WELCOME
HISTORY
DIRECTIONS
ACCESS
YOUR STAY
DEPARTURE
HEAT & WATER
WOOD BURNER
“RESIDENTS”
OUTSIDE
MEALS IN & OUT
BINS
Welcome to Peterfair
Peterfair Cottage
Welcome to Peterfair Cottage. Hopefully I have laid out everything you will need for your stay at Peterfair within these pages. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I have a lot of knowledge about the area as well as further afield to help you enjoy your visit to Scotland.
Stuart
Peterfair’s History
Peterfair was a name given to five crofts many years ago but this is the last remaining of those five properties.
A croft is a small agricultural unit, most of which are situated in the crofting counties in the north of Scotland being the former counties of Argyll, Caithness, Inverness, Ross & Cromarty, Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland, and held subject to the provisions of the Crofting Acts.
Many crofts are on estates. A landlord may have many crofts on his estate. The rent paid by the tenant crofter, except in fairly rare circumstances, is only for the bare land of the croft, for the house and agricultural buildings, roads and fences are provided by the crofter himself. Since 1976 it has become more common for a crofter to acquire title to his croft, thus becoming an owner-occupier. Should he fail to reside on or near the croft, he can himself be required to take a tenant.
A crofter is the person who occupies and works a small landholding known as a croft. A crofter is normally the tenant of the croft, paying rent to the landlord of the croft. But many others have purchased their crofts and are owner-occupiers of their crofts.
The Peterfair area was named after an old ecclesiastical fair that used to be held on the land, named after the local St. Peter’s Church which is still in use in Inveravon, a mile or so West of the property. The church you see today was built in 1806 although there were croft properties on this land prior to the 1740s.
Peterfair Cottage
Peterfair
Moray AB37 9BB
Scotland
What 3 Words ///snowy.denser.fuzz
FINDING PETERFAIR. The nearest train stations are Elgin (22 miles) and Aviemore (25 miles). Inverness airport is 1 hour drive and Aberdeen is 1.5 hours away. Buses are infrequent and unreliable. For this reason Peterfair can really only be reached by vehicle.
Peterfair is off the A95 main road between Grantown-on-Spey and Aberlour (heading East).
DRIVING FROM THE WEST. The road is approximately half a mile beyond the gates to Ballindalloch Castle, opposite a brown sign for the Inveravon Pictish Stones. The property is a half mile up this single-track road on the right. It’s the first house you see with a roof!
DRIVING FROM THE EAST. Coming from Aberlour (heading West) turn in at the big entrance to Glanfarclas Distillery (signposted and has flags at entrance). Drive straight along this road. When you reach the visitor centre, turn right at the big beech hedge. (You’ll see my sculpture of a Golden Eagle behind the hedge). Follow this road uphill and follow it as it turns right. The first house you see on the right-hand side IS NOT PETERFAIR. Continue downhill for about a mile. Peterfair is on the left. It will be obvious as there is a large green workshop, an old, yellow tractor and a large driveway through black metal gates. My sculpture sign (shown) is directly outside the gates. If you don’t see the sign, it’s not my house.
ACCESSING THE PROPERTY
You’ll see in the images (right) what the entrance looks like and the house name sign outside the gates.
Park your vehicle in front of the flower bed.
To the left of the front door is a small, green door into the barn. On that door is a lock box. You’ll find the front door key inside. The code for the keysafe will be sent to you before your arrival.
Please remove shoes upon entering the house.
Your host is Stuart Murdoch. I am a self-employed sculptor working in stone, wood and slate using traditional, hand-carved methods. I have lived and worked at Peterfair since early 2009. I have been renovating (and continue to do so!) the cottage since I purchased it. Although much of the property has been modernised, there is still much to do.
If interested, you can find examples of my work on my website, Facebook or Instagram.
Stuart
P.S. I am vegan. Please be sure to take any meat, eggs and dairy products with you when you leave. Thank you.
YOUR STAY AT PETERFAIR
Please make yourselves at home but please remember this is also my home. The cottage is well situated to enjoy much of the sights, attractions and activities to be found in this lovely part of North East Scotland. There is a list of things to enjoy within this pack.
Please make sure you sign my visitors’ book and leave any comments so that I can ensure to make future guests’ stays here as enjoyable and comfortable as possible.
In order for the cleaning team to get access, please
CHECKOUT by 10.30am on your departure day.
Please note that I request you leave a cleaning fee of £60GBP. Please leave cash after your stay or request my bank details. Thank you for your understanding.
WI-FI
Wi-Fi Name : Peterfair
Password: Peterfair-13
There’s also a booster outside the house which works in the garden:
Wi-Fi Name : Peterfair WiFi Network
Password: Peterfair13 (as above but no hyphen)
NOTES
• Please take care if using the stairs up to the upstairs bedroom as they are quite narrow and steep. Also mind your heads on the upstairs ceiling!
• Please also turn off lights in any rooms that aren’t being used.
• Unless I am present, please do not try and access any of the outbuildings as they contain my work as well as dangerous tools and hazardous products.
• Please take care to close outside doors. It can become very windy at Peterfair, causing doors to slam. Also, in summer months, the house quickly fills with insects!
• Please don’t hesitate in contacting me if you would like any local information on subjects such as car hire, public transport, routes to take, places to visit, things to see, places to eat or shop, outdoor activities, mountain walking, castles, lochs… etc etc!
• Please let me know how you think I could improve this guest pack. This is my first year with Home Exchange and I am keen to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for my guests.
DEPARTURE
• Please leave used towels and bed sheets on bathroom or utility room floor.
• Please empty all indoor bins to the main bins next to the front gate. General rubbish from the kitchen bin under the sink and the bathroom bin goes to the large green bin outdoors. Paper and cardboard goes to the blue bin and recyclable plastic and cans go to the pink bin. Please leave the orange glass bin in the utility room.
• Empty the kitchen vegetable peelings bin to the compost bin in the corner of the garden, next to the hedge.
• Please ensure lights are turned off.
• Remember to sign my guest book and add a pin to the map highlighting where you hail from.
• Lock the front door by raising the handle then turning the key.
• Return the key to the key safe.
In order for the cleaning team to get access, please CHECKOUT by 10.30am on your departure day.
REFUSE AND RECYCLING
Please recycle as much as possible. In the cupboard under the microwave/convection oven in the utility room you’ll find three tubs.
ORANGE – glass recycling
GREY – cans, recyclable plastics and bottles
YELLOW – paper and cardboard
Food waste such as vegetable peelings and coffee grounds go in the silver bin that hangs from the cupboard door in the kitchen. When full, transfer to the compost bin in the corner of the garden by the holly bush.
Other, non-recyclable waste goes in the bin under the sink in the kitchen and then transferred to the green bin outside by the gate.
Bins by the front gate…
BLUE – paper and cardboard
PINK – cans and recyclable plastics and bottles
GREEN – all other waste
FIRE SAFETY
The wood-burning stove can be left unattended but please ensure the door is firmly locked at all times.
The induction hob in the kitchen is reasonably safe but please do not leave any pan unattended at any time.
There is a fire blanket on the cupboard to the left of the kitchen sink.
A fire extinguisher can be found in the lobby to the right of the bathroom door.
In emergency, call the fire brigade on 999. The address of the property is Peterfair, Ballindalloch AB37 9BB.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
Mostly I will be on hand to assist with any issues that arise but, if not, you can contact me on my mobile phone.
(UK numbers require a +44 and remove the 0, if dialling from a foreign phone).
Stuart Murdoch, owner 077111 67673
My parents live close by and they can be reached if I cannot.
Bill Murdoch, father 01807 500247
or 07703 556785
If I or my parents cannot be reached, you can call my friend, Andrew.
Andrew, neighbour 07795 200124
Police, ambulance or fire service in UK 999
Police, non-emergency 101
Medical, non-emergency 111
Local doctor, Glenlivet 01807 590273
Local veterinary, Aberlour 01340 871385
Peterfair Cottage
Peterfair Cottage, Peterfair, Moray, AB37 9BB Scotland