Family Appeal

Have you visited Clachaig over the past couple of years and marvelled at the new car park? Making the most of the spoils from some fairly significant local roadworks, we were able to infill a boggy and useless piece of ground and provide some more much needed car parking.

Looks good doesn't it. But what's that big bit left in the middle for?

Well, it's taken a while to find the right solution, but we've got there in the end. Finally, we can reveal the new Clachaig Children's Play Area. Orders have now been placed and we're optimistic that we'll have one of these fully installed and ready to go in time for the Easter holidays.

As Clachaig and Carefree Self Catering Holidays increasingly cater to a larger number of families, both as residents and simply as customers within the bars, we think this investment will help to continue our broad and popular appeal as THE place to stay, wine and dine when in the Glencoe area.

More in due course, or follow our progress by becoming a Facebook fan.

Scottish Secretary Drops By,,,

Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team has been fairly quiet as winters go. The hills have certainly been busy so perhaps everyone has been taking note at Clachaig's Winter Mountain Safety Lectures (- the next one is this evening, and FREE!)

 Trucks, cars, quad bikes, boats, mobile loud hailers and off roaders...

However, there's still plenty to keep mountain rescue in the news these days. Recently came the news that Mountain Rescue Teams will be able to reclaim VAT on equipment purchases, meaning that the donations that the teams survive on will be able to go much further than before. 

And then there's the recent uncertainty over the future of the Search and Rescue Helicopters, and how the service will continue now that the Sea Kings operated by the Navy and the RAF are coming to the end of their useful lives.

Or perhaps the concerns over the impact on Mountain Rescue if plans to merge Scotland's Police Forces to single force are followed through.

So, with various issues constantly bubbling away, it's nice to know that people are listening to those in the know. And nice to be able to play host to Michael Moore MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, who came along to the rescue centre yesterday, to speak to the Glencoe Team, and learn more about how the team functions.

You can read Michael Moore's press statement following his visit here.

Does what it says on the tin!

Quiet February?.....You must be joking!

James preparing a new delivery

Clachaig is buzzing at the moment as we go into the second week of our winter beer festival. The cellar is rammed with a selection of Scotland's finest cask ales from Cairngorm, Williams Bros, An Teallach, Glenfinnan & Caledonian to name but a few.

Plenty of things to do in the evening too, whisky & ale tastings, mountain safety lectures, quizzes & of course plenty of live music & craic by the bucket load.

Winter safety lecture

Meanwhile through in the lounge bar over 60 hardy outdoor enthusiasts enjoyed last nights lecture on
Winter Mountain Safety presented by Roger Wild (UIAGM Mountain Guide and ex Safety Advisor with the MCofS) The main focus of Roger's lectures was winter navigation, vital training that apparently paid off as some of them managed to navigate through to the boots bar afterwards....job done.

Books 'R' us

Following the recent makeover to our residents lounge we've added a couple of bookshelves and filled them with...er...books. Guests & visitors alike can borrow, buy or swap. All we ask is a few pennies for Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team. We've even come up with some innovative bookends....old whisky boxes...empty of course, sorry folks.

Everybody's got to learn sometime!

And to add to the workload we're busy training our 'newest' recruits as we gear up for a busy season. Jessica originally helped us out in our housekeeping team at weekends & during school holidays, but she's all 'growed' up now and has returned from her studies for a stint on the front desk....
......Still no Hawkers or Campbells but smiles all round & a friendly welcome guaranteed.

Get Real!

Have you noticed our "Customer Promise"? Take a peek at our web site and you'll find it there beneath the business name. It's a kind of "Ronseal" message; it tells you what you're going to get; does what it says on the tin. You'll notice that it features heavily on the 'real'. That's because for the last, er 27 years (yikes!) it's been the driving motivation behind our business. Good, honest, straight up hospitality.

 Clachaig & Carriages

So why do we mention this now? Well, have just been looking at an invite to a trade dinner in London. Not really our thing, especially as it'd mean a day missed on the hills/slopes at this time of year. But in reading the running order for the evening at the swanky top class hotel we noticed that the proceedings end at 2am with "Carriages".

 Now we might be country bumpkins after a quarter of a decade in the glen, but do folk in London really go home at the end of the night in Carriages? Get Real!

Clachaig. Real People, Real Hospitality Real Craic. And if you can't be bothered walking to your tent at the end of the night, book a taxi!

It's the little things that take the time

Finally, after what feels like months, our two and a half week simple refurbishment job is somewhere near what we might call complete. Despite getting off to a flying start, it was the little things that take so long to finish off. Even now we're still in need of a carpet repair and a couple of other details which are probably so small that you'd not notice them unless we told you. But being perfectionists...!

So here's a taster of the finished product. We think it's turned out rather well, and from the feedback so far, so do you!

 Room 6, Ossian Wing, Clachaig Inn, Glencoe

For a reminder of where we started from see our blog post from 8th December. And for plenty more pictures of the finished item, see the gallery pages on the Clachaig web site.

Did you miss all the drama as the refurbishment progressed? Feeling left out? Keep up to date with all things Clachaig and join us on either Facebook or Twitter.