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Day Out for the child in all of us!!

Thursday, August 19, 2010


The start of the Great Glen, Neptunes Staircase, Fairy wood and the Commando Memorial

Half Day Trip or a Full day with Picnic and Walks

This is a pleasant and easy half day drive, not far away from us, with walks and picnic opportunities, showing some of the best views of Ben Nevis in the distance from the banks of the Caledonian canal.
You can marvel at the work of Thomas Telford and William Jessop (www.scottishcanals.co.uk) along this route you follow the canal to Loch Lochy.

Take the A82 into Fort William travel through the town and take the A830 in the direction of Mallaig, drive just over a mile across the swing bridge over the canal, and take the next right on the B8004, signed to Neptunes Stair Case, Banavie. On you right, in a short way, is the car park for Neptunes Stair Case, a set of locks taking boats up into the higher reach of the canal, the views here are stunning, back across to Ben Nevis, Anoch Mor and beyond.

Re trace your steps and leave the car park turning right onto the B8004, this single track road offers spectacular views over the mountains beyond, travel 6 miles to the Gairloch turn off, keeping left straight onto B8005 to Achnacary, where their is the Clan Cameron Museum.



If you are want to go on a short walk into the enchanting FAIRY WOOD, a must for children of all ages, KIDS LOVE THIS, you travel about a mile after the junction, LOOKING out for a bridge across a burn which has a WOODEN DECK. When you cross this park immediately on the right or left,(there are off road parking places. Go through the large high wooden gate on the right of the road, and walk down the path, towards the loch side.
LOOK OUT for a pile of peebles and some bird feathers arranged on the ground at the end of a path on your right, walking still towards the loch, turn onto this path. You will come to a larger path crossing, yours go across this and slightly to your right, IF you really want to you WILL have found the entrance to the secret wood, known mainly to local people only and full of SURPRISES.

The wood was laid out by a local lady to cheer up children, the wood is a good place to take a picnic by the shore of the LOCH LOCHY

From here time permitting you can either carry on up the valley and see EAS CAIG-AIG waterfall, made famous as a location in the film Rob Roy, and is a dead end and you come back the same way, carry onto the side of LOCH ARKAIG

The way back is to retrace you steps back to the road junction at GAIRLOCHY turn left B8004 back over the bridge single track swing bridge at GAIRLOCHY in the direction of SPEAN BRIDGE, the lock side area is good to watch the boats on the canal and there are some picnic tables here.
Carry on the road towards Spean Bridge and the COMMANDO MEMORIAL, which is at the junction of the A82, turn right here back through Spean Bridge Back to Fort William


There are fantastic views over the mountains on this drive don't forget the camera its one of the best ways to see BEN NEVIS as you are far enough away to see the whole mountain range.

posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 12:16 PM  0 comments view this post with comments



Cycle Path

Friday, July 23, 2010



If you fancy a bit of exercise while you are up on holiday, you can't beat a leisurely cycle on the new path from Glencoe to Kentallen.
Ian and I went yesterday and we had a great time, approx. 7 miles from Glencoe village to the Holly Tree. The scenery is stunning, part of the track goes along the old railway line and along the coast of Loch Linnhe.

We started out in Glencoe village at the Glencoe Cafe www.facebook.com/pages/Glencoe-Cafe we thought we would fuel up before we went!!! A lovely cafe, which does great home cooked food and yummy cakes.

If you don't have your own bikes you can hire them in Glencoe village from www.crankitupgear.com , great for all types of advice on bikes, repairs etc.

So fueled up and ready to go we headed off, it was a cracking warm and sunny day. We travelled all the way to the Holly Tree in Kentallen and it took us about 40 mins, its a fairly easy run. You pass the Ballachulish Golf club known as the Dragon's Tooth Golf Club, where if you fancy a drink or lunch is well worth stopping.www.dragonstooth.co.uk

You can also get a lovely meal at the Holly Tree Hotel, the setting is beautiful, right on the edge of Loch Linnhe looking out towards Ardmamurchan Penisular. We stopped here for a coffee and sat outside on the decking, www.hollytreehotel.co.uk



If you are feeling very energetic you could always stop at the Isles of Glencoe on your way back and have a swim. They do an offer if you have your lunch there, you can get a free swim, but don't worry for those not that energetic there is a sauna and jacuzzi!!! www.islesofglencoe.com

The cycle path is a great way to get around and see a bit of the area without going in the car. You can stop often and get plenty of drink breaks if you need them!!

posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 12:40 PM  0 comments view this post with comments



Pap of Glencoe

Friday, July 09, 2010




The Pap of Glencoe or known in Gaelic as "Sgorr na Ciche" is perhaps one of the best known landmarks in this area of Lochaber. A distinctive conical shape, it is a reasonably straightforward but quite hard walk from Glencoe village. It is not a very long walk, about 5 miles (not a Munro)779 metres but the ascent is quite steep and rocky, it can take anything from 3 hours to 6 hours but the views of Glencoe, The Mamore hills and Loch Leven are spectacular, well worth the hike!

This picture is take of the Pap from the site, as you can see it's very impressive rising straight out of the Loch.



As you can see from this picture taken by the Lewis Family last week, who all climbed the mountain and said the views were fantastic! You can see the chalet park www.glencoeselfcatering.co.uk and it shows how high the mountains are behind the site.



For all the details on where to start the walk etc go to the Walk Highlands website, which is a great site for many walks in the area. It gives you loads of information on distance, time, level of walk etc www.walkhighlands.co.uk

posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 10:12 AM  0 comments view this post with comments



Midges!!!!

Monday, June 21, 2010

For those that saw the report on midges on the BBC on the 17th June you will know the report didn't paint a very good picture of the area and the "Dreaded Midge"!!!! Glencoe and the surrounding area is one of the most beautiful in the world and we would hate to see people not visiting because of midges.

The report says that they are on the increase, is this true? We don't think so, we have been here 8 years and if anything they are getting less. We have tried to improve the site by putting in 2 midge machines and this seems to have helped quite considerably. We always recommend our guests to try Avon Skin So Soft, which seems to work much better than any of the midge repellants.
We have put midge screens on the bedrooms windows of the chalets so they can still be opened.

Certain weather conditions are worse than others. For example warm and damp weather they like but bright sunshine they don't.

Apart from all this, not everyone is bothered by them and it is a very personal thing, the report makes the midge bite sound much worse that, for most, it actually is. A lot of people, if they do get a bite it is just a little red dot that goes away quickly.

There is no denying that they can be a pest and for those who have reactions to them then very uncomfortable but aren't there lots of biting insects in lots of countries??


posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 4:07 PM  0 comments view this post with comments



Weather Statistics

Thursday, June 03, 2010


For those of you who are interested in what the weather has been doing here in the last few months, here are a few statistics for your info.
These are collected by Ian using our very "high tec" weather station here at Loch Leven Holidays www.glencoeselfcatering.co.uk!!!! These figures are for the last 3 months.

Rainfall: 100mm March Driest Spring for 70 years
126mm April
97mm May


Temperature (Avg): 6 degrees March Highest Temp: 26 degrees April
11 degrees April Lowest Temp: -2 degrees March
13 degrees May


Wind: Has been very steady over the last 3 months, at an average speed of 5 mph, 60% of the wind is from South or South West. The other 40% has been a mixed bag most of it East or North.


Air Pressure: Has remained quite high through the 3 month period, at an average of 1014m bar. The highest pressure was 1032m bar and the lowest on 27th March at 986 m bar.


After a very cold winter, we have had very dry spring. The plants in the gardens and the trees round about, are approx. 4 weeks behind the normal flowering times. Leaves have only just opened on the deciduous trees.

Here's hoping we have a nice sunny summer!!



posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 1:47 PM  0 comments view this post with comments



Scottish Six Day Trial 2010

Friday, May 14, 2010



The Scottish Six Day Motorbike Trials are over for another year and unlike last year the weather was fantastic, with several sunny days.
There are many elements that when combined make the Scottish Six Days Trial such a unique and respected event, but perhaps the most significant is the sheer scale of each individual day, the riders are faced with various challenges from jumping over large rocks to scaling fast flowing rivers. They come form all over the world to compete in this event and it has become one of the best in the world. Take a look at the official website for all the details www.ssdt.org

The winner this year was 20 year old Alex Wigg from Aylesbury in Bucks, he was riding a Beta and finished on 15 points. Local boy Gary MacDonald did very well and he finished in 5th place on 35 points. Well done to them!!

One of the next major sporting events coming to the area is the Mountain Bike Worldcup which takes place at Anoch Mor on the 4th - 6th June. This is just a amazing as the Motorbikes and well worth a visit. The Nevis Range Ski Area is taken over by the World Cup on these days and access to the World Cup Village and the event is by ticket only, available in advance or on arrival. Have a look at this site if you wish to purchase tickets http://www.fwwctickets.co.uk/acatalog/

On the Saturday night, the action moves from the World Cup site at Nevis Range to the Party in the Fort in Fort William. Have a look at this site for all the details fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk

posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 12:24 PM  0 comments view this post with comments



A Holiday at Loch Leven

Thursday, April 22, 2010


Here is a typical week on holiday at Loch Leven Chalets, this is the diary of the Shea Family who stayed for a week at the beg. of April.

We had a lovely time here, the chalet had everything we needed and a beautiful view!

Arrived on Saturday, unpacked and had a drive to Kinlochleven, went to the shop and enjoyed a chip supper from Riverside Chip Shop. Jamie & Taylor investigated the beach!

On Sunday we went to Glencoe Visitor Centre and had a walk round the forest, into the exhibition and had lunch in the cafe www.glencoe-nts.org.uk

On Monday we climbed the Pap of Glencoe, this is the mountain you can look at from the chalets. It was a lovely dry day. Jim & Taylor climbed all the way to the top, the views were amazing!! Well worth the climb!

On Tuesday we went to the Scottish Sealife Sanctuary nr Oban www.sealsanctuary.co.uk but they had a power cut!! So we went to Oban and had a walk along the front, it was lovely.

On Wednesday we went to the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven, only 5 miles form the chalets www.ice-factor.co.uk Jim, Jamie & Taylor did the half day rock climbing and ice wall climbing - they really enjoyed it. Shona and Max (the dog) went for a walk along the start of the West Highland Way www.west-highland-way.co.uk

On Thursday we went back to the Sealife Sanctuary, it wasn't that good and was quite pricey!! Had a drive into Fort William.

On Friday we went back to Glencoe Visitor Centre so Jamie & Taylor could do the Easter Egg Trail. In the afternoon went back to the Ice Factor for Jim, Jamie & Taylor to do the High Level Rope Course


We had a great week, had sun, rain and snow, the scenery is fantastic! Enjoyed family time in the evening playing Pictionary and waiting for the Pinemartens to come and eat their jam & bread (it's their favorite)!!!
Definitely would recommend the chalets. Thanks!

Jim, Shona, Jamie, Taylor and Max the dog x

posted by Loch Leven Holidays @ 10:02 AM  0 comments view this post with comments