All that Glitters

Captured by Clachaig's very own resident mountain man Alex Roddie this afternoon.

If ever you needed proof of the 'pot of gold' at the end of the rainbow then the above picture is surely a sign.

Alex & the rest of the team are on hand to serve up a warm welcome to our Octoberfest, complete with roaring fires, the finest selection of cask ales this side of the equator, whisky & ale tastings, unrivaled live music & an activity programme to keep everyone occupied.

Our festival is running until Sunday 31st October so come along for a pot of gold-en ale....just follow the sign.

A bicycle built for 6

Here’s something that you don’t see every day – a bicycle made for 6.

These guys stayed over at Clachaig on Sunday night, during their fundraising John O’Groats to Lands End charity ride. We see plenty of ‘end to end’ers during the course of the season, but we have to say that this is probably one of the more memorable groups to pass by.

Being bike fans ourselves, we were rather taken with the details of the bike. But so many questions...

• Riding a tandem is hard enough but when there’s six of you all working together..?
  
  
• How big (or a little) a bump does it have to be before it bottoms out? We’re guessing that at 17 feet long off roading isn’t going to be that easy.
  
  
• What’s it like when the guy at the front has the front brake and the guy at the back has the back brake, and you’re hurtling down a steep incline towards a hairpin bend? And what’s it like when you’re sat in the middle and have neither brake?
  
  
• And just how fast could a hand picked half dozen of the strongest legs from the local bike club complete a 10 mile time trial on it? Assuming no up hills and no dead turns, that is.
  
  
• Just how much torque is there through the axles when you’re braking for 6?

And even more remarkable is the fact that the bike can be configured for 3, 4, 5 or 6 to ride. Groovy! See the Saddle Row web site for more.

The ride aims to raise money for a variety of 6 cancer related charities and we’re sure that they’d welcome any donations you’d care to send their way.

Good luck chaps!

Octoberfest is coming!

A little over 10 years we came up with the brilliant idea of having an end of season Beer Festival here in Glencoe. A little celebration, if you will, to mark the end of the main trading season, and before the tumbleweed and the darkness really set in. The tail end of October was busy enough to justify it, with a reasonable number of folk making the most of the half term hols. We also came up with a totally brilliant and unique name for a beer festival held in the month of October.

And now, here we are 10 years on, with a hugely successful annual event now celebrating its 10th birthday. Our special Festival Accommodation Offers help to fill the inn during the festival. Every year we try to look at what's on offer, and ensure that we do our utmost to make it a fun and informal time, offering good value and great craic. Quite often, we find ourselves trying to think of a new way of doing things, only to realise that you can over-engineer things, and that the real success is often due to the bare simplicity of what we do. Our Customer Promise sums it up, namely "Real People, Real Hospitality, Real Craic".

But this year, as we are marking a bit of a milestone, we have come up with something new and different for Octoberfest - the Octoberfest Activity Programme.

The basic idea is that during the festival, your evenings are destined to be spent at Clachaig. In addition to the wide selection of cask conditioned ales, and this year cider and lager too, there's also live music, pub quizzes and beer and whisky tastings. But what about during the day?

When you look there's actually so much on offer, but sometimes its just a case of being able to see the wood for trees. So we've teamed up with a wide variety of local attractions and activity providers to provide an exclusive programme of things to do during the festival. In each case there's a special package on offer to Clachaig's Octoberfest Customers, whether it be a keener price or some great added value add ons.

 Download the full programme on our web site

There's something for everyone, in every weather, and for every ability. For the children, there's ranger led trips to explore the natural environment, for the more adventurous there's a chance to try your hand at climbing, kayaking or canyoning, and for everyone, there's Landrover Safaris or trips up the Mountain Chairlift. And more. See our web site for more information about the activities on offer.

We hope you'll find a reason to come and visit us at our 10th annual Octoberfest.

A cracking weekend

By all accounts it was a cracking weekend. The summer all but over, a last minute appearance by the sun reminded us of the fun in the sun that was still possible. But with a good hard frost in the mornings (-4.4 degrees recorded at Tyndrum!), there was also that feeling that winter was just around the corner. Either way, it was a great weekend to be out and about in the Highlands.

 Some of the action from the Etive River Race

The Etive River Race is establishing itself as an annual event. Featuring 7 drops of up to Class 4+, the race covers a stretch of some 2.5km down the River Etive, falling some 53m in the process. Some call it utter madness, others may call it grown men having legal fun in black rubber. However, it's a great spectator sport in a stunning setting and we very much hope that the event keeps on coming back.

 A late season bit of seaside fun (but no fish and chips or candy floss to be seen).

But elsewhere, be it up a hill, at the beach or on a cycle path, a good time was being had by all. Here's hoping that the appearance of the sunshine wasn't just a passing fad, and that we'll have plenty more opportunities to get out and play this autumn.

Banchory Veterans hit the high notes!

After 9 months or more in the making plus a few mini practice walks to test the gear, lungs and limbs, idle Friday night pub chatter finally culminated in a successful tour of the West Highland Way for the Banchory Veterans. 

Describing themselves as complete novices they completed a mini version covering the prettiest (their own words) and most northerly part of the route from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William.

  Rumour has it they even bought a few books on the way.

The team enjoyed a well deserved pint (or two) here at Clachaig on Saturday night and recorded the craic - & unfortunately their singing too - in the boots bar for all to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ca4hj9A_UA 

Thanks for your company lads....see you all again very soon.

Like drowned rats...

That the Scottish Highlands can be pretty wet is a well known fact and waterproof clothing makes up a big part of most of our wardrobes.

 

 Check out the pink slippers!

Three young men cycling through Scotland thought they were well prepared for the weather conditions up this way - but then met with Rannoch Moor. Setting up camp on the Moor on one very wet night, they discovered (the hard way) overnight that their tent was not as waterproof as most of their wardrobe. 

 

The following morning they arrived at Clachaig Inn hungry, cold and with not a dry thread on their bodies, leaving small puddles at every step. There was space for 3 more guests in the breakfast room so the hunger bit was easily solved. In order to warm them up, we offered them staff uniforms while their clothes were being dried in our drying room and tumble dryers. Fluffy pink slippers were found to warm their feet, to much hilarity of the serving staff. (We actually had plenty of alternative footware, but we thought the pink slippers would be quite amusing, for us at least).

 

After the refuelling and a quick snooze they set off for Fort William, braving more of our Scottish weather. No doubt they probably got a soaking all over again. We hope they wont find themselves waking up quite as miserable on the rest of their trip, but if they do, we hope some more Highland Hospitality will see them right.

The Hills Are Alive...

Regular readers will be aware of our literary connections see - Sue Fletcher - so no surprise that Richard Happer, author of The hills are stuffed with Swedish girls should choose to do a book signing here in Glencoe.

The real surprise is that he will be doing this at the top of the Devil's Staircase. So if you fancy hearing Richard read from his wildly funny novel, head for the hills on Saturday 18th September for some exercise, a story and even a sausage if you're lucky.

We have it on good authority that Richard may even grace the Boots Bar here at Clachaig afterwards so don't bring your Swedish girlfriend.....you have been warned.