Visit Scotland have launched their 'Winter White' campaign to attract visitors to Scotland over the next few months. We wish them well and here at the Loch Ness Clansman Hotel we are open until the beginning of January, closed for maintenance then re-open on the 5th February. We welcome you all most sincerely.

Come and sample 'Winter Walking' in Glen Affric and if there is snow then skiing or snow boarding either at Cairngorm or Aonoch Mor.

If 'down-hill' seems a bit adventurous try some Nordic cross-country skiing - very exhilarating and a great way to see the country side. For those of you wanting an early Christmas feeling, Inverness is the place to be to see the fantastic Christmas lights switched on last Sunday night.
Also the Ness Islands on the river is lit up in a winter extraveganzza.

The other big event before Christmas is of course St Andrews Day (November 30th) - a celebration of Scotland's patron saint. There are a lot of activities taking place all over the country to mark the end of the 'Year of Homecoming' - so check the various websites to see what's on.

The official opening of the archive centre in Inverness took place yesterday with the opening undertaken by Prince Edward / Earl of Wessex who looked absolutely splendid in his kilt and tweed jacket. A fine young man with an excellent sense of humour and COBB'S had the privilege of catering for all the guests with our outside catering division. This was a great success with wonderful finger food prepared by our chefs David and Christopher - the very best of Highland produce Beef from Stuart Grant, Grantown on Spey, Smoked Salmon from Aultbea, and a large variety of smoked Highland meats.
The centre piece was a wonderful display of cheeses from the Connage Organic Highland Dairy - SMOKED DUNLOP, GOUDA, CROWDIE and CLAVA an organic Brie style cheese. This was served with artisan breads and Highland oatcakes accompanied by quince jelly, apple jelly and greengage preserve - however the piece de' resistance was Cobb's wonderful mini desserts lovingly prepared by Fraser himself - Gluten Free CHOCOLATE BROWNIES served with whipped cream, mini CRANNACHAN PAVLOVA which contained fresh raspberries, cream and BRUADAR liqueur and the finest of Highland Heather Honey, MINI SHORTBREAD STARS tiered with whipped lemon cream - to die for!

So remember - if you can't come to one of Cobb's restaurants or Coffee Shops just give us a call and we can come and cater at your event.

Don't forget our Christmas parties and New Years celebrations!

Finally, the other big attraction in the Highlands this winter is MERCEDES the POLAR BEAR at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingcraig.
So get away from it all, wrap up well, a drop of mulled wine, some mince meat pies and a winter adventure awaits you here at the Loch Ness Clansman Hotel.

Inverness film festival takes off this week with the climax on Sunday 15th with the premier of a film shot here in Glen Affric. The viking story 'Valhalla Rising'. This is a 'must' for movie buffs with all showings happening at Eden Court.
We here at the Loch Ness Clansman Hotel give you an ideal spot for basing yourself as we are on the right side of the city for the Theatre.

Another busy week with old friends and new ones staying here. We were delighted to welcome back Scott Wardlaw with his wife and son, up for a couple of days. They are frequent visitors and it was a pleasure to have them return.
We've also had guests from Australia, USA, France and Italy so Loch Ness is still a big attraction. So much so I have done two radio shows in the last two weeks - the first one was to 'Jackson Hole' in Wyoming and the second to ABC Adelaide with the Loch Ness Story for their breakfast listeners. The new John Sargent travel programme on TV will also feature his trip to Loch Ness so look out for it on ITV 8.00pm on Tuesday - a great guy, very entertaining who I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with last years Chambers of Commerce Dinner in Inverness.
- So Loch Ness is never very far from the medias attention.

After watching Loch Ness in John's new programme just get on that computer and book ahead to come up and see what everyone is talking about. Great deals are on offer from now till the end of the year.
Have that break before the festive season is upon us and sample good honest fresh air here in the Highlands followed by an excellent meal in our restaurant. The food just gets better and better.
Last night Christopher prepared pan fried Monkfish tails served with mildly curried spicy lentils. It was superb and well favoured by our guests. Just what you need on a cold Autumn night and don't forget a glass of Pinot Grigio to wash it down!

Sliante
Willie Cameron

Well that's Halloween over and we had a grand time here at Loch Ness. The bar was decorated with pumpkin lights and fresh pumpkin lanterns carefully crafted by Rory. A special cocktail of Vodka and Iron Brew created by myself and aptly named 'the Loch Ness Witches Brew'. Being a glorious orange in colour it co-ordinated ideally with the pumpkins!
Brian our KP dressed up as a ghoul together with Amy one of our waitresses and duly scared the adults and children alike as they trick and treated their way around the restaurant. Traditional butternut squash soup was served together with a special dish of scallops wrapped in parma ham served with basil mash. A brilliant night for ghosties, ghoulies and garlic.

The big excitement in the Highlands at the moment is the marriage of Mark Owens of 'Take-That' secretly taking place at Cawdor Castle this month. I wonder if the 3 withes from Macbeth will be on the guest list?

This week sees Guy Fawkes night on November 5th and as usual there will be a bonfire night and firework display in Inverness. So book up for this spectacular night here in the Highlands.

Last week again was another celebration of birthdays and anniversaries - so keep us in mind as the deals are really good.

As we all can see, the shops now have their Christmas decorations up and people are concentrating on getting ready for the next 2 festival - Christmas and New Year. Our party nights are filling up so don't wait to long to book up and also there are still places left for our New Years celebrations - so go on line to check out the frolics to celebrate 2010 coming in.

November is now upon us - days getting shorter and nights getting colder - so what better than a cosy night in a nice warm hotel bed after a hearty meal prepared by our chefs David and Christopher - a meal designed for these cold autumn days. Here's a new one for me - 'turnip and mustard soup' - absolutely delicious!! Not to spicy and full of flavour.
Rory last week made a delicious 'carrot and apricot soup' - a variation on the traditional 'carrot and orange' but more subtle and sweet in flavour. We had Arctic Char on the menu last week which was very well received served with an oyster, mushroom and garlic sauce - something really different.

Now now that the hotel is little bit quieter, it gives the chefs more time to experiment with special dishes and to cater for the seasonal element. So we can look forward to more 'specials' like 'breast of wood pigeon set on crushed new potatoes and served with a tangy mandarin sauce' - Deeeelicious!
And what better accompaniment than a nice glass of RUBEN HALL MERLOT at room temperature - doesn't that get your taste buds going and put you in the, mood to forget about dark nights , ghosties and ghoulies - come and join us!