Around Britain Challenge in Glenelg with Mark Newton

An interesting few days last weekend. Glenelg was part of the route involving an Around Britain Challenge being attempted by Mark Newton, a disabled veteran riding round the coast on his mobility scooter raising money for Help4Heroes, SSAFA Forces Help, Royal British Legion, RNLI and his old Regiment, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards benevolent fund. Five weeks in, with 60 weeks still go (yes that’s well over a year!!) he sleeps in the small trailer he pulls behind his electric scooter. One and a half years in the planning (he has already done Round Wales in 2011), thousands of emails etc, etc. It’s hard to conceive the work, time and effort it takes one person to organize something like this let alone have the bottle to go ahead with it.

Coming over the Mam Ratagan Pass to Glenelg was always going to be a major day and on the real steep bits it involved getting out and walking alongside the outfit, something that is not easy and causes a lot of pain for Mark. Needless to say he managed it (with a very hot and smelly electric motor at the top!).

A lot of the people in Glenelg (and visitors too) have chipped in with donations. We held a quiz night in the Community hall with some great prizes donated by local and not so local companies and another quiz at the Glenelg Inn managing to raise £687 which Mark was really chuffed with. Even our own visitors to the Lodge this week (David and Jill) had a whip round in their local before coming on holiday here and handed him £50 when they arrived. When he left Glenelg the charities were £800 better off which is brilliant!!

Mark is extremely keen on wildlife and was rewarded with his first sighting of a "wild" Pine Marten (eating digestive biscuits at our cottage!). Another highlight was a trip over and back on the Skye Ferry where the crew treated him like royalty.

Yesterday he headed back over the hill and on to Dornie thereafter onto Skye, then by ferry to the Outer Hebrides. A lovely guy who deserves all the money he manages to raise and fingers crossed will get to complete his challenge. Give him a wave (and a donation) if you see him passing by.



When the going gets tough, get out and walk!



Mam Ratagan pass, first viewpoint, getting interest (and donations!)



Onward and upward!

Cooling down a very hot man and motor - the views make up for the pain.



Mark onboard with the Skye Ferry crew



Sheila Condie of the Glenelg Inn presents Mark with a chequee for £687 on behalf of the Glenelg Quiz and bar crew

Heading off on a sunny Glenelg Sunday morning - chin up and best of luck bud!

You can follow or donate to Mark Newtons Around Britain Challenge at www.aroundbritain.org.uk

Sea Eagles feeding at Glenelg

An amazing clip just released from a new program that will be shown soon on the BBC

Hebrides – Islands on the Edge "A privileged view into the lives of a cast of Hebridean animals, narrated by Ewan McGregor"

 

Feel very privileged to have this right on our doorstep

Sue’s blog (for a change!)

Where does the time go when you live in a quiet(?) Highland village.

Well, once the visitors have left for the winter, some of the residents go off on holiday so we treated ourselves to a break in Portugal thinking it would be nice and warm and sunny all the time. Didn't get that one quite right but enjoyed some R & R and too much food of course. What else are holidays for?

Portugal

A beach to myself!



Flamingos



Boats for Al

Doing nothing!

Back home, it was time to get ready for the first guests to arrive. Remember the news reports about the heavy snow and deep snow drifts which hit the West coast of Scotland on 22 March? well, our first guests (honeymooners) were getting married on the Saturday in Kilberry, Argyll, one of the worst hit places. On 1 April! this news story was published in The Telegraph, The Scotsman and The Daily Mail



Claire and Ruairidh - photo in the Telegraph



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9963900/Snow-drifts-power-cuts-and-stranded-guests-but-the-wedding-went-ahead....html

http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/weather-white-wedding-not-stopped-by-10ft-snowdrift-1-2869757

Note the mention about them staying in Glenelg (at The Lodge) for their honeymoon where they were then surrounded by the heath fires we were experiencing. Talk about disaster mongers! Anyway, we were all safe and there was no damage to people or property although I did have a bag packed with all the documents and clothes, waiting by the front door, 'just in case'!

Behind the house

Glenelg from across the water

The fire fighters worked flat out and did a marvelous job of keeping us all safe and we commend them all, especially as they are a retained crew in the village. There were also other trucks from around the area that looked out for us all during the night.

The weather has been glorious without a drop of rain for around seven weeks so we are making the most of it, even able to sit outside in a sheltered spot, in between working in the garden and cycling or walking about.

Weeks of great weather in Glenelg!

The Ferry is back on for the season and the village is getting busier as we look forward to another summer.

Ps: 2 days after typing the above it rained and now we have snow on the hill opposite!!

One year on - another sunny day in Glenelg!

Today while there are red and yellow snow warnings (oh no, don’t touch the yellow snow!!) all over the UK Glenelg basks in yet another sunny day. (Though there is still snow on the hills all the time.) A year ago we woke on our first morning living in Glenelg and funnily enough it was sunny then too. According to locals 2012 was just about the best weather Glenelg has had in living memory especially when you consider what the rest of the UK had. Could Glenelg become the Scottish Rivier in the near future?! Possibly not but there no complaints from us for our first year here. Now, if we could just turn the temperature up a bit it would be even better.

Heading up the hill

Top of the Mam Ratagan Pass

The view from the Mam

The Five Sisters of Kintail

Stargazing in Glenelg

I could say "Stargazing Live in Glenelg" but as most of it (in our case) is done on the way back from the Glenelg Inn it's more a case of "Stargazing, barely standing upright, in Glenelg"!!

Anyway, after a fairly wet and windy first week of the year, last week gave us a few of those brilliant Glenelg days when everyone and their dogs were out and about, walking on the beach and enjoying the blue skies and sunshine. The other thing noticeable was the stunning night sky. The “dark skies” around Glenelg give a great opportunity to stargaze and, just coming up to a year since we moved here, we are still gobsmacked every time we walk home on a clear night. I think the added attraction of silence on a calm, clear night on the West Coast just add to the “WOW” experience and it’s one of the reasons winter visitors come to Glenelg. I must get out the camera instructions and check how I take a photo of the stars. Meantime this is one I took earlier of the Moon. From outside the Lodge with a handheld camera!

ps: Happy New year!!

Thanks for visiting The Lodge this year

These days picking a holiday is easy, IF you do your homework. Pre-internet you read the small self catering adds in Sunday papers and hoped the “by the sea” and “stunning views” description meant what it said and that the sea was not actually 200’ down a sheer cliff and the views were from the lounge window, rather than 5 miles along the road! Now you can go online and see photos of every nook and cranny in the cottage you choose and also of the views outside. If the owners have a decent website there will also be a description of the local area, places to eat and places of interest. Add to that some “word of mouth” reviews and you should have a pretty good idea of what you are booking for your holidays.

From our point of view it’s good to know the main reasons why people come to The Lodge and Glenelg and it they are satisfied with the accommodation and also the location. This year we included a survey form to get your views on things like the standard of equipment, our website, the location, cleanliness and the value of the holiday and also to see if things came up to your expectations.

As the website is our “brochure” we were pleased to see repeated comments that the location and accommodation were “as expected” (with more than a few saying “better than expected”)

We also asked for feedback, comments or suggestions regarding the property or equipment.

This has meant everything from cutting down the high foliage to enhance the sea view, de-cluttering the kitchen worktop area and adding other items, like a new TV, better pillows and even a foot stool (we all like to put our feet up on holiday!)  Repeat visitors have also appreciated the new dining table and chairs which maximize the space and also allow you to keep an eye out for otters swimming by while dining at the window!

This gives an idea (in photos) of what you like about The Lodge and the Glenelg area.

The Lodge

Morning sunshine

Morning mist

Morning snow

The viewpoints

Hill walking

Bernera beach

Sandaig beach

Wildlife

Not so wild, wildlife!

Sealife

Otters

Ferry dog watching!

Sunsets

The busy Inn

The quiet Inn

One comment summed up something about Glenelg that seems to please every visitor “you can tell the locals, they are the ones that always smile and say hello”.

It’s also been a plus that Glenelg and the North West Highlands have had the best weather in the UK this year and sun tan cream has been the necessity rather than wet weather gear!

We would like to add our thanks to all who came to stay in The Lodge this year, it has been a pleasure meeting you all and we look forward to seeing you again sometime in the future (some have already booked for 2013!).

Best wishes for Christmas and New Year

Sue and Alastair

Ps: We bought a potato masher too!!

Winter in Glenelg

There has been a definite bite to the winter over the last week or two in Glenelg. The first snow arrived on the Skye hills opposite The Lodge at the end of October but it was here and gone in a day or two. Now it comes and goes regularly and the snow line goes higher or lowers depending on the temperature. Poor weather days give a good excuse to stay in and get on with jobs that need doing on both our own house and also The Lodge but when the blue skies and sunshine appear it’s just as stunning as any other part of the year.

Snow showers batter across the sound of Sleat

Next morning view from The Lodges - stunning!

A hard frost in Glenbeg

Ever present winter snow on the Five Sisters or Kintail