Glencoe Art Exhibtion

Throughout June, the National Trust for Scotland Visitor Centre in Glencoe is hosting an exhibition by Glencoe based artist, Caroline Cooke.

Shimmering Light by Caroline Cooke

Entitled "Sundown", the exhibition features a range of new original work by the popular artist and predominantly focusses on the dramatic skies to be seen on the Scottish west coast;. In addition to her original works in pastel and acrylic, there are also a number of giclee prints. All the work is available for sale.

Glow by Caroline Cooke

The exhibition runs until the 29th June. Free entry. Its a great spot to visit and take in the the rest that the NTS Centre has to offer, along with the obligatory coffee and a cake.

Pain is only weakness leaving the body...

You may recall that a few weeks ago I had a bit of a whinge about lashing rain and even a bit of snow on the Cycling Sportive event over the famous Bealach na Ba. Why can't the weather be a bit better for these events... In future I'll keep my big mouth shut!

Yesterday saw the 2nd in the HandsOnEvents series of Sportives. The location was the Isle of Skye. The forecast was HOT! The more sane riders out there would probably chose the Skye Beag. A mere 48 miles starting in Portree and heading north past the popular Skye landmarks of the Old Man of Storr and the Quirang.

However, being far from sane I opted for the Skye Mor, which adds in a quick tour of the west of Skye, out to Dunvegan and Sligachan, bringing the total to 96 miles and a cumulative ascent of 3000m. Nice! And I don't do 'hot'.

The first leg was fast and furious, thanks to a 'brisk' tail wind. Unfortunately, that brisk tail wind then turned into a brisk head wind for much of the rest of the circuit until Sligachan. Still, it kept the searing heat reflecting off the tarmac under control. Can't say that it was easy going. Good bits and bad bits. And some very bad bits. Especially the long, lonely haul over to Dunvegan. Much pain, much weakness leaving the body. Why, oh why do I do these things?

But before you know it the left turn at Sligachan appears and then a real treat. 30 mph plus in the big ring downwind, slightly downhill on smooth shiny tar back into Portee and the finish line.

Not sure of the official time. There were other things on my mind at the finish, like lying in the shade and trying to straighten my back out, and crying. But the bike computer has a riding time of 5hrs 48 mins (add on a few minutes for the time spent lying on the road in Dunvegan trying to straighten my back out) for 96 miles, making that an average speed of just under 17mph. Oh, and a max speed of 51mph! Must have been the downhill side of those 3000m of climbing.

The "Stolen Bridge" on the Puggy Line in Leacnachan
- part of the 10 Under the Ben Course.

Meanwhile, the other half of the Clachaig board of directors, the one not usually associated with a passion for wearing lycra and getting muddy, was competing in the real bike event of the weekend, 10 Under the Ben.

Reports from Leanachan are that it was another hot one - that's 3 years on the trot. And a busy one, with a thousand or so entries this year. Plenty of stories of tree roots, muddy holes, endless climbs and other deeds of daring biking.

So, if you're at Clachaig this week, just be kind to the 2 sorry looking chaps walking round with a gait like John Wayne. Its been a hard weekend!

Sunshine, more sunshine and the winner is....

It would be true to say that May has been a trifle damp this year – in fact some of our staff are currently receiving treatment for webbed feet. However, the sunshine finally arrived to bless the last weekend of our Mayfest celebrations and the Glen looked simply stunning. It was great to see our customers taking full advantage of the glorious weather and dining ‘al fresco’ (No, not the Italian renaissance painter).....Even the midges stayed away 'til after dinner.

Once the sun went down on Friday night Jock the Box - he's played with the Stranglers you know - wowed the masses in the boots bar with his mesmerising repertoire and the fun continued with The Ghosties, who played to a packed hot-house on Saturday night. We’ve never seen so many ‘redheads’ in the bar…and that was just the blokes…..Remember the sun cream next time lads.

Fort William groove masters ‘Anyone for gravy?’ rounded off the festival with a superb set on Sunday night and it would take Amanda, Piers & Simon to decide which act was the best……

.....and talking of the best, we can now proudly announce the winner of this years ‘Ale of the festival’. It was a tough call with over 35 traditional Scottish ales on show but the public have voted and in true ‘Britains got talent’ style…...drum roll and a long pause to build the tension please.…the winner is…..Williams Bros Brewing company with their world famous heather ale 'Fraoch'

If you missed all the fun you have another chance to sample the atmosphere of our legendary beer festival during OctoberFest. Book early to avoid disappointment, as they say.

Did you win?

Did you win? Did you enter? Did you even know that we were offering goodies from the cupboard to the lucky winner of our trivial (shouldn't that be triva?) competition?

In answer to these questions...

If you did indeed win, then you'll know by now. Because we've been in touch with Eammon Lyons who was closest with his guess for the number of visitors that Clachaig.com had in 2008. The answer was 100,552. We're currently raiding the cupboard and sending a pack of Clachaig branded mugs and fashion wear to Eamonn. Congratulations.

Did you enter? Well, you know the answer to that one too. We'll not name and shame but if some of your answers had been correct then I think we would have pulled the plug a long time since and called it a day. And with others, we'd be rivalling Facebook for net worth. Perhaps they meant 'hits' which seems to translate as some meaningless number somewhere in the millions each time someone visits a page. But thanks for making the effort anyway.

And were you even aware? You would have been if you had signed up to our eNews. You'll find the sign up box on each of our home pages. We only bug you once a month, sometimes not even that, and not only do you be the first in the know for all things 'Glencoe', we also offer some exclusive subscribers only deals.

More prizes and frivolity as soon as we can get around to it.

Big Lusty May

Here she is. Big Lusty May. All the way from Houston. The voting for ale of the festival continues and as we get through more of the ales lined up for Mayfest, its anybody's guess as to who'll come out on top. Big Lusty May perhaps? On top?! Oo, er...! We'll, there's a thought..!

Last night saw the Beer Tasting session with the Isle of Skye Brewery. Clachaig was so busy, even midweek, that we had to move the tasting through to the restaurant area. And things were looking a little embarrassing for a while as there was a slight dearth of Skye ales to taste (not our fault!) Still, interesting trying to see them be constructive about other breweries beers!

Tonight? Music in the Boots Bar with Scott MacDonald.

MayFest Under Way

Our May Beer Festival got under way at the weekend. Not surprisingly the Whit weekend has proved to be an extremely busy time here in Glencoe, and judging by the number of cars on the road its not just Glencoe that's busy.

It all seems to have passed off without incident, and again the staff at Clachaig been working away like bees in a hive, on their mission to keep everyone happy. The festival has again been well received. We're actively soliciting some feedback on 'ale of festival' and at the moment it looks like a close run thing between the Clachaig ale of choice, Fraoch Heather Ale, and Big Lusty May from Houston Brewery (maybe its the badge the blokes like). However, with a cellar full yet to explore, its a bit early to call it.


We can usually rely on Whit week to bring a bit of good weather. We're still waiting. Amidst the chaos of it all I again decided to take a quick jog up the Pap of Glencoe last night. I know, the view isn't as clear as the last couple of trips up there. (Compare with Stunning Evening & Evening on the Pap.) Not that it matters really. Ipod on, a bit of eclectic high energy and it has to be said fairly gay dance music matched by a bit of extremely loud AC/DC and before you know it you're on the top! Can't recommend the path, though. 3 minutes longer and a complete swamp.

Didn't manage the Pap last week. On Monday afternoon, the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team were called out to the very summit of Bidean nam Bian, the highest peak in Argyll, to go to the aid of a walker who had managed to get all the way up there, but couldn't find a way down again. I think this counts as my highest ever rescue in the glen! You'd have to be standing on the summit cairn to get higher.

Its been a busy spell for the team as well, quite possibly one of the busiest on record with call outs for May now in double digits.

The forecast for the weekend looks like we're in for some warmer weather again. Fingers' crossed.

Glen Nevis River Race

More great ideas for things to do in the area this coming summer... How about dressing up in rubber, blowing up your airbed and jumping into the lower falls at Glen Nevis? Tempting?!


The Glen Nevis River Race has been part of the annual calendar of events for many years, although it wavered for a while in recent years. Good to hear that No Fuss have included the race in their robust calendar of events, along with the classic '10' series of mountain bike endurance events and the Big Ben Nevis Triathlon. Head to Glen Nevis on Saturdaty 18th July to catch the action.

However, as with all things originating from Fort William, don't believe all the guff that they tell you. True, the race started out life as a fund raising event for the local mountain rescue team. But the original incarnation of the river race was actually in 1969 on the River Coe, and the local team was the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team.

I don't suppose there's too many of the original event programmes kicking around, but we happen to have one. And a highly entertaining read it is too. Note that "competitive spirits may be obtained from the marquee adjoining the Clachaig Inn". There's also some top tips on identifying the favourite (pictured), and No Fuss competitors would do well to take note of 30 years of experience!