Truffle Hunting

1. Tobi sniffs out the truffles...invaluable! Fantastic video clip of a working dog in Montaione, Tuscany...what a hound!



2. Truffle sniffs out the sheep...! We named him Truffle in the hope that he might be trained to find the hidden funghi, but as you can see below, he has other things on his mind!
















The Cross at Kingussie
Restaurant with Rooms
www.thecross.co.uk

Winter has arrived...but all roads still lead to The Cross!

The early November snows, followed by by some teeth-chatteringly low temperatures during the past few weeks, have finally developed into a full-blown Highland winter wonder-land. Our access roads are almost always clear and we work hard at keeping our own drive-way passable. And of course for the faint hearted (or for those who want to sit back and admire the scenery in comfort) regular trains stop at Kingussie on their way from Inverness or from London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. So there's never an excuse to stay at home. And here are some images above to whet your appetite for a winter break!

The Cross at Kingussie
Restaurant with Rooms
www.thecross.co.uk

Tuscany Report 2008

Earlier this month we travelled to Tuscany to visit our wine supplier Villa Pillo at Gambassi Terme (http://www.villapillo.com/) to check out the recent vintage and taste some new wines. It looks like 2008 will turn out to be another good year with a healthy balance of quantity and quality. Estate Manager Pamela Trassinelli told us that they had enjoyed exceptional heat throughout the summer and virtually all their grapes were picked before the September rains arrived. We tasted (the last bottle of) an experimental Sauvignon Blanc 2007 which was very gentle and understated and we shall look forward to adding the '08 version to our list next year. We also enjoyed seeing the grapes drying as part of the process of producing Vin Santo. We also visited Badia a Coltibuono (http://www.coltibuono.com/) and Volpaia (http://www.volpaia.it/), currently estates with representation on our list, and we're speaking with Rampa di Fugnano about the possibility of importing some of their wines too. So, all in all, a successful and interesting visit.

The Cross at Kingussie
Restaurant with Rooms
www.thecross.co.uk

First glimpse of a pine marten at The Cross

Wednesday 9 October 7.45am

Red squirrels, blue tits, and finches scatter in all directions as a pine marten drops in to help him or herself to the birdnuts on offer!

This is the first time in almost six years that we (and our guests in Room Eight) have had the pleasure...but with a few strategically placed dollops of peanut butter and a few jam sandwiches we eagerly await a return visit.

Apologies for the fuzziness of the photographic evidence!

The Cross at Kingussie
Restaurant with Rooms
www.thecross.co.uk

TripAdvisor. Here to stay or flash in the pan?

We've seen some growth in the use of websites such as TripAdvisor and an increasing number of our guests say that they found us thro' TripAdvisor...but we have great concerns about its integrity and the accuracy of its ranking systems. We've discovered instances of hoteliers writing their own reviews, dissing competitors, or campaigning for their guests to write favourably. We've been at the receiving end of glowing reviews but also some very hurtful and unfair reviews. Is this right? Should it happen? On the other hand we do find the site useful when researching our own trips. Let us know what you think. Should we ignore all reviews, respond to all reviews, or only reply to certain types of posting?

We've added a page to our website...http://www.thecross.co.uk/TripAdvisor.htm


The Cross at Kingussie
Restaurant with Rooms
www.thecross.co.uk