Last night we had our second Brewers and Suppliers night. A great night was had by all who attended. We would like to thank Alechemy Brewing Cairngorm Brewery Cairn o Mohr Real Fruit Wines Lerwick Brewery Loch Lomond Brewery Letterfinlay Specialist Foods Orkney Brewery River Leven Ales Isle of Skye Brewing Company Strathearn Distillery Strathaven Ales TBS Coffee Thistly Cross Cider and Williams Bros. Brewing Co. for all coming along and the raffle prizes they donated. We managed to raise £257 for Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team.
Also Congratulations to Harry from River Leven Ales for being voted the best beer on the night by his fellow brewers and suppliers with his Dark Ale. Finally a big thank you to our Kitchen team especially Gary who put on a incredible spread for the night.

Refurb at Riverbank

Hot on the heels of giving Oak Tree Lodge a complete overhaul, we're now well on with giving Holly Tree and Cherry Tree Cottages at Riverbank Holiday Cottages the same treatment.

Both cottages are due for a bit of a decorate, but we struggle to do things in small measures, and so it's turned into a little more than that. The aim is to bring the cottages bang up to date with a fresh new look which, combined with the exclusive riverside location on the fringes of Glencoe village, will make them the perfect holiday retreat.

Holly Tree Lounge - cupboard removed to make things much more spacious

Cherry Tree - Harled walls covered over and a complete top to bottom overhaul

New floor coverings, new bedding and curtains, completely new bathrooms, and some new furniture are common themes. In addition, we're making the lounge in Holly Tree Cottage much bigger by removing a cupboard in the corridor and modifying the entry door into the kitchen / dining area. The result will be a much more spacious living dining space. The patio door is also being replaced, allowing for ease of access to the lovely riverbank area.

Cherry Tree - New wet walling for the showers

We're also getting to grips with the gardens and improving the access to the river side. It's an absoloutely stunning spot, hidden from the rest of the world. A great place to sit by the river with a beer from the fridge and watch the ducks float by.

Cherry Tree - Ready for the sink

Holly Tree Bathroom - but no bath!

Holly Tree bathroom - completely stripped

Holly Tree bathroom - even the floor is replaced

Holly Tree lounge - the remains of the cupboard about to go

Holly Tree Lounge - a hint of the sense of space with the new configuration

How many toilets?

Cherry Tree Lounge - mind the carpet!

All being well we'll be finished in about a fortnight and ready to roll for the rest of the season. Watch this space or sign up to our eNews and/or follow Clachaig on Facebook.

Better still, visit our Clachaig Holidays web site and book your self catering holiday in Glencoe for summer 2017.

Big Winter Raffle 2017

Each year during Februaryfest we pledge to raise as much cash as we can for worthwhile local causes. This year we’re concentrating our efforts on the provision of defibrillators for the local communities of Glencoe, Ballachulish & Onich. 

Throughout the month our staff have been busy selling tickets for our Big Winter Raffle. Not many folk escaped Katie & Ann Marie who were present during all four lectures, the gin & whisky tastings and on busy Saturday nights. Our frontline team were also on hand to twist a few arms. The swag room this year was bursting at the seams with a cart load of beer, cider, whisky, accommodation, gear, food and activity vouchers along with t-shirts, umbrellas and golf balls galore all up for grabs. 

To give an extra boost to our fundraising we cleared out the attic and held a Yard Sale providing a great opportunity to bag some Clachaig (& Grog) memorabilia

We are very grateful to our sponsor Mammut who pay for the Winter Mountain Safety Lecture Series and also a big shout to our suppliers and local businesses who get right behind our fundraising efforts with incredibly generous products & activities. But the real heroes are our customers & guests who donated generously once again and dug deep for their hard earned cash.

So a big 'Thank You' in no particular order to: 

Mammut UK

Nevisport

Letterfinlay Specialist Foods

Ice Factor

Holroyd Gallery

Dragons Tooth Golf Club

Cairngorm Brewery

Loch Lomond Brewery

Thistly Cross Cider

West Brewery

Strathavon Brewery

Orkney Brewery

Glencoe Mountain Resort

Benromach

Gordon &Macphail

J M Breckenridge 

Not forgetting Karl from Glencoe Photography for taking the snaps
Ann Marie and Will for assisting with the draw

Special thanks to the lecturers:

Andy Spink

Dave Anderson

Rich Parker

Mike Pescod

 We are still counting the pennies but we have raised over £1700 so far.

.....and the winners are!

Top prize - Rab sleeping bag. cosy cosy!

Careful what you wish for Jess

Will is always good to his mum!

Its all downhill (skiing) from here!

Beer in a bag

My neighbours look chuffed with their haul....must call round

Merlin casts a winning spell

Brolly, whisky & golf balls....new sport?

Art attack

Wow!.....suddenly this lucky lady had lots of new friends

Nice!...that will help with the bar tab

You can get a lot of smoked salmon for £50

£50 to spend at Nevisport....and there's a sale on!

 18 holes of golf - he's never been so happy

Well done Ann Marie & Will

And the band played on. Great tunes from HoRo

See you all next year

32 years of Winter Mountain Safety Lectures

Well, that's it all done and over with for another year. The 32nd year of Clachaig's Winter Mountain Safety Lectures drew to a close last night with locally based IFMGA Mountain Guide Mike Pescod looking at the Human Factors in Decision Making.

Attentive faces in the Boots Bar

Without doubt, the winter of 2017 has been a challenging season (so far, at least!) for everyone involved with the Scottish winter mountain scene, whether that's skiers, climbers or pubs who serve beer and food to skiers and climbers. However, despite rather fickle winter conditions, the numbers attending the safety lectures have again been very encouraging. Hopefully, when (if!) winter does finally arrive, the topics covered and the lessons learned will still be remembered, and enjoyable days on the hills will be had by all.

Mike in full swing

Once again, there's a huge thanks due to everyone involved. To our team of lecturers, some of whom faced the crowds at Clachaig for the first time, and some who can almost be regarded as old hands on the circuit. These guys live and work in the the mountains, and between them have an incredible depth and breadth of experience and knowledge to share with us. Thank you all.


And thanks once again to Mammut UK, for their continued sponsorship of the series. We passionately believe that to reach the widest audience possible, the lectures should be free to everyone. That continues to be possible with the support of Mammut. So, to you, we also offer our sincere thanks.

Lots of lovely goodies from Nevisport

Fort William (and beyond!) retailers Nevisport come along to each of our presentations. They back up the support given by Mammut with their intimate product knowledge and their enthusiasm for all those bits of shiny new kit that you know you just need to have. Nevisport, you've been troupers through February, and it's been great to have you on hand again.

The Big Winter Raffle continues through until the close of FebruaryFest at the weekend. We've already reached 4 figures raised, and look forward to seeing the final sum when it's all added up. The safety remit broadened slightly this year, with the funds going to help establish heart-start defibrillators in the south Lochaber villages. To everyone who bought a ticket or donated one of the fabulous prizes, another huge thank you.

How winter at Clachaig should look

Read more about the 32 years of our lectures on our web site. Got some ideas or some feedback for us? We'd love to hear it.

There's still time for some of this before spring arrives

We thoroughly intend being back for year number 33. Planning starts in September and we'll be back in the Boots Bar on Tuesday evenings in February 2018. Till then, stay safe out there!