilliant. Standards were matchless. You won't beat them anywhere in the world.

They don't get many bookings from VisitScotland, and three out of five of them have pulled out. The last one said that their inspector wanted them to have furniture all with dovetail joints.
Another, in an old traditional building, had walls which were not at right angles. Another did not put parsley out with breakfast. Another did not have an underlay in some minor room which no one used. The inspectors use personal whims and fancies so they say.

In the Golden Mile in Fort William there are 38 B&Bs all doing well. In every one the standard will be world-class I'm sure. Only 9 of them are now in VisitScotland. But nearly all of them used to be in membership in days gone past.

That's the problem. VisitScotland without a doubt has set the standards for hotels, B&Bs and self catering. Without any doubt. But once the standards are set, then there is no point in being in membership. I believe that the standards they have achieved in the past are the envy of the English and Welsh Tourist associations.

So VisitScotland should be universally admired. But the words "by" "sell" "past" and "date" come to mind.

Unless, of course, members get bookings from VS. Now there is the rub.

People say they are not getting bookings from VS. In Stromness they tell me that their local VS office is far more important to them than the central booking service. Of course it is. They can grab the local girl by the throat if she slips up and they can't do that with a call centre.

The world has moved on from the days of hard copy directories and leaflets. Most people are Googling what they want. I can go to Google maps. Enter . I can then drag the map to Kentallen along the coast and find a nice cottage there. Where I want it. Ours. How easy is that? For hotels and B&Bs I can read visitors' reviews through Trip Advisor.

VS is trying to re-create the past. It is not at the forefront of the internet.

It is still very good at what it does traditionally, i.e. inspecting properties and creating booklets. Although these days it has not recognised the fact that most properties meet the standards they have set and they don't need now to go over the top.

It is very good at promoting Scotland generally. We've had masses of television programmes in England about Scotland. That may be due to Vs, or not. Don't know.

But it is all overbloated. Too many committees. Too many centralised managers. Stuck in past marketing ideas.

Slim it all down lads, take it easy. You've done most of the job that had to be done, so settle down to maintenance. Just bed in the new owners properly. You do that well.

John
ps We've put up two new pages in our site. Technical stuff really providing these links.

Fort William and the accommodation to the South
Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland
Last minute, late availability Glencoe, self catering cottage
Several cottages in the Fort William, Glencoe and Appin areas