Thunder in the Glens
(Harley Davidson Weekend in Aviemore)

The end of August can only mean one thing in Aviemore - ‘Thunder in the Glens’!

If you are lucky enough to be staying around the area on the last weekend of August you are in for a treat. For one weekend a year the usual peaceful countryside is disturbed by the roar of mighty motorbikes.

The annual Harley-Davidson festival sees thousands of motor bike enthusiasts descend on Aviemore and surrounding villages for a unique and spectacular weekend. This 3 day extravaganza isn’t only for bike fans, oh no! As well as the shiny bikes to ogle, there is entertainment in abundance seeing hotel and pub carparks turn into concert stages, areas with stalls, displays and of course the ‘ride out’ which sees thousands of bikes leave from the Aviemore Centre on Saturday at midday and roar through the high street where the streets are lined with spectators.

There is a real festival feel for the whole weekend where you can wander around and marvel at the bikes, the people and just soak up the atmosphere.

The festival started in 1996 with only a few hundred attending however this has grown to be the largest Harley-Davidson rally in the UK and Europe with over 4000 registered riders in 2019. The event is run by Dunedin Chapter who are based in Edinburgh.

The Entertainment

Live bands play every night from Friday to Sunday. Check out this years line up of acts.

 

Thunder in the Glens, we have missed you & are utterly delighted you are back for 2022!

 Summer in the Cairngorms

Wondering what to do when you arrive on holiday at your Great North Lodge for your summer holiday? Worry not, we have every base covered. The Cairngorms and surrounding area has a wealth of activities for all ages with all levels of exertion – whether it’s relaxing Lochside with a good book or swinging through trees, our guide will make sure everyone has the best time possible.

LandmarkForest Adventure Park is the perfect family day out with something to suit everyone. Whether you are hurtling down a water slide or checking out the dinosaurs Landmark really does have something for everyone.

Want to see Scotland’s only Polar Bears? How about Amur Tigers or even Snow Leopards? Then the Highland Wildlife Park is the place for you. A walk around the park will expose you to all creatures great and small. Booking is advised and can be done online here.

Loch InshWatersports is THE place to be this summer. As well as the fabulous water sports you can take part in, activity days including archery, tubing, bushcraft and more, they are just about to open the all singing all dancing ‘Jungle Float’. This will be in the deep end of the Loch and will have exciting fixtures such as trampolines to project you into the water, a slide, climbing rope & climbing wall. Groups will be taken out to the float for an hour and a half of full on jumping, climbing, sliding & splashing. This can be purchased as part of a day ticket, or separately for £15 per session.

RothiemurchusEstate has so much to offer, how about axe throwing or quad biking, pony trekking or archery? There is all this and so much more to explore at Rothiemurchus Estate. Booking is essential so click here to take a look at all the activities and book online.

If you’re looking for full on, adrenaline filled activities then G2 Outdoor in Kincraig is where you need to go. They offer canyoning, white water rafting, gorge walking and river float rafting to name but a few as well as an awesome Zip Park in Alvie Estate. Booking is essential and can be done here.

Like to challenge yourself by running about in the forest shooting paint at each other? Then Aviemore Paintball is your next call. Located on the outskirts of the village this is suitable for ages 13 and above. Using biodegradable paintballs that are water-soluble to protect the surrounding environment you can spend your energy paintballing safe in the knowledge that you have left no trace.

All Aboard!! Go back in time with Strathspey Steam Railway. This unique family day out takes you along ten miles of the restored section of the original Highland Railway line from Aviemore to Boat of Garten and Broomhill. Train times, prices and booking can be found here.

AviemoreKart Raceway is a supercharged race around the track which can be enjoyed by all ages. Tandem and various sizes of karts can be used depending on age. Arrive and drive available as well as advance bookings. All information and prices can be found here.

If walking is more your thing, then check out this great guide here to a wide variety of walks from easy to climbing a Munro! Biking is a staple pastime here in the Cairngorms and as well as the vast amount of tracks you will find throughout the valley, you could also try your hand at Laggan Wolftrax, a purpose built single track mountain bike centre near Laggan.

There is all this and more, so much more to offer. Aviemore Escape Rooms, The CairngormReindeer Herd, the numerous Golf Courses, Loch Garten RSPB and we still haven’t touched the sides. Want to know more? Come and stay with us and we will share all our local knowledge to help you make the most of your stay.

We can’t wait to see you!

Feeling Fabulous for February

Feeling Fabulous for February

If your New Year’s resolutions didn’t go as planned, don’t worry, we’ve got your back. We all feel a lot of pressure in January with ‘dry January’ ‘veganuary’ and trying to quash any bad habits. The truth is, only 44% of us actually see through our resolutions. So if your January has been a nonstarter, read on & see why we are championing the rest of the year.

Fast forward to Feeling Fabulous for February. We believe that you shouldn’t beat yourself up about things that went sideways last month, instead look to February to make you feel good about you, channel your inner fabulous. February is the month when things start to change, the stretch in the evenings and the buds forming in trees. So, how can you find the things that make you happy?

 

Book a holiday! I know right?! Think of why you book where you do, the fundamentals, break it down. Maybe you want to escape from it all, have some down time & tune out from city life. Or perhaps you want to be adventurous, fly through trees and hurtle down gnarly bike tracks. Give consideration to your choices, speak to the family, get everyone involved…..

Free yourself from ‘routine’, no alarm clocks blasting you out of bed each morning, instead you can relax and catch up with yourself.

 

Spending time with family and friends will make you and them happier. Get loved up with your partner or an extra cuddle from the kids, these simple things release the ‘happy hormone’, oxytocin.

Open yourself to new experiences, try things that scare you (a little), you’ll feel re-energised. Broaden your mind and horizons absorbing as much of your new environment as possible.

Take a break from tech & get back to nature to make you feel better emotionally and will contribute to your physical wellbeing. Take the time to loose yourself in a book where you will unwittingly be improving your brain connectivity and inducing stress relief.

 

Indulge! Go out for dinner, have an evening in the pub, soak up local hospitality.

     Feeling inspired? Or need to be convinced a little more?

The health benefits from extras in your holiday such as a hot tub can help to relieve stress, improve sleep,
encourage muscle relaxation and even burn calories. If a sauna is more your thing, you could also reap the benefits of improved cardiovascular health and stress relief.

 

  Feeling brave? Go & feel fabulous this February and book your next holiday!

Looking back on the year that was...2021!

Looking back on the year that was...2021!

Cast your mind back to simpler times, ok so you have to go back to 2019, or at least early 2020! Remember when booking a holiday and actually going on it was on the cards? Yes well, at Great North Lodges we have had a lot to navigate through but thankfully we have a strong team who steered the ship with grace, humour and most importantly, patience!

In January we were knee deep in snow here in the Cairngorms, and also in a country wide lockdown. The immediate future looked uncertain but our truly amazing guests stuck with us allowing us to re-arrange their bookings and help to create memories for when families could meet together again.

Busy we most definitely were! Behind the scenes there was a lot going on with our newly formed team now working hard on our new website and filtering through all things GNL. Information was changing daily and working through this was challenging to say the least, however FINALLY we got the date we had waited for and on the 30^th April we reopened. 

Was it all plain sailing? Nope, sadly not. We still had restrictions and the biggest obstacle was household numbers, but again, we persevered and by the summer we had come out the other side. We heard lots of stories from our guests including the first time friends and families had been together for months, these were special and heart-warming times, we were back on track.

The summer months also saw more brilliant properties being added to the Great North Lodges family, Ptarmigan Lodge in Kincraig landed with us in early July with Cairngorm Cottage, Glenmore Lodge and Speyside Suite all at Muckrach Country House Estate joining us in late July. It was a summer like no other with staycations becoming the norm and the Highlands became a haven for the discerning traveller. Another beautiful property that came to us in August was Coorie Lodge in Aviemore.

Then, the luxury and splendour of Muckrach Country House joined us in October.

We also changed our Corporate identity during 2021 to take us forward with Escape, Explore and Enjoy being our new motto.

Other words that we became accustomed to using during 2021 were face masks, sanitising, jabs, isolating, social distancing…to name but a few. How long we will have to continue with these no one knows, what we do know is that our loyal and wonderful guests have made 2021 pretty special and we would like to thank you all for making 2021 a year to remember!

Whether making New Year’s resolutions is your thing or not, this is the time of year for reflection and also looking ahead. Visualise where you want to be in 2022 and take the steps to make it happen! 

We will be waiting for you, to help you make memories and most importantly to encourage you to keep Escaping, Exploring and Enjoying!