Great Glen Hostel News

Mountain Bike World Cup - Fort William

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:33:00 +0000

First held in 2002, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is returning to Fort William again this year. Hugely successful over the past years, the World Cup is the biggest event on the calendar in Fort William, bringing thousands of people into the town to experience 2 days of world class downhill mountain biking. One of 12 races on the mountain bike world cup circuit which are held world-wide, this is the only chance to get to see a leg of the world cup in the UK. It attracts the cream of the sport, including world and Olympic champions, so you can rest assured that you'll be seeing the best the world has to offer. The Mountain Bike World Cup homepage is here.

Friday the 5th sees downhill training and the 4 cross qualifying. Admission is free to this day's biking, so gives you an opportunity to see the competitors in training, before the two big days of competition. Saturday features downhill training and the final of the 4X at 7PM. Sunday is the all important final of the downhill, with the women competing first at 1PM, and then the men at 2PM. Add into the mix the British Trials competition, and local cross country riding, and you have a huge variety of mountain biking over one weekend. For details of the weekend's program go here.

New this year is the World Cup Bike Test, whereby spectators can see the latest bike technology in the bike test zone, where top UK brands will be displaying and demonstrating their products. As an added bonus, you'll be able to book online a bike to test (or just turn up on the day if a bike is available) and take the bike out on a 4.3km track across varied terrain. Full details of this exciting new addition to the weekend are available here.

If you're looking for accommodation for the Mountain Bike World Cup, the Great Glen Hostel makes a great base. We're only 16 miles north of Aonach Mor, where Nevis Range is located. To avoid parking hassles there is a free shuttle bus from Spean Bridge to the World Cup, which also avoids the usual traffic jams between Fort William and Nevis Range.

Sail Caledonia - The Scottish Raid

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:36:00 +0000

The 7th annual Scottish Raid - Sail Caledonia - is coming up between 23rd - 30th of May this year. It's an event for boats powered by sail and oars, and runs up the Caledonian Canal from Fort William to Loch Ness, passing through some spectacular scenery along the way. It will pass through Banavie north of Fort William, along the canal to Gairlochy, then up Loch Lochy to Laggan Locks, and along the cnala again to the Laggan Swing Bridge. Then the boats enter the waters of Loch Oich, before rejoining the canal up to Fort Augustus. They then make there way through the locks there to the famous Loch Ness, and eventually up to Inverness. The event is a combination of racing and cruising - there is at least one racing leg per day, and a feature is the opportunity to "cruise in company" motoring with others between the competitive sailing legs. Sail Caledonia is much more than just a sailing challenge. You'll get the opportunity to partake in shore activities, as well as a full social program, including traditional music and a prize giving ceilidh at the end of the Raid.

The term "raid" derives from the Viking raiders - who travelled in longboats that were fast under both sail and oar, could navigate both the open sea and shallow inland waters, and could even be hauled over land where necessary. The modern version of the Raid originated in the late 1990s, and doesn't involve plundering coastla villages, but having a good time aboard traditional and sometimes unique boats, with a competitive element too. Even if you're not going to compete, the presence of dozens of small boats on the lochs and canal is very spectacular, and watching them go through one of the locks into the canal is amazing.

Accommodation is varied during the event - you can stay on board one of the accompanying boats such as the luxurious former barge Fingal of Caledonia , or you can camp on some of the lochside beaches, or stay in some of the Hotels and B&B's along the way. Located near to the Caledonian Canal at South Laggan, the Great Glen Hostel makes and ideal stop off whether you're competing or spectating. Details about the sort of craft that compete in a Raid can be found here (pdf file) and the official site of Sail Caledonia is here.

Maggies Monster Bike and Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:39:00 +0000

May the 2nd and 3rd sees the 6th running of Maggie's Monster Bike and Hike up the Great Glen. This event is a combined bike and walk/ run up from Fort William to Inverness. The unique thing about this challenge is that competitors can choose to as much walking as they want to do, from either 8, 22 or 43 miles. Participants must be in a team, this can be anything between 2 and 6 people. Every competitor will cycle 30 miles, but the walking leg is broken up into 3 classifications, gold, silver and bronze, depending how far you wish to walk. The bike leg starts at Neptune's Staircase at Banavie, and cycles north though Gairlochy, South Laggan and Aberchalder before ending at Fort Augustus. Then teams start the walk up towards Inverness.

The bronze finish is 8 miles north at Invermoriston where those choosing the shortest walk can finish. 14 miles further along is Drumnadrochit where the silver finish is located, and then after another 17 miles the gold finish at Inverness. Going by past events the Bronze finish can take anywhere from 6 hours to 12 hours, the silver from 8 hours to 16 hours, and the gold from 10 hours to over 24 hours. So if you're planning on doing the Gold route, be prepared for an all night walk. All teams must have a support team to provide food, drink and the all important moreal support. Support teams can meet their teams at all the checkpoints except Invermoriston, where parking restrictions are in place.

Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres are located throughout the UK and are there to provide support to those people affected by cancer. This can be patients, and also relatives and carers of cancer sufferers. The Centres are beautifully designed, with lots of light and open space - anyone who needs help can drop in and have a chat, and access all the services on offer. For people in need these centres can provide everything, from just a cup of tea and a chat, to benefits advice, psychological support courses and stress reducing strategies. So by participating in Maggie's Monster Bike and Hike you'll be raising much needed funds for Maggie's, and also challenging yourself in some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. The home page for the event is here, and more information about Maggie's Highland Centre can be found here

Scottish Six Days Trial

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Every May in Lochaber the Scottish Six Days Trial is held. This year the trial will be held from Monday the 4th to Saturday the 9th of May, and as always take in some of the most spectacular scenery in the UK, as well as some of the most challenging trials riding you could imagine. For those unfamiliar with the concept of trial riding, it is basically a non speed based motorcycle event, where competitors have to make their way over extremely difficult terrain and attempt to avoid letting their feet touch the ground. The course will often be over very steep ground, and involve going over rocks, boulders and even up streams.

If you're in the area and want to see some amazing motorcycle skills, the Scottish Six Day Trial is the place to be. The events take place all over Lochaber, the exact course being not published until just before the event. Basically each day will cover up to 100 miles, radiating out in different directions from Fort William.

The riders start and finish each day at the West End car park in Fort William, this is the large car park at the first roundabout as you come into Fort William from the south on the A82. There they will be given a route card, telling them of the course they must follow for the day. This will comprise of a road section, and then the off road sections. At the end of the day's off road section's the competitors make there way back to the start / finish point. Whilst not being a speed based event, the entrants have a set time in which to complete each day's course. Each minute over the allotted time costs a point, up until one hour. Any later than this and the competitor will be disqualified.

Whilst the event is centred around Fort William, each days events take place all around Lochaber, so the Great Glen Hostel makes a great base for one or more days stay.

You can find more information on the Scottish Six Days Trial here

Lochaber Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:41:00 +0000

Coming up on Sunday the 19th of April is the Lochaber Marathon in Fort William. This full marathon is organised by the Lochaber Athletic Club and starts from the Shinty field at An Aird in Fort William. The route then runs along Loch Eil on the A830 Road to the Isles, before turning at the 13 mile mark and returning back to the starting point. It is a flat course, with no part of the course riding above the 20m countour. A map of the event can be found here. This is an extremely scenic route, which also runs beside the famous West Highland Line railway, famous for the Jacobite steam train that runs along the track. There are prizes for many catagories and a £1000 prize for anyone that sets a new course record.

If you feel you're up to this sort of run, come on up to Fort William and join in - note - you must register before competing, this can be done via the official site here. Registration by post must be done before 31st of March, but you can also register online. There is a limit of 600 runners, and this is a popular marathon, which does fill up quickly.

The Gallop and Grind

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:41:00 +0000

Coming up on Saturday the 27th of September is the inaugural running of the Gallop and Grind. This is a Duathlon combining a running (or walking) leg of 3.5 miles and a cycling leg of 9 miles, though some of the best scenery in Scotland. It has been designed to accommodate all abilities - from elite who would expect to finish the course in less than 2 hours, to the leisure class who would take about 4 hours. Otherwise you can just participate in the walk section, if you don't feel up to the bike too. The event starts next to the Lochaber Leisure centre at King George Park on North Road near the centre of Fort William. Competitors will do one lap of the park and then take the path up the hill behind the park, and then up to the summit of Cow Hill. If you've time to stop and take a breath there are fantastic views from here over Fort William and Loch Linnhe and also down Glen Nevis.

Marshalls will be here to direct runners back down the path which runs down into Glen Nevis. When you get to the Braveheart carpark (named after the movie which was filmed in this glen) the transition to the bike leg will take place. This will be on both sealed road and unsealed forest track, so make sure you have a suitable mountain bike and helmet. The route will take you 4.5 miles down Glen Nevis, under the shadow of Ben Nevis, and then turning around and returning via the same route to Fort William - a total of 9 miles on the bike.

The event is being organised by Sharon Fraser to raise money for cancer care at both the Belford (Fort William) and Raigmore (Inverness) hospitals. Sharon has endured a long battle with cancer, and has orgainsed this event to give everyone the chance to give up their time and raise money for a truly deserving cause. Sharon's courage and determination has been an inspiration to everyone who knows her - so show your support for her and cancer care in the Highlands by gettting "on your bike" on Saturday the 27th of September.

Entry forms are available here and the official website is at No Fuss Events which is running the event here - Gallop and Grind website . Registration on the day is between 10am and 1pm - the start will be after 2pm. There will also be a fundraising Ceilidh on the night of the Gallop and Grind at the Nevis Centre (behind Morrisons in Fort William) which promises to be a great night out for everyone - starting at 7:30pm. Everyone is welcome - regardless of whether you competed in the Gallop and Grind, so get down on the night for a night of traditional music and dancing.

Music up a Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:23:00 +0000

During Fridays in August Nevis Range is holding it's "Music up a Mountain" nights at the top of the gondola which goes up Aonach Mor. This consists of a ride up the gondola to the Snowgoose restaurant, which is 650m up the mountain, and food and drink at the restaurant. After 8PM there will be a ceilidh, with traditional music and dancing, and the last gondola back down at 11PM. These nights are taking place on the 1st, 8th and 15th of August, and the price for the gondola ride is £8.75 for adults and £5.25 for children. Food and drinks are extra.

Nevis Range is located 7 miles north of Fort William on the A82 road to Inverness. In the winter it's the base for skiing in the area with a number of lifts operating above the gondola to take you higher up the mountain. In summer there are fantastic views from the top of the gondola, or take a walk further up one of the paths to explore the mountain. For the more adventurous there is the downhill mountain bike track, which is a steep and fast ride from top to bottom.

Braveheart Games Fort William

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:25:00 +0000

Coming up in August is an event in Fort William called the Braveheart Games and Scottish Nights. This involves traditional "heavy" events such as shot put and the caber toss, and also the Strongman Challenge - with a car pull and weightlifting of the "Stones of Density". There is also a cross country race up Cow Hill - the hill directly behind Fort William. Also featured are Highland Dancing displays by the Nevis Highland Dancing Association, and bagpipe music by the Lochaber Pipe Band. This isn't a full Highland Games, but a display of some of the events that make the Highland Games unique across the world.

The events take place in the King George V park in the centre of Fort William on Thursdays in July and August - 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th of July and 6th, 13th and 20st of August. Gates open at 5PM and the main events are run from 5:30PM to 9PM.

The Great Glen Hostel is only 30 minutes drive north of Fort William, so is a convenient location for visiting the games.

Caledonian Canal Ceilidh Trail

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:57:00 +0000

For anyone interested in traditional music of any kind if you're in Scotland one thing that should be high on your list is to attend at least one ceilidh during your time here. A ceilidh (pronounced cailey) is a social dance accompanied by traditional Scottish musical instruments - e.g. fiddle, flute, tin whistle, accordion, bodhrán, in varying combinations. Originally the term ceilidh referred to a social gathering of any sort, usually incorporating story-telling, poetry, ballads, and music and songs. Now a ceilidh has come to mean purely a gathering with traditional music and dancing. Many weddings will feature a ceilidh after the ceremony, as will a lot of village gatherings in the highlands.

For the past 7 years the Highland Council, together with British Waterways - who manage the Caledonian Canal - have staged the Caledonian Canal Ceilidh Trail. This is a series of events all along the Great Glen, from Inverness, down to Invergarry, and many points in between, over a period of 3 weeks. The event begins with the The Grand Opening Ceilidh at Urquhart Castle Visitors Centre on Monday 14 July starting at 7.30pm. The program can be found here - Ceilidh program - it's a pdf file, so you'll need to have acrobat reader installed to open it.

There will be a ceilidh on as part of this event at Glengarry village hall in Invergarry on Friday the 25th of July starting at 8:00pm, running until 10:30pm. Invergarry is only 3 miles from the Great Glen Hostel so it is a great base to attend this event. We're also only 10 miles from Fort Augustus, where there'll be a ceilidh in the village hall on the 23rd of July. Fort Augustus also hosts a number of open air sessions in the afternoon by the canal locks - it's always a great event.

So if you fancy attending some traditional music during your time in the Highlands remember to come up towards the end of July- you'll be made most welcome at the Great Glen Hostel, and all the other hotels, B&Bs and hostels along the Great Glen.

Great Glen Way Guided Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:04:00 +0000

The Great Glen Way is Scotland's newest long distance footpath - running 73 miles (117km) between Fort William and Inverness. It can be walked in anywhere between 4 to 8 days, depending on you level of dedication and fitness. Most do it in 6 days, walking about 12 miles per day. The terrain is generally level, although there are some hilly sections on the northern part of the trail.

It follows the Great Glen, an ancient fault line that divides the main body of Scotland from the North-West Highlands, and runs alongside a series of Lochs - Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness. These Lochs are joined by the Caledonian Canal, built nearly 200 years ago to provide a shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It's an area of great natural beauty, and also of human history - with the canal and also sections along and abandoned railway line along Loch Oich. At South Laggan the path passes within 300 metres of the Great Glen Hostel so we make a great stop-off on your walk.

The path is funded by the Highland Council with assistance from Scottish Natural Heritage and managed and maintained by the Great Glen Way ranger's office near Fort Augustus. They are a great source of advice and information about the way and their website can be found here - Great Glen Way. The ranger's office runs guided walks and activities throughout the year, which are a good introduction to the route, even if you don't want to tackle the whole thing. This year the rangers office is offering the longest guided walk in the country - the whole length of the Great Glen Way. This event is taking place between Sunday the 17 and Friday the 22nd of May this year. bookings are essential, and can be done by contacting the Great Glen Way Countryside Rangers on 01320 366633 Check out their website here - Guided walks and activities - and find out about many of the other activities they have on this year.

Munro Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:11:00 +0000

The term "Munro" in Scotland refers to any hill with a summit over 3000 feet. There are 284 Munros in Scotland, scattered throughout the north and east of the country, as well as the Isle of Skye. The name Munro comes from the person who first categorised them in 1891 - Sir Hugh Munro. Climbing all the Munros becomes a lifetime goal for many hillwalkers and climbers who regularly visit the Scottish Highlands to "bag" some more hills. Though not massive in size by world standards, the location and conditions can make these hills quite challenging at times.

Closest to the Great Glen Hostel are two Munros - Meall na Teanga (917m) and Sron a'Choire Ghairbh (935m), both accessible in a days walk from the hostel. Check out our page outlining the walk up these two hills here: Loch Lochy Munros

Each August the charity Meningitis Research Foundation holds the Munro Madness event - encouraging anyone to get sponsorship and get up a Munro, in order to raise money for this important cause. The walks are informal, just get some sponsorship and get out there! There is also a organised event this year held near Pitlochry on September
26th-28th. Details can be found here - Munro Madness

Glen Nevis River Race

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:08:00 +0000

The river Nevis runs along Glen Nevis, in the shadows of the U.K's highest mountain - Ben Nevis. This somewhat unique event involves floating down some pretty serious rapids on a variety of inflatable craft. In the past there's been air beds and all sorts of other inflatables. Monies raised go to the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team - which is a very deserving cause.

Even if you're not up to competing, the spectacle will be worth it. It's the sort of thing you don't see every day! It's held on July the 19th down Glen Nevis. It's about 40 minutes drive from the Great Glen Hostel to the area where this event will be held, near Fort William. The 2008 event was a huge success, and it promises to be bigger and better this year.

More details can be found here:
Glen Nevis River Race

Invergarry Highland Games

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:30:00 +0000

The Invergarry Highland games are on the 4th of July this year, at the shinty field in Invergarry. To find the field drive through Invergarry on the A87 raod to the Isles, and just after you leave the village the games field is on the left. Events include athletics, highland dancing and of course all of the traditional heavy events such as tossing the caber and the hammer throw. It's a highland games with a lot of history and character, and makes a great day out for the family as there are events for both children and adults alike. Be there by 1pm to catch all the events. Invergarry is only 3 miles from the Great Glen Hostel so it makes a great base to stay at the hostel while going to the games.
Check us out at
http://www.greatglenhostel.com
Information on the games can be found here:
http://www.glengarrynow.com/games.html