The Christmas Day Santa Swim

What better way to work up an appetite for all that roast turkey and Christmas pud than to start Christmas Day with a quick swim in Loch Leven?

Okay, so it's perhaps not everyone's cup of tea. But 9 hardy souls did just that at the inaugral Ballachulish Santa Swim on Christmas Morning. 

Taking a quick break from tearing open the presents, and pausing before getting stuck into the mince pies, the cheap brandy and the Queen's Speech, swimmers met at the Isles of Glencoe in Ballachulish.

The water was a balmy 5.6 degrees. Big respect to those testing the water without the aid of a wet suit! No doubt they went home to warm their chestnuts by the open fire.

A handful of locals can be found taking to the loch on a regular basis, mostly around Ballachulish and occasionally near Kinlochleven. If you fancy joining them look them up on their Facebook group.

Or maybe get yourself an entry for the Glencoe Open Water Swim in August. At least the water should be a little bit warmer by then!

Hot chocolate all round

Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lectures 2016

Dates for the 2016 series of the Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lectures have now been confirmed. Running on Tuesday nights throughout. February, the lectures are presented by local mountain professionals and look at various aspects of planning your day out in relation to staying as safe as possible.

Thanks to the sponsorship by Mammut UK, the lectures are Free Entry. Starting at 8pm the lectures move to the Boots Bar for a new venue this year.

Read more about the history of the series on the GlencoeScotland web site here. You'll also find full details of each lecture on the What's On listings for February.

Make a note in your diary, tell your friends,... If you'd like some posters in jpg or pdf format get in touch with us at Clachaig and provide an email address.