THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN....
What are you doing for New Year? Staying home with the telly and a hot toddie :( or getting out for a great Scottish Hogmanay Party? Contrary to popular opinion - we are not completely snowed in up here....the road to the hotel is absolutely clear and we have some lovely icicles hanging around the frosty trees. AND (here's the good news) we've still got a few spaces left for our Hogmanay festivities so give us a call on 01456 450326 to join in.

The whole two day package includes all this >>>>

Two nights B&B accommodation
Pre-dinner champage cocktails
Five course Hogmanay Gala Dinner
Fireworks
Dram at midnight
Dancing 'til the small hours
Highland Stovies at 1 am
Loch Ness Quiz on New Year's Day
Loch Ness cruise on New Year's Day (weather permitting)
Three course table d'hote dinner on New Year's Day
Clansman Folk Band (bring your intrument & join in)
New Year Survival Pack

£245 per person - Woodland View Room
£285 per person - Loch View Room
(based on two people sharing)

Be honest, what more could you possibly want ???
Go on........ 01456 450326

Great wedding last week for Robin and Nicola. Everything went so well - our congratulations to them both. Our wedding co-ordinator, Jane, is only a 'phone call away so call or email to sort out your wedding arrangements. Pipe Major John MacDonald piped the afternoon away for the guests as they sat down at 4pm to a sumptuous wedding feast.

The music from the DJ in the evening was excellent and even our assistant manager Garry got up and gave a great rendition of the Stereophonics "Dakota" - hidden talent indeed!

The rest of the blog for the next few weeks is to give you some 'trivia' about Loch Ness and Drumnadrochit, so here are your first 10......

1. In the gaelic language Drumnadrochit means 'ridge over the bridge'. The village nestles at the mouth of Glenurquhart on the edge of Urquhart Bay. The villages of Lewiston and Drumnadrochit are split by two rivers, the Coiltie and the Enrick and the woodland in the bay is known locally as 'the cover'. It is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and is an unspoilt area that gives access to the Loch when the conditions are right.
2. Drumnadrochit is an excellent base for touring. The Cairngorm ski slopes are just an hour's drive south on the A9. Aonach Mor near Fort William is an hour's drive on the A82, south.
3. The glitterati and literati of Europe came to Drumnadrochit at the turn of the 20th century. JM Barrie, RF Scott, the artist Millais, and the author Trollope all holidayed at Divach Lodge above the village.
4. Loch Ness is approximately 227m deep - near Urquhart Castle.
5. Loch Ness has the largest volume of fresh water in Great Britain. There is more water in Loch Ness than in every lake, river, stream, tributary, pond, canal and reservoir in England and Wales put together.
6. In September 1952 John Cobb was killed attempting the World Water Speed Record on Loch Ness. His jet-powered boat was called 'Crusader'.
7. The nearest distilleries to Drumnadrochit are Tomatin, Glen Ord and Ben Nevis. These are all worth a visit as well that the many distilleries in Speyside.
8. Urquhart Castle dates from the 13th century and was once a Pictish stronghold. Today it attracts 250,000 visitors per year and is under the guardianship of Historic Scotland.
9. The village of Abriachan on the north west side of Loch Ness was once famous for the illicit distilling of whisky. It is a very scenic area high above the Clansman Hotel and has some lovely woodland walks.
10. Dolphin watching - a popular pastime for visitors to the Highlands. Dolphins can often be seen from Chanonry Point on the Black Isle.

August is still very busy. As well as having a pretty full hotel, we have the catering facility at Scotland’s Housing Expo 2010 which is going really well with over 20,000 visitors as I write. We also cater for crews and guests that fly into Inverness on their private planes, many of whom are attending pop festivals or coming for the grouse shooting season which started on 12th August. Of course people come to us for many reasons including fishing parties and golfing groups so you can imagine August has been ‘mega’. Our thanks go to all the staff at Signature and the chefs here at the Clansman for pulling off some amazing delivery deadlines.

The Housing Expo continues until 31st August and believe you me it is worth a visit - a tremendous insight into the latest building materials and techniques. A great coup for Highland Council in having the foresight to pull this one off, and our congratulations to Fiona Hampton and her amazing team in putting it all together.

The next big thing in the Loch Ness diary is the Loch Ness Film Festival. Scotland’s newest film festival, taking place from 23rd to 26th September 2010, showcases short films from talented and new film makers with feature films, live music and entertainment. The Clansman is one of the venues along with Abriachan Village Hall, the Craigmonie Centre and the Steading Bar in Glenurquhart. Congratulations are due to our dear friend Willie Doig (The Murphy Brothers) and his son Andrew and friends for pulling this event together. Please give us a ring if you want to book accommodation for that weekend. And don’t forget that we also have Loch Ness Country House Hotel and many other contacts for B&B.

This coming weekend is the Glenurquhart Highland Games in the village of Drumnadrochit - a must for all visitors in the area and at night enjoy dinner and a ceilidh at Cobbs Restaurant here at The Clansman. Immerse yourself with the locals at play! Quite an experience.

We welcome back our Dutch guests this month and I will certainly enjoy taking them on our trip to Skye and Eilean Donan Castle.

Anyway, it’s still busy so I must get on. Remember where we are for that getaway break or just a quiet supper with friends.

Craic from the Clansman has now returned after a short rest period. Although the weather has not been brilliant, and the BBQ summer promised to us has not materialised, business in May, June and July has been excellent. As always, people from all over the world descended on Loch Ness this year with the usual high profile events taking place which both gives added PR to the area and great publicity.

RockNess in June was brilliant and we welcomed the whole team from Strongbow Cider who were great fun. John and Sarah did a brilliant job ferrying the team back and forth from the Clansman Harbour to Dores beach. The event was a one off and thrilling experience. Also the time to cross the loch in good conditions was only 10 minutes. We welcome them all back next year.

As always the standard of food in Cobbs Restaurant is complimented by nearly all our guests, and this year Head Chef West has been aided by Chris Crombie, who has brought additional culinary flair to our kitchen – we welcome him aboard.

This month is going very well with our acquisition, through a new management company, of Loch Ness Country House Hotel (formerly Dunain Park Hotel). We wish this venture all success and hope it will compliment our present portfolio. Visit the website www.lochnesscountryhousehotel.co.uk for further details.

Other activities this month include catering for Scotland’s Housing Expo 2010 at Milton of Leys, outside Inverness. The first time this has happened in the U.K. and is well worth visiting where you can see at first hand the future of housing on our planet with all the latest building and energy saving techniques. So pop along and see your dream house and enjoy a light lunch and some of our home baking at Cobbs Coffee shop on site.

We are still very much involved in the wedding business and our PA Jane MacDonald will be delighted to assist with your requirements.

There are still some great deals on the loch at Laterooms.com and Booking.com, plus our own website, so treat yourself to that short break in August, September or October. Don’t forget to ask about our 3-for-2 autumn offer. It might not be BBQ weather but could be very pleasant with the spectacular scenery combined with the perfect autumnal colours.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our establishments.

Drop us an e-mail or give us a ring.