Rickwood House

hotel style guest house
portpatrick by stranraer

Heugh Road - Portpatrick - Dumfries and Galloway - Scotland - DG9 8TD

3 March 2010
Portpatrick Information - our new website

We are often asked for information about things to do and places to go when staying in Portpatrick. To help you find out more about our village and area, we are building an additional website which, we hope, will help you to plan your holiday in Portpatrick and, perhaps, encourage you to stay a bit longer.

We hope you will bookmark our site and return to it from time to time as it develops.

www.portpatrick.info

10 January 2010
First of all, Happy New Year to all of our guests, past and future!

While January was a cold month for Portpatrick, we escaped the worst of the snow - we had just enough to cover the countryside and the temperature was positively mild compared to Castle Douglas where it was minus 14 one morning when we were passing. We have had some great walks on the cliffs at Portpatrick over the last few weeks and saw a pod of dolphins on several days.

Fred has been kept busy as he is involved in Destination Dumfries & Galloway, a new organisation some of us are setting up to promote the delights of Dumfries & Galloway to those of you out there who have yet to visit our beautiful and peaceful corner of South West Scotland.

Meanwhile, we have also been busy getting everything ready for what we hope will be another busy year.

We would like to thank all our guests last year for your custom and support and we hope that we will see many of you again at Rickwood this year.

2 November 2009
Maggie completes Lake District Wainwrights

At last, after about 18 years, Maggie, accompanied by Fred and daughter Alyson, climbed Blencathra, Maggie's final Wainwright. These are the 214 mountains and hills mentioned by Alfred Wainwright in his guides to the Lakeland Fells.

We had hoped to ascend by Sharp Edge, the most difficult route, but due to the cold, wet and windy weather we reluctantly opted for the second route in order of difficulty, Narrow Edge. It was quite scarey in parts as the rocks were very wet and slippery but we made it and our photo, taken by the only other people we met on the hill that day shows the three of us having a quick lunch break before the long descent. What a day!

After a night's celebrations and an overnight stay at our favourite guest house in Keswick, Pitcairn House (in Blencathra Street strangely enough!) it was back to Portpatrick to get ready for our holidays.

4th - 6th September
Portpatrick Folk Festival - 2009

Once again our corner of South West Scotland will be alive with the sounds of folk music with our annual Folk Festival taking place from 4 - 6 September.

Highlights include a ceilidh in Portpatrick Village Hall featuring local band, Life O`Riley who some of you will have seen at their regular venue - the Crown Hotel.

On the Saturday night there will be a concert in the village hall with, among others, Grada ,an excellent five piece band from Ireland and  also local songer Robyn Stapleton. Failte, another Irish band are also playing at the Crown that night.

Hopefully the sun will shine which always encourages various informal outdoor sessions but, even if the weather isn`t that good there will be lots of sessions happening in the bars, includuing the Mount Stewart, the Waterfront and the Downshire. All are welcome at these sessions and the atmosphere is always superb.

If the weather stays fine, there wil be more outdoor sessions on the Sunday afternoon.

8 August 2009
Life-boat Week in Portpatrick

Lifeboat week was an unquallfied success again this year. It started in glorious weather on the Saturday with the RIB boat race from Donaghadee in Northern Ireland to Portpatrick harbour. There were various events throughout the week with the Stranraer Round Table Raft Race on the Friday evening being very well attended as can be seen from our picture of some of the rafts in Portpatrick harbour passing in front of Carlton Guest House.

Portpatrick was really busy on the final Saturday which included demonstration rescues from the RNLI and a spectacular firework display at the end of the day, sponsored by Portpatrick Holidays.

26 July 2009
Saxophone Ensemble play outside Crown Hotel in Portpatrick

Another sunny Saturday in Portpatrick when we were lucky to have a saxophone ensemble all the way from Northern Ireland performing outside Portpatrick's Crown Hotel.

14 July 2009
Annual Vintage Trucks Rally in Portpatrick

On Saturday about 80 vintage trucks arrived in Portpatrick from various places all over the UK for an overnight stay in the village where drivers and friends had a meal in Portpatrick village hall. They left on Sunday morning in procession to go to Wigtown where they were on display in the town's showfield at lunchtime. Just about every spare parking space in Portpatrick was filled by a vintage truck - quite a spectacle!

Our picture shows a vintage David Brown tractor belonging to one of our guests above the hedge at Rickwood.

Next event in Portpatrick is Lifeboat Week which starts on 1 August.

29 June 2009
Eventful Weekend in Portpatrick

It was a busy weekend in this corner of South West Scotland.

The weather was fantastic and on Saturday afternoon there were numerous boats visiting Portpatrick harbour listening to an impromtu session from a local band outside the Mount Stewart Hotel.

On Saturday evening there was a bbq and bonfire on the harbour to celebrate the resignation of our long serving harbour master, Willie Ramsay.

01 July 2009
Good news for Walkers - Stranraer to Glenapp Footpath Opens

The new coastal footpath from Stranraer to Glenapp via Cairnryan is now completed and opened last week. The path joins on to the Ayrshire Coastal Footpath which means that you can walk from Portpatrick to Stranraer on the Southern Upland Way then from Stranraer to Skelmorlie in North Ayrshire -if you have the time and energy!

If any of our guests would like to walk the new section which is about 11 miles long we would, wherever possible, be happy to provide one way transport.

25 June 2009
No 1 B&B in Portpatrick, South West Scotland

Our Guest House has been ranked no 1 B&B in Portpatrick by TripAdvisor for the 4th consecutive month. Many thanks to all who contributed. Next step - best B&B in South West Scotland?

20 June 2009
MBE for regular visitor to Portpatrick Guest House!

We were delighted to learn that Mrs Isobel Aiken from Kendal has also been awarded an MBE for services to the community.

Isobel and her husband Ken have been regular guests at your favourite guest house in Portpatrick, each August for many, many years and our warmest congratulations go to Isobel for her achievement.

16 June 2009
Seals spotted near Sandhead

Regular guests at Rickwood House Hotel, Ian & Nancy Cook told us today that the seals were back on the rocks between Sandhead and Ardwell, just a few miles from Portpatrick.

The seals can often be seen lazing on the rocks at low tide - we hope you like the photo.

14 June 2009
Portpatrick Local Hero awarded MBE

We were delighted to learn that Robert Erskine who has been coxwain of the Portpatrick Life Boat for the last 25 years has received an MBE in the Birthday Honours.
Congratulations, Robert, well done.

When interviewed by the Herald following his award, Robert in his usual modest manner said "I'm just one of the team".

03 June 2009
Osprey Chick hatches near Portpatrick

We were delighted to learn that an osprey chick has hatched today at a secret location near Wigtown. The osprey family can be viewed remotely from Wigtown Town Hall which is about a 40 minute drive from Portpatrick.

28 May 2009
Portpatrick Walks

We are finding that more and more of our guests are interested in walking.

While we have staying from time to time really keen walkers who are about to start the Southern Upland Way which begins in Portpatrick and crosses the whole South of Scotland, we often find guests asking us about shorter walks near Portpatrick and our corner of South West Scotland.

We plan to introduce soon a new page on our website giving descriptions of favourite walks in the Portpatrick area, the Rhins of Galloway (or Rhinns of Galloway as the area is sometimes known) and the Galloway Hills around Newton Stewart.

Portpatrick is an excellent centre for walkers offering a range of walks from easy cliff top walks to demanding hill walks such as the Merrick in Glen Trool near Newton Stewart , the highest peak in Scotland south of Ben Lomond.

Watch this space..............

21 May 2009
Sulwath Brewery, Castle Douglas

We are always keen to promote local produce so we have decided to stock, for a trial period, real ales from Sulwath Brewery in Castle Douglas.

Initially we will stock Criffel - an amber coloured India Pale Ale which is 4.6% abv (for those who know about these things) and Galloway Gold which is a superlative lager and is 5% abv.

Sulwath brew 5 different ales and if there proves to be a demand we will try to stock them all.

Sulwath Brewery is in the centre of Castle Douglas which is about an hour and a quarters drive from Portpatrick and they do conducted tours including tasting!!
Monday - Friday at 1pm.

Castle Douglas itself is a great wee town for a day trip from Portpatrick. Being the Food Town of Dumfries & Galloway it has various delis etc along with excellent cafes and some interesting galleries.

15 April 2009
Open Day at Cream O' Galloway

Cream o' Galloway near Gatehouse of Fleet recently had an open day and Maggie went along to see what they had to offer.

Watching the Ice Cream being made is only the start!

There is literally something for all ages!

They have a wonderful Adventure Playground incorporating a tower viewpoint (up 69 steps!).

There is an Assault Course, a Bike Skills Area with Bike Hire, a Pedal Kart Circuit & Forest Trails.

Indoors, there is an indoor play area called the Smugglers Warren.

These are only some of the activities. For full details please see their website: www.creamogalloway.co.uk

Maggie was enchanted by the baby lambs and our photo shows her with her hands full!

22 March 2009
Pink Floyd to play Portpatrick Harbour?

How many of you out there remember Pink Floyd's 70's concept album "Animals" the tracks of which all contained the words sheep, dogs or pigs?

Well you could be excused for thinking the current display outside one of our local gift shops - Smuggler's Cove was advertising a forthcoming Floyd gig - what do you think?

March 2009
HotelReview Scotland Guest House Awards

We are delighted to have been voted "Runner-up" for the 2009 Scottish Guest House of the Year Award.

We were also Runner-up for the Guest House Breakfast Award. We can't thank our guests enough for voting for us - it is really appreciated.

12 January 2009
HotelReview Scotland 2009 Awards

Following our success last year we are delighted to have received nominations for 2009 Awards.

The nominations are for "Friendliest Hotel of the Year" and for "Guest House of the Year" and we would love it if you could vote for us under either or both of these categories using this button.

Thank you for your support

1 January 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM RICKWOOD GUEST HOUSE, PORTPATRICK

Maggie & Fred would like to wish all our guests, past and future, a Happy New Year. We hope you will be able to visit us in Portpatrick sometime soon.

8 October 2008
Good News for Walkers visiting Portpatrick - a new coastal path in the making.

Earlier this year, the Ayrshire Coastal Path was opened. This new path links Skelmorlie in the north of Ayrshire with Glenapp - the southern border of Ayrshire and is approximately 100 miles long.

Stranraer Rotary Club have secured funding to extend this path from Glenapp via Cairnryan to Stranraer and it is hoped to open the new section of the path by Spring 2009 It will then be possible to join the Southern Upland Way at Stranraer and continue the walk to Portpatrick.

We hope to be able to assist with transport arrangements for any of our guests who would like to try out these footpaths.

I walked the course of the new Stranraer- Glenapp footpath today and found it to be a most enjoyable route, particularly south of Cairnryan where the path climbs to a spectacular viewpoint. The new path will be about 10 miles long. The photo shows some of the numerous swans on the shores of Loch Ryan at the start of the path.

15 September 2008
Knockinaam Lodge, Portpatrick named by Coast Magazine as Best Coastal Restaurant in Britain

We are delighted to congratulate David & Sian Ibbotson and Michelin star holding chef Tony Pierce on Knockinaam Lodge near Portpatrick having been named in the October 2008 edition of Coast Magazine as one of the Top Ten Coastal Restaurants in the UK and number one for a stunning location.

It is really good to see yet another hospitality business in Portpatrick receiving a major accolade. For a small village Portpatrick is doing really well. The Crown Hotel was awarded AA Seafood Pub of the Year a few years ago while both ourselves and the Fernhill Hotel have won awards from HotelReview Scotland this year.

If any of our guests wish to sample the excellent cuisine on offer from Knockinaam, we will be delighted to provide transport there and back.

5-7 September 2008
Portpatrick Folk Festival

The annual Folk Festival took place in Portpatrick this weekend and, despite the weather being disappointing (to say the least) on the Friday evening and part of Saturday, it was a great success as usual. There were some excellent sessions in the pubs and the village hall along with formal concerts and a ceilidh.

By Sunday, the weather had improved greatly and our picture shows two regular guests at Rickwood and the Portpatrick Folk Festival, David & Lizzie Drife enjoying an al-fresco session in the sunshine.

The next musical event locally is the Creetown Country Music Festival which takes place between 18 and 21 September. We still have a few vacancies at Rickwood  for anyone who would like to make Portpatrick their base while attending the festival and full details of the event can be found at www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com.

Guest House:
Warm Scottish Welcome

6 August 2008

Earlier this year, Rickwood was fortunate enough to win an award at the 2008  "Scottish Hotel Oscars"  organised by HotelReview Scotland. The ceremony was held in Prestonfield House in Edinburgh and was hosted by Sally Magnusson.

Dumfries & Galloway fared particularly well at the event as five other business in the region also won awards or commendations. What`s more, two accommodation providers in Portpatrick were award winners.

Our award was for the category- Scottish Guest House: Warm Scottish Welcome and we were also finalists for the Scottish Guest House of the Year!

A big thank you from Maggie & Fred to all our guests who voted for us. 

27 July 2008

Lifeboat Week in Portpatrick got off to a fantastic start on Sunday when, once again, the weather was just perfect. The village was very busy and all the guest houses, hotels and B&Bs were fully booked.

The day kicked off with a short open-air service followed by music from the local pipe band. After that there was live entertainment outside the Crown.

There were pony and cart rides for the young at heart and it was warm enough for some local lads to cool off by jumping off the harbour-side.

Our picture shows a busy Portpatrick Harbour with some of the RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) which were taking part in the annual race from Northern Ireland to Portpatrick.

24 July 2008

We had a visit from our daughter, Alyson today. It was her 30th birthday - where did all the years go?

It was great to see her so we made the most of the wonderful weather and took a bottle of very special wine (brought all the way from New Zealand)  along the cliff path to Sandeel Bay where we toasted a wonderful daughter. After that, we walked back to Portpatrick and had a meal outside the Waterfront Hotel.

12 July 2008

This is the  weekend when Portpatrick is visited overnight by more than 100 vintage trucks and their crew for their annual rally. Every parking space is full and the village is packed with visitors coming to see the spectacle. We had three of the drivers staying at Rickwood overnight. Once again we were blessed with fine weather (later on anyway). The photo shows our son Graham with his partner, Fiona alongside one of the lorries on the seafront.

The next major event in the village is Lifeboat Week which kicks off on Sunday 27 July with the spectacular RIB  (Rigid Inflatable Boat) race from Ireland to Portpatrick Harbour. This is followed by live music outside the Crown Hotel.

Main events during the week include:-

Monday - Race night in the village hall and beat the goalie competition
Tuesday- Golf Competition at Dunskey Golf Course, Family Fun Run, Wheelie Bin Race and Car Treasure Hunt.
Wednesday- RNLI Golf Competition, Family Quiz & live music at the Crown
Thursday- Greasy Pole Competition ( always good for a laugh) Coffee Morning, Face Painting, Pet Show, Fun Putting and Quiz Night in Harbour House.
Friday- Greasy Pole Competition (part 2) , Round Table Raft Race and a dance in the village hall.
Saturday- Cliff Rescue Demonstration, Wheel of Fortune & Balloon Race and the grand finale-- bonfire& fireworks

All in all it promises to be a fun packed week!

We still have a double room available for part of Lifeboat Week following a cancellation. Free dates are from Wednesday 30 July to Saturday 2 August - please contact us on 01776 810270 for details.

Portpatrick RNLI Lifeboat Week
July 27 - August 2

As a result of a cancellation, we now have a double room available during lifeboat week. We look forward to hearing from you if you are looking for accommodation at this time as the village is normally fully booked well in advance.

Lifeboat week is a very popular time to stay in Portpatrick as there are various events on such as demonstrations by the Coastguard and RNLI, live music, sporting competitions and a firework display on the final evening.

26 May 2008

Another busy Bank Holiday and another fantastic day in Portpatrick! Long may this wonderful weather continue.

Our daughter Alyson came to visit us this weekend and our picture shows her relaxing in Dunskey Castle, a spectacular ruined castle dating back to the 16th century.

Dunskey Castle is a short walk along the cliffs - only 10-15 minutes from Portpatrick harbour and is well worth the climb up those steps!

Portpatrick Folk Festival 2008

We have been asked by a few guests for the dates of the Portpatrick Folk Festival.

It seems to be a closely guarded secret but we can reveal that is is from Friday 5th September to Sunday 7th September!

There will be a concert in the village hall on the Friday and Saturday evenings and, as usual, informal sessions in the local bars and outside if weather permits. We are filling up fast for that weekend.

www.portpatrickfolkfestival.org

6 May 2008

It was a busy weekend at your favourite guest house in Portpatrick. 97 Left Handed golfers were in Portpatrick for a tournament and every B&B, Guest House and accommodation provider was full.

The weather was splendid, especially on Monday and our photo shows holiday makers sitting outside the hotels on Portpatrick harbour enjoying the sunshine and looking quite continental!

April 2008

29 March 2008

Saturday was a big day for the Findlays from Portpatrick as Fred was climbing his last Munro (284 Mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet high).

Fred and Maggie and 9 family members and friends made it to the top (only just) in what turned out to be blizzard conditions.