Be careful what you wish for.

[Tengu]

I wanted a holiday in Scotland.

Dad has this timeshare points system thingy (basicaly an excuse for someone else to tell you where to go)

So I pestered him.

"All booked by the americans a year in advance"
"not many places in the UK"
"cost more points than Lanzarote" arguments

I mean, there is no shortage of places to stay in Scotland...every so and soing second buildings for holidaymakers!

I suggested getting a campervan and wild camping but that is too simple for him.

But hes now booked a stay in the Hilton chalet ("its luxury") in a place called Ballater.

Which is in the middle of nowhere and sounds a real dump.

Its just south of the Cairngorms.

any useful tips?

 

[Toddy]

It's a beautiful bit of the world.

Rural Scotland has a housing shortage because of the houses being bought up by outsiders to be rented out as holiday homes.
It's a sore point in many areas, we don't find it funny that locals end up living in mobile homes while houses sit empty most of the year because their owners expect unrealistic rental prices based on high season tourist rates.

http://www.ballaterscotland.com/

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Shewie]

I've never been over that side of the Cairngorms but the maps look like there's plenty to explore round there.

Anywhere with a Mountain Rescue post is going to be pretty dramatic.

I'm sure you'll have a good time

 

[Miyagi]

Ballater is a beautiful wee place, built up for Queen Victoria's visits North to Balmoral and Braemar etc.

The locals are very friendly as they are used to tourists and the squaddies from Victoria barracks (usually those doing Guard for the Queen).

It's set in beautiful scenery so take your walking boots.

There's plenty of pubs and hotels etc., but avoid the gift shops they're awfy dear.

The Alexandra hotel next to the wee bridge became my local when I was there.

I can heartily recommend it. You'll love it. I did.

atb

Liam

 

[gsfgaz]

Ballater is a bonnie wee place , i rather be there than Lanzarote

 

[Tengu]

Id rather be most anywhere than Lanzarote.

Swindon, to start with.

There are few lochs there and antiquities seem thin on the ground. Also its far from the sea.

Queen Victoria should have chosen better, methinks.

Toddy, why doesnt your government control holiday cottage buying? Not stop people, make them overwinter every few years or so, or tax non scots.

Its a terrible problem on Lewis.

(and who, to be truthful would spend 100k on a wee cottage on Lewis?? Im not knocking the houses, the ones I saw were superlative, but they are tiny!)

 

[Toddy]

It's called free market. Successive UK goverment's have been all for it

Of course people want to realise as much value as they can when selling a property, but it means that locals are bought out of places like Skye, Mull, etc.,
My brother, quite accurately, says that if you want to hear a local accent in some of those places you have to take it in with you.
Dougie MacLean has a brilliant song about it, "I'll tell you about the land that you live in....."

There have been proposals that where there is a housing shortage then holiday home owners must offer the full time let at a council decided rate to those on the local housing list.
Needless to say it's an unpopular measure with those who bought to speculate, and with those who bought to spend three weeks a year on a Scottish holiday.
New builds aren't the answer either simply because the transport logistics make them well out of the income bracket of the locals on the islands.

In some areas, such as rural Perthshire, there are villages which become virtual ghost towns in Winter. One village I know of, which has 20 houses, has only three in full time occupation, yet the local housing list has over 100 local families in dire need of accomodation.

I'm told that the Lake District suffers similar problems with holiday homes. It must happen right across the country in one form or another, and so far no one's found an ideal solution.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[wicca]

There's some irony in all this. One of the few villages near where I used to live (in Sussex) which had farm workers, tradesmen and locals in it was a village owned by the local 'Lord of the Manor' Tied dwellings but kept within the families for generations. The village up the road was full of Mercedes 4x4's and Chelsea accents in the summer and half empty in the winter..

 

[Tengu]

Not here!

Our problem here is people developing their gardens

(Im sore tempted to put in a speculative application for planning permission...if i got it, the value of my house would go up by 50%)

But thats by the by

Im planning on going curling. Theres lots to see in the Cairngorms, such as the reindeer centre.

Wasnt there a member who went dog sledding there?

 

[joejoe]

just googled it , looks a realy nice place. if you do not like it do not go back

 

[Chinkapin]

For what its worth, I've been told that no one that works in Aspen, Colorado, lives in Aspen. The value of the property got so high that everyone that lived an worked there, sold out and moved to the next town and now commutes back and forth. I think you will find problems like this in many places.

 

[forestwalker]

It's called free market. Successive UK goverment's have been all for it

Of course people want to realise as much value as they can when selling a property, but it means that locals are bought out of places like Skye, Mull, etc.,
My brother, quite accurately, says that if you want to hear a local accent in some of those places you have to take it in with you.
Dougie MacLean has a brilliant song about it, "I'll tell you about the land that you live in....."

We are having similar problems in parts of Sweden: if it is one days drive from Germany and a traditional red cottage the Germans will want to buy it as a summer home. And up here (too far from Germany) we also have a lot of empty houses. The kids inherited it when grandma finally died, but none of them want to live here (no jobs, not Stockholm), but lets keep the house anyway, just in case we want to spend some holiday time there...

The real horror places is the archipelago outside Stockholm. A few decades ago poor fishermen was offered enourmous sums (sometimes UKP 10-20k!) for their cottage on a small island. Last time I saw an ad for the end result (a fancy cottage with all the mod cons) it was several hundred thousand pounds. But the real estate values (taxed!) goes up for everyone, even the last fisher-/general handyman, based on the last property sold in the area.

The solution for larger properties (i.e. anything classed as agricultural) is that you actually have to get a permit to buy it. When we bough our house we had to fill in an application stating what will we do with it.

 

[FGYT]

It's a beautiful bit of the world.

Rural Scotland has a housing shortage because of the houses being bought up by outsiders to be rented out as holiday homes.
It's a sore point in many areas, we don't find it funny that locals end up living in mobile homes while houses sit empty most of the year because their owners expect unrealistic rental prices based on high season tourist rates.

http://www.ballaterscotland.com/

cheers,
Toddy

happens every where its why im not living in the new forest in one of many little fixer uppers that come up when an old lady passes away its bought by the london lot as a weekend home making a tatty little cottage worth a fortune no locals can afford it (was with my parents till mid 30's )
even the houses they built expressly to sell/ rent cheaply to local younger popele t okeep them in the forest all got given over to single teenage mums from bournemouth (whats Shazz from the estates in bournemouth going to do in the middle of teh forest 1hrs walk from the nearest shop )

as you say a free market combined with 2 income familys and the abiltiy to get any amount on a mortguage with no proof made house prices stupid o hand cheap council tax on second homes should be double and much higher stamp to

ATB

Duncan

 

[Wayland]

Show of Hands - Country Life........... Says it all for me.

 

[verloc]

I wanted a holiday in Scotland.

Dad has this timeshare points system thingy (basicaly an excuse for someone else to tell you where to go)

So I pestered him.

"All booked by the americans a year in advance"
"not many places in the UK"
"cost more points than Lanzarote" arguments

I mean, there is no shortage of places to stay in Scotland...every so and soing second buildings for holidaymakers!

I suggested getting a campervan and wild camping but that is too simple for him.

But hes now booked a stay in the Hilton chalet ("its luxury") in a place called Ballater.

Which is in the middle of nowhere and sounds a real dump.

Its just south of the Cairngorms.

any useful tips?

Am I missing some applied tone of sarcasm on this? You know how its easy to misinterpret things when they are written rather than the spoken word?

Royal Deeside it a stunning bit of the UK, with loads of countryside and stunning vistas to enjoy. Good local produce and a brilliant base to explore a big chunk of Scotland, Aberdeen (and shire), Angus, Perthshire, its not far across to the coast and a drive that no-one that has been on it for th first time ever fails to comment on how stunning it is.

In fact if its the Hilton that I think it is im sure its actually in the Cairngorms national park.

Braemar is nearby and you can play in the Mar estate until you drop. If you want to go wild camping then I can think of few better locations that have so many options.

from a slightly bemused Tom

 

[Andy2112]

Royal Deeside it a stunning bit of the UK, with loads of countryside and stunning vistas to enjoy. Good local produce and a brilliant base to explore a big chunk of Scotland, Aberdeen (and shire), Angus, Perthshire, its not far across to the coast and a drive that no-one that has been on it for th first time ever fails to comment on how stunning it is.

I'll second that Tom, i stopped in Carrbridge for a week and toured all round Royal Deeside, absolutely breath taking mate.

 

[timboggle]

Dougie MacLean has a brilliant song about it, "I'll tell you about the land that you live in....."

"...........What you’ve gained is our ultimate loss" 'Homeland'

Aye Toddy, He's one of favourites, seen him in concert numerous times - I like his songs about the Mountains, the man has heart and passion, great songwriter and musician.

We have the same problem all over really, the Beacons, Snowdonia, Lake District, etc, even down here in Hereford we have people from the capital buying houses to rent.

Tengu, that part of Scotland is very nice, enjoy mate.