Thursday, June 10, 2010

Glencoe mountain walks - start with the cafe, then get the chair lift. Saves climbing


Over 350,000 people went skiing in our area last year. That makes it the best skiing season for 15 years. Glencoe has been totaly re-vitalised under its new owners - I hope they are into profit soon. Gillian and I enjoy going to the cafe there which is open from 9.00 until 5.00

Both the Glencoe Mountain and Nevis Range resorts have been helped by downhill cycle tracks and the craze for mountain biking. Well, to be truthful, the Glencoe resort is just starting out on this, but these things make the difference between and profit and loss. That is vitally important for the future. Glencoe had an amazing entry of 300 downhill bikers in May for the Championships - they're all nuts, have you seen them?

If you go to Glencoe Mountain, it will be fairly quiet during the week. Most people take the £10 chair lift, walk around a bit and take photographs, then go back down to the cafe. Some people take the chair lift up high and walk down - the walks are superb in nice weather.

The biking tracks are still being made, there is only one downhill at the moment. You can hire bikes there for about £25 including your helmet and a certificate to say you are of sound mind. A few people do it, but it will become more popular as the news spreads. It is easy to reach the resort from Glasgow so it will become popular for weekend nutters from there.

You can always try your hand at Archery. The Viking settlers were the last to shoot arrows for real in the Highlands. Bows were made from Scottish Ash. A 14th century law made it compulsory for all adults above 10 years old to practise archery every Sunday. You could get off a murder charge if you killed someone during archery practice. Mind you, the clansmen made up their own laws. You could get off a murder charge if you killed a man from a different clan probably.

  • All the walks around our cottage, there are dozens of them in the area

  • John
    Links to useful pages.


  • Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland


  • Short Breaks Glencoe


  • Winter breaks hill walking in Glencoe


  • Travellers Tales from the Highlands of Scotland


  • self catering short breaks, special offers, low season, Scotland


  • visitors information about Glencoe in Scotland


  • edinburgh, scotland, information for visitors


  • glasgow, scotland, information for visitors


  • the Highlands of Scotland, for short break holidays


  • scotlands all year weather information for visitors


  • scotlands weather in the summer months, july, august, september


  • scotlands weather in the autumn months, october, november, december


  • scotlands weather in the winter months, january, february and march


  • scotlands weather in the spring, april may and june months


  • how to find your ideal holiday home in scotland, advice for visitors
  • Monday, June 07, 2010

    Rail crash near Oban diverts all the traffic from Glasgow via Glencoe and Appin


    This photo comes from STV, click on the headline for a link to the full story.

    Luckily no one was injured, but a nasty sounding rail crash and fire near Dalmally could have been a true disaster.

    STV reported earlier to-day the derailment of a train at Cruachan Power station. This is about 10 miles from Oban just past Dalmally. The train was travelling from Glasgow to Oban when it hit a boulder on the line last night. no one knows yet how the boulder came to be on the line.
    Those onboard had a lucky escape after it burst into flames near the Falls of Cruachan Power Station, by Loch Awe in Argyll just before 9pm.
    The train came to rest balancing over the A85 – the main road between Glasgow and Oban – and both road and rail routes are likely to be closed for up to three days.
    It will mean a 60 miles detour for cars and lorries, via Glencoe, then near our cottage in Kentallen, through Duror, near Port Appin, then Benderloch. That is 90 minutes on the normal journey by my reckoning.

    John
    Here are our cottage link for tourists.
    20 brilliant walks around our cottage area
    Easy hill walks in Glencoe
    Why not walk up Ben Nevis one day?
    Easier Munroe walks in Glencoe
    Rock and Ice climbing in Glencoe
    Cycling and fishing Glencoe
    Spectacular wild life around our cottage
    Golf in the Highlands, Dragons tooth golf course, Glencoe
    Cruising the islands, using Glencoe as a base
    Safe, beautiful beaches and bays in Glencoe area
    Touring the Highlands by car from Glencoe,
    Spring breaks, March April May Glencoe
    Winter breaks, Jan Feb March in the cottage
    Autumn breaks November December in the cottage

    Our new Appin blog site
     
    Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland
  • Short Breaks Glencoe
  • Stories about Appin villages blog